GCSU offering election administration certificate for students

GCSU says it's the first university in the state to offer an election administration certificate.

MILLEDEGVILLE, Georgia(41NBC/WMGT) – Georgia College and State University says it’s meeting the need for professional election administrators who know the law and latest technology.

GCSU announced it’s the first university in the state to offer an election administration certificate.

The goal of the program is to educate students on the election process.

Political science major Collin Hall says students should take advantage.

“It’s just good experience, especially hands-on experience, and it makes you gain a lot more education and respect for our election officials and the election administration process,” Hall said. “The political process is important, but the administration process is extremely important, because that’s how we administer our elections, and we get the elected leaders that we do.”

The program educates students on the rules and laws of facilitating an election.

Senior lecturer of political science Claire Sanders says the program will help teach a new generation of election leaders.

“We thought it might be a good idea to carve out an academic path for people who are interested in studying elections from an administrative prospective,” she said.

She says the course could help provide more poll administrators for future elections.

“This is just a really exciting opportunity for people who want to consider that kind of public service,” she said.

Georgia College plans to establish more partnerships with local governing bodies so students can work all aspects of elections.