The Greenwich Registrars of Voters are happy to announce registration for their 2025 Election Academy is now open until April 30. Register at greenwichct.gov/
The Election Academy is designed to provide a deep dive into election administration, and covers topics ranging from clean voter rolls to early voting options to how the tabulation equipment is tested.
Fred DeCaro III, Republican Registrar, said the academy was inspired by similar programs held in other parts of the country.
“As part of the Alliance for Election Excellence, we were able to make contact with other communities which had built similar programs and create something which meets the needs of Greenwich,” DeCaro said.
Democratic Registrar Mary Hegarty added that for the past two years she and DeCaro had worked with the Alliance to create a set of non-partisan values which can be embraced by all election offices.
The five core values are High Integrity, Comprehensive Preparedness, Voter-Centricity, Proactive Transparency, and Continuous Improvement.
“The Election Academy helps us to fulfill our commitment to Proactive Transparency, which includes identifying and pursuing opportunities for public education on election processes, and providing ample opportunities to answer questions,” Hegarty said.
The first Election Academy was held in 2023, and had about 20 students.
Ernst Schirmer is a Greenwich resident who participated in the program.
“A terrific experience,” Schirmer said. “It was great to see the big annual calendar of preparations and events and not just what happens on election day or the evening before – and not just to learn what the election laws say and require but also how our town, year-by-year, consistently and diligently executes the election process.”
Pam Ferraro also participated in the program.
“Learning about and witnessing the complexity of the system and the attention to detail needed to conduct an election is eye-opening and reassuring,” Ferraro said. “I have encouraged others to go through this training to learn about the process for themselves, and hopefully to volunteer as poll workers!”
All of the session dates, and an application to apply for the academy, can be found at greenwichct.gov/electionacadem
The Election Academy is completely free. All registrants are asked to review the dates and commit to attending all of the sessions.