Voting Assistance Officer (VAO) Training Opportunities |
Federal Voting Assistance Program U.S. Department of Defense
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Voting Assistance Officers (VAOs) play a critical role in assisting citizens covered by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) to register to vote and request a ballot to vote absentee. These individuals, in military or civilian life, are responsible for providing accurate, non-partisan voting information and assistance to those citizens attempting to exercise their Constitutional right to vote.
FVAP provides instructor-led training workshops and a self-administered training package for VAOs worldwide. There are two versions of this training. One focuses on the duties and responsibilities of VAOs in the Uniformed Services, while the other version is for VAOs at Embassies and Consulates as well as U.S. citizen organizations and corporations outside the United States.
All VAOs are required to complete voting assistance training prior to helping citizens. This training can be obtained by either attending an instructor-led workshop or by completing the self-administered training package.
The Workshops are given at military installations and embassies/consulate locations worldwide by the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) staff. An Installation Voting Officer (IVO) may also give the training for all local Unit Voting Officers (UVOs). Overseas citizen groups also provide this training.
To find the closest Workshop, contact your Voting Action Officer. You may also contact your Voting Action Officer if you do not know your local IVO or embassy/consulate voting officer. Once the Workshop is complete, you will receive a training certificate to place in your Voting Program Continuity Folder.
IVOs and overseas citizens groups providing voting assistance may download the Workshop presentation below to use as a training vehicle for the installation or group. The Powerpoint version of the presentation may be modified to add local information.
For the 2008 Election Cycle, FVAP has developed a self-administered training. This training is targeted to VAOs who are not able to attend an instructor-led workshop. Once the training is complete, you will be able to print off a training certificate to place in your Voting Program Continuity Folder.
The training is currently available in Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Powerpoint 2003 formats. The Adobe Acrobat version requires Acrobat Reader 7.0 or higher to view. If you do not have an Acrobat Reader you can download it free from Adobe's web site: www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. If you do not have PowerPoint, you can download the free viewer from Microsoft's web site: www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=428d5727-43ab-4f24-90b7-a94784af71a4&DisplayLang=en. Since this address could be displayed on multiple lines, you may need to copy and paste this address into your browser to get to the site.
Information on obtaining supplies of the materials referenced in the presentation is available from www.fvap.gov/pubs/getpubs.html.
Last updated/reviewed: October 29, 2007