Certification or Recertification of Municipal Clerks

2005 Wisconsin Act 451 requires that all municipal clerks attend a Wisconsin Elections Commission- sponsored training program at least once every 2 years, Wis. Stat. § 7.15(1m).  All Wisconsin municipal clerks must attend the Municipal Clerk Training Core Curriculum Course (MCT Core), by law, before they are considered certified to conduct an election.

Clerks must report their election training and the number of hours to the WEC using the Municipal Clerk Recertification Reporting Form below. WisVote users can enter their training directly into the system for review and approval by WEC staff. Training not reported using the form or entered into WisVote will not be counted towards recertification hours.

As a Wisconsin municipal clerk, you should fall into one of the three following categories:

    New Municipal Clerks

    New clerks are required to take the 3-hour Municipal Clerk Core training class before their first election or by the end of the current 2022-2023 term if there are no scheduled elections to be considered certified. MCT Core is available in The Learning Center and upon completion, the certification form needs to be shared with WEC.

    Clerks also need to accumulate three additional hours of election-related training - for a total of six hours - by December 31, 2023  to recertify for the 2024-2025  term. A list of approved MCT hours is listed below.

     

    TLC Access Forms
    Municipal clerks who recertified for the 2022-2023 term

    Clerks who met the recertification requirements by accumulating and reporting at least six hours of election-related training (for new clerks three of the six hours must be MCT Core) by December 31, 2021, recertified for the current 2020-2021 term.

    During the 2022-2023 term, clerks need to accumulate and report at least six hours of election-related training to recertify for the 2024-2025 term. A list of approved MCT hours is listed below. Use the Municipal Clerk Reporting Form to report your training to the Commission or enter it into WisVote.

    Municipal clerks who did not recertify for the 2022-2023 term

    Clerks who failed to meet the recertification requirements have lost their certification and must start over. This means that in order to meet training requirements for election purposes in the 2020-2021 term, the municipal clerk must attend the 3-hour MCT Core training class and accumulate three additional hours of election-related training - for a total of six hours.

    It is recommended that the training is completed by the first election of the new term.  The six hours of training will certify the clerk for the 2022-2023 term and will also recertify the municipal clerk for the 2024-2025 term.

    The MCT Core class is available in the Elections Learning Center.  A list of approved MCT hours is listed below. Use the MCT Certification Form to report your training to the Commission. Use the reporting form for any other training that needs to be reported or enter it into WisVote.

    Approved MCT Hours

    Training opportunities that count toward recertification hours must be approved by the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Examples of activities that count toward recertification hours include (not an exhaustive list):

    • Webinar Sessions; either live, posted or using training discs (hours vary)
    • Chief inspector or Municipal Clerk training classes (2 - 3 hours, once per term)
    • WisVote and elections security training classes (hours vary)
    • Election administration sessions; such as Security and Election Administration Tabletop Exercises; the roundtable discussions or presentations given by WEC staff at Wisconsin Towns Association or Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association meetings, among others (2-3 hours each)
    • Election administration sessions, such as the Badger Book presentations or TTX sessions conducted by WEC staff or clerks.  (hours vary)
    • Training you have received conducted by another county or municipal clerk that has been approved for recertification credit by WEC staff (hours vary)
    • Voting equipment testing or training (1 hour total per 2-year cycle)
    • Municipal Clerk Institute Election training; Presidential Academy Election training or other election-related training (hours vary)

    If you have additional questions, please contact Allison Coakley at [email protected] or 608-261-2033.