Ball State University’s Voting System Technical Oversight Program (VSTOP) will be holding a graduation ceremony for the sixth cohort of its nationally-recognized Certificate in Election Administration, Technology, and Security (CEATS) Program.
The event will be held at 10 a.m. May 9, 2025, at L.A. Pittenger Student Center, 2000 W. University Ave., Muncie, IN 47306. Among those scheduled to speak are Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales, Ball State President Geoffrey Mearns, and Election Assistance Commissioner Thomas Hicks.
VSTOP was established in 2007 by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and advises the Indiana Secretary of State and Indiana Election Commission on the certification of voting machines and electronic poll books in Indiana. The VSTOP team manages the physical security and cybersecurity of election systems, conducts post-election audits, and develops and provides maintenance for a state-wide election systems inventory database.
In 2018, VSTOP launched the Certificate in Election Administration, Technology, and Security (CEATS) Program to become available to state, local, and federal election officials and administrators in the 92 counties of Indiana. The year-long certificate program educates participants on a wide variety of topics in all aspects of elections. Some of these topics include human resources, poll worker training, election and procedural law, information technology, and cybersecurity. The mission of CEATS is to professionalize election administration by educating current and future leaders in elections on fundamental concepts, knowledge, and field techniques required of election administrators. By providing quality education to Indiana Election Administrators, VSTOP and the state of Indiana’s vision is to empower CEATS participants to identify and solve problems, promote election integrity within the communities they serve, and improve overall confidence in elections.
Since the first cohort of the cutting-edge CEATS program in 2018, there have been 54 graduates who have completed the CEATS Program, with fifteen more set to graduate at the upcoming ceremony.
Congratulations Cohort 6!
- Emma Sanders – Allen County Election Manager
- Jordan Wildey – Allen County Election Board Manager
- Cj Gilsinger – Cass County IT Director
- Destry Richey – Cass County Clerk
- Allie Gress – Dubois County Deputy Clerk
- Leather Chavis – Gibson County Voter Registration & Election Clerk
- Kellie Landers – Gibson County Voter Registration & Election Clerk
- Sherri Smith – Gibson County Clerk of the Circuit Court
- Kylie Farris – Monroe County Election Supervisor
- Laura Wert – Monroe County Chief Deputy Clerk
- Melinda Peed – Randolph County Clerk
- Dustin Renner – Indiana Secretary of State Election Director
- Jennifer Herman – Vigo County Deputy Clerk
- Nasya Noble – Vigo County Deputy Clerk and Assistant Supervisor (Bookkeeper)
- Jessica Hockemeyer – Whitley County Voter Registration and Election Supervisor
This year’s CEATS Graduation ceremony will also be livestreamed from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at: https://youtube.com/live/AVdThhXCriw?feature=share
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The Voting System Technical Oversight Program (VSTOP) was founded by the Indiana Legislature in 2007. Hosted at Ball State University, VSTOP is overseen by the Indiana Secretary of State (SOS) and assists the SOS and Indiana Election Division (IED) with a variety of critical election administration functions.
Learn more about how VSTOP works to ensure election security