Staff

Candice Hoke, Founding Director

A law professor at Cleveland State University with an Election Law and Governance specialization, Candice Hoke has worked to improve Ohio's election administrative performance via the university's Center for Election Integrity. She was a research Team Leader for the California Secretary of State's scientific study of voting systems (2007); a member of the Cuyahoga Election Review Panel (2006) that examined the causes of a major election debacle; and Project Director of the Public Monitor of Cuyahoga Election Reform (2006-08). She is a member of the American Bar Association's Advisory Commission to the Standing Committee on Election Law (2007- ).

For the Public Monitor, Candice proposed and led via the CSU Center for Election Integrity the first post-election audit in Ohio (Cuyahoga, November 2006) and produced a number of memoranda and reports. The CSU Center conducted the U.S. Election Assistance Commission's study to develop the national best practices in College Poll Worker recruitment and training, and she has been a poll worker many times. In response to requests, Candice has drafted federal and Ohio election reform legislation. She testified to Congress on election auditing as a component for assuring public trust in the election system. She was a Yale Law Journal editor, a judicial clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, a litigator, and a staff member of the North Carolina Governor's Office before becoming a law professor. Candice continues to enjoy discussing complex election administrative issues with media representatives and government officials.

Ron Olson, Program Director

Before joining the Center, Ron Olson had amassed twenty years of corporate experience as a Project Manager and Quality Assurance Manager, and five years as a volunteer dedicated to facilitating Ohio election administrative achievement.  Ron utilized his professional expertise to foster major improvements in Cuyahoga County’s election management, and to help formulate the policies governing the first post-election audits in Ohio.

He has worked in the CASE-Ohio leadership and collaboratively with other nonprofit and advocacy organizations. He has led research groups and produced major reports for improving poll worker training, election audit policies, election security, and voting systems.  Recognizing Ron’s leadership, Secretary of State Brunner named Ron a founding member of the Voting Rights Institute Advisory Council, where he continues to work with election officials, academics, and advocacy organizations on improving Ohio elections.

Ron can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it