Press Releases
For Immediate Release
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Silver Spring, Md. – This week during a two-day meeting hosted by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), national security and election stakeholders from across the nation addressed next steps in the process to incorporate elections as part of the country’s critical infrastructure. The meeting, which took place at the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center in Albany, NY, preliminarily set the structure of sector’s coordinating council and established baseline understanding about information sharing needs and processes.
"We are keenly aware that there is an urgent need to share actionable and timely information and intelligence with election administrators. This week’s meeting was an important opportunity for participants to reaffirm that understanding and to make clear our joint investment in finding the best ways possible to meet that need and secure U.S. election systems,” said EAC Chairman Matthew Masterson. “This gathering was an important step towards improving the communications, information sharing and coordination between the election administrators, DHS and the EAC."
The meeting was attended by EAC commissioners, DHS leadership, and representatives from National Association of Secretaries of State, Election Center, International Association of Government Officials, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and National Association of State Election Directors. Representatives from the EAC’s Board of Advisors, Standards Board and Technical Guidelines Development Committee also participated. Among the attendees were state and local election officials from 12 states, including California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
In addition to establishing a baseline understanding of the mechanisms and procedures used to manage the nation’s 16 critical infrastructure sectors, this week’s gathering focused on laying the foundation for how EAC and DHS will engage the election stakeholders impacted by the decision to designate election systems as part of the nation’s critical infrastructure. Among the most notable next steps was preliminary agreement about the structure of the sector’s coordinating council and determination of protocol for developing the operational components of the sector, such as how information will be shared. This week’s discussion is expected to shape the final charters that will guide the sector moving forward.
For more information about this week’s meeting or to speak with Chairman Masterson, please contact Brenda Bowser Soder at [email protected] or (202) 897-9285.
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The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) was established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). It is an independent, bipartisan commission charged with ensuring secure, accurate and accessible elections by developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and serving as a national clearinghouse of information on election administration. EAC also accredits testing laboratories and certifies voting systems, as well as administers the use of HAVA funds. For more information, visit www.eac.gov.