MEDIA ADVISORY
August 30, 2022
WASHINGTON DC - On Thursday, September 1, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), in partnership with the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy, will host an in-person event highlighting some of the key election issues in advance of the upcoming 2022 midterm election. The event will also detail the state of elections in the 20 years since the passage of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), a watershed bipartisan piece of legislation that instituted key improvements to voting systems and election administration and established the EAC.
Pete Peterson, Dean of the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy, will join the Election Assistance Commission’s Chairman Thomas Hicks, Vice Chair Christy McCormick, Commissioner Ben Hovland, and Commissioner Donald Palmer for the event.
HAVA at 20: Building Trust in Elections will consist of four panels, beginning with a discussion around public confidence in elections. This will be followed by a second panel on security and technology in elections, a third on the current issues facing election administrations, and conclude with a panel looking ahead to the next 20 years of elections under HAVA.
This event is part of the EAC’s commemoration of the 20-year anniversary of the signing of HAVA, which led to critical reforms to the nation's voting processes and addressed improvements to voting systems and voter access that were identified following the 2000 election. HAVA mandates that EAC test and certify voting equipment, maintain the National Voter Registration Form, distribute federal grants for election administration issues, and administer a national clearinghouse on elections that includes shared practices, information for voters, and other resources to improve elections.
This event will also commemorate the 25th year of the Pepperdine School of Public Policy (SPP). The school was founded in 1997 following the launch of the Davenport Institute in 1996. SPP is built on a distinctive philosophy of preparing public leaders to use tools of analysis combined with their moral sense to affect successful implementation and real change. Through a curriculum grounded in understanding policy’s inherent philosophical and historical dimensions, SPP prepares cross-sector leaders for careers that strengthen the institutions of the private, nonprofit, and government sectors.
Please see below for additional information, including a list of speakers and a link to the live stream.
WHAT: HAVA AT 20: Building Trust in Elections
WHEN: The in-person event will be11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. PST, Thursday, September 1, 2022
The live stream of the panels will be from 12:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. PST
WHO: Speakers will include the following and a final agenda will be available on the EAC’s website.
- Joel Watson Jr., Louisiana’s Deputy Secretary of State for Outreach Services
- Mitchell Brown, Professor, Auburn University
- Mona Harrington, Acting Assistant Director for National Risk Management Center (NRMC), DHS CISA
- Donald "Deak" Kersey, General Counsel, Deputy Secretary of State, West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office
- Susan Lapsley, California Deputy Secretary of State, HAVA Director and Counsel
- Doug Lewis, formerly of the Election Center
- Dean Logan, Clerk/Recorder & Registrar of Voters, Los Angeles County, CA
- Traci Mapps, Vice President, SLI Compliance
- Mindy Romero, Founder and Director, Center for Inclusive Democracy (CID) at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy
- Andrew Sinclair, Assistant Professor of Government, Claremont McKenna College
- Charles Stewart III, Founding Director, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Election Data and Science Lab
- Dan Wallach, Professor, Rice University and Rice Scholar at Baker Institute
- Matthew Weil, Executive Director of the Democracy Program, Bipartisan Policy Center
WHERE: Pepperdine University School of Public Policy, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 90263
This event will also be live streamed on the EAC’s YouTube page
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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. The 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.
The Pepperdine University School of Public Policy (SPP) is built on a distinctive philosophy of preparing public leaders to use tools of analysis combined with their moral sense to affect successful implementation and real change. Through a curriculum grounded in understanding policy’s inherent philosophical and historical dimensions, SPP prepares cross-sector leaders for careers that strengthen the institutions of the private, nonprofit, and government sectors.