This month, the EAC is highlighting:
- Be Election Ready: Video Guides for Voters series
- Working Together: Supporting the 2024 Elections through Federal Partnerships Event Recap
- USPS Statement on Election Mail
- Best Practices Conversation: Vice Chair Palmer’s Discussion with Ada County, Idaho, on New Transparent Audit of Ballots
- Chairman Hovland and Vice Chair Palmer Featured on the Vetted Conversations podcast
- CISA and FBI Resources
- Physical Security Checklist for Election Offices Checklist
- Election Infrastructure Cybersecurity Readiness and Resilience Checklist
- FBI and CISA Joint Public Service Announcement
- Election Officials as Trusted Sources of Information
Be Election Ready: Video Guides for Voters series
The EAC has released a new series of videos that simplifies information about various aspects of voter registration, options to cast a ballot, and election administration. These videos are intended for voters anywhere in the country and use plain language while driving voters to trusted sources (state and local election officials) for specific options in their community.
The full series includes:
- Registering to Vote
- Make a Plan to Vote
- Voting by Mail
- In-Person Voting
- Trusted Information
- Reporting and Certifying Results
PDF and Word versions of the full scripts for each video are available so they are editable for election offices to create their own videos or share information on these topics.
Visit the Voting 101 webpage on eac.gov to watch the series and for more information.
EAC Event Brings Federal Election Partners Together to Discuss 2024 Election Preparations
On September 26, the EAC hosted "Working Together: Supporting the 2024 Elections through Federal Partnerships" event featuring representatives from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). Elections are managed by state and local election officials, and coordination between all levels of government and the private sector is critical to support the work being done to serve voters and secure elections.
During this event, leaders from the various federal agencies emphasized their commitment to election integrity and security, and underscored how interagency collaboration will continue to support elections across the country before, on, and after Election Day. They discussed coordinated efforts related to cybersecurity, election official safety, attempted interference by foreign actors, election mail, and weather events such as Hurricane Helene. They also highlighted the importance of using state and local election offices as trusted sources for voting information and asked those voting by mail to get their ballots in at least one week before Election Day.
EAC Chairman Ben Hovland stated, “While we don't know what the story of the 2024 election will be, election officials are prepared. The elections community is working around the clock in this final stretch before Election Day."
Watch the full event on the EAC’s YouTube channel.
USPS Statement on Election Mail
Election offices are continuing to mail ballots to voters across the county. Valuable information about election mail from the United States Postal Service (USPS) is available online. Additionally, USPS shared the following message.
“The Postal Service is fully ready to successfully deliver the nation's mail-in ballots. As a commonsense practice, we remind voters that if they choose to return their ballot by mail, we recommend they do so at least seven days before it must be back to their election official under the laws of the state where they are voting.”
Additional election official resources from the EAC on voting by mail are available online.
Best Practices Conversation: Vice Chair Palmer’s Discussion with Ada County, Idaho, on New Transparent Audit of Ballots
Election officials employ strategies and techniques to improve election transparency. EAC Vice Chair Palmer spoke with County Clerk Trent Tripple and Elections Director Saul Seyler on one method used in Ada County. Joined by Civera CEO and Senior Software Engineer Adam Friedman, the conversation focused on the use of Ballot Verifier, which allows the public to explore a wide range of county election data, including ballot images and cast vote records.
Chairman Hovland and Vice Chair Palmer Featured on the Vetted Conversations podcast
We the Veterans & Military Families hosted Chairman Hovland and Vice Chair Palmer on their podcast Vetted Conversations. The episode "Who are the people running American elections?" focused on the challenges facing state and local election officials this election season, what the federal government is doing to help with these challenges, voter education efforts, and countering foreign malign influence.
CISA and FBI Resources
CISA Releases New Election Security Checklists
To quickly assess current practices and improve both physical and cyber resilience ahead of Election Day, CISA developed two election security checklists for election officials and staff. These checklists include a series of questions to assist in preparations, and aid in pinpointing areas where physical security, operational resilience, and cybersecurity can be enhanced and guide actionable steps to implement cost-effective solutions promptly.
The Physical Security Checklist for Election Offices helps election offices quickly assess and improve their physical security and operational resilience for Election Day.
The Election Infrastructure Cybersecurity Readiness and Resilience Checklist helps election security officials and IT teams quickly review current cybersecurity practices, guard against common threats such as ransomware or DDoS attacks, and improve cybersecurity readiness and resilience during the election cycle.
FBI and CISA Public Service Announcement
The FBI and CISA issued an announcement raising awareness of attempts to undermine public confidence in the security of U.S. election infrastructure through the spread of disinformation falsely claiming that cyberattacks compromised U.S. voter registration databases. It covers public recommendations, the role of CISA and the FBI in elections, and victim reporting.
Election Officials as Trusted Sources of Information
Hosted last month by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), #TrustedInfo week brought attention to state and local election officials as the trusted sources for election information. As Election Day draws near, amplifying the information from election officials on voter registration and options to cast a ballot as well as how elections are secured is critical to bolster trust in the process. Chairman Ben Hovland and Vice Chair Donald Palmer joined NASS and Minnesota Secretary of State Simon to discuss the different options to cast a ballot on and before Election Day.
Public education leading up to and after Election Day are important and resources are available:
- NASS’s #TrustedInfo2024 webpage
- The EAC’s Communications 101 resources communications and social media toolkits, training videos, and more
- Communicating Election and Post-Election Processes Toolkit from the EAC
- Contingency Planning resources from the EAC including:
- A quick reference sheet with reminders and planning tips