EVN 2024 – Bridging Rough Waters

The Election Verification Network 2024 Annual Conference will be held March 19-20 in Washington DC at the Constance Milstein and Family Global Academic Center at New York University, at 1307 L Street, Washington DC (Google Maps). The opening reception will be held on Monday, March 18th.

Join us for a stimulating and timely conference that will also feature keynote speeches on the top election security issues. Attendance at EVN 2024 is by invitation. Please contact us for more information.

Agenda

This program may be subject to change

Download the program agenda (PDF)

Monday, March 18

5:00pm Opening Reception
Eckstine Ballroom, Viceroy Hotel

6:00pm Welcome and Introductions
Josh Benaloh, Microsoft Research and Chair, EVN Coordinating Committee
Remarks
Virginia Kase Solomon, Common Cause, President and CEO
Kim Wyman, Bipartisan Policy Center, former Secretary of State, Washington; Recipient of the 2020 EVN Public Service Award for Improved Elections

8:00pm Dinner on your own

Tuesday, March 19

8:00am Breakfast/Check-in
Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation Lobby
Pearlstein Family Grand Foyer

8:45am Welcome & Introductions
Abramson Family Auditorium
Josh Benaloh, Microsoft Research, Chair, EVN Coordinating Committee
Aquene Freechild, Public Citizen, Conference Co-Chair
Eddie Perez, OSET Institute, Conference Co-Chair

9:00am A Report from Federal Partners: The Current Environment and New Challenges
Moderator: Dana DeBeauvoir, OSET Institute
Panelists: Geoffrey Hale, CISA; Commissioner Thomas Hicks, U.S. Election Assistance Commission; Aaron Jennen, U.S. Dept. of Justice
How do the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) assess the current environment for elections, and how are they preparing and improving readiness? What are their current priorities, and what are new challenges that make 2024 different from previous years?

10:15am Combatting Mis- and Disinformation about Elections:
How Can Big Tech and Election Officials Work Together More Effectively?
Moderator: Eddie Perez, OSET Institute
Panelists: Roberta Braga, Digital Democracy Institute of the Americas; Justin Hendrix, Tech Policy Press; Kim Wyman, Bipartisan Policy Center
A dialogue between social media/tech policy experts and election experts, to help bridge the divide and collaborate to address the serious communication challenges we face. How can online content technologists educate the elections community about the spread of viral disinformation and potential rapid responses – and, conversely, what can election specialists teach them?

11:15am Break
Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation Lobby
Pearlstein Family Grand Foyer (overflow)

11:30am Keynote Address
Abramson Family Auditorium
David Folkenflik, National Media Correspondent, NPR

12:30pm Annual EVN Awards Ceremony
John Marion, Common Cause, Rhode Island

1:15pm Verified Voting Awards Luncheon
Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation Lobby
Pearlstein Family Grand Foyer (overflow)

2:15pm Re-convene
Abramson Family Auditorium

2:30pm Keynote Address
The Honorable Michael Adams, Secretary of State, Commonwealth of Kentucky

3:00pm Break
Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation Lobby
Pearlstein Family Grand Foyer (overflow)

3:15pm Digital Democracy for All: Accessibility and Security in Voting
Abramson Family Auditorium
Moderator: Susannah Goodman, Common Cause
Panelists: Michelle Bishop, National Disabilities Rights Network; Rafael Bonifaz, Derechos Digitales; Braden Crimmins, University of Michigan; Jalisa Giles, Public Citizen; David M. Scanlon, Secretary of State, New Hampshire
A discussion on innovative approaches to enhance voter access without resorting to internet voting. This panel aims to provide actionable takeaways for promoting participation among voters with disabilities through secure, accessible, and traditional voting methods.

4:30pm Election Verification: Evolving Innovations and Challenges
Panelists: Neal McBurnett, Auditing Expert; Dwight Shellman, State Election Official; Brad Sturt, University of Illinois; Vanessa Teague, Australian National University
With public confidence in the legitimacy of election outcomes under serious pressure in some quarters, transparency and verification of results is more important than ever. How do these efforts continue to evolve, and what are new challenges that have been identified? Our panelists have experience in real-world voting operations, the challenges posed by open records laws and privacy, and the need for new auditing techniques as elections continue to change.

Wednesday, March 20

8:00am Breakfast/Check-in
Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation Lobby
Pearlstein Family Grand Foyer (overflow)

8:30am Welcome & Introductions
Abramson Family Auditorium
Josh Benaloh, Microsoft Research, Chair, EVN Coordinating Committee
Aquene Freechild, Public Citizen, Conference Co-Chair
Eddie Perez, OSET Institute, Conference Co-Chair

8:40am Appearance Via Video
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-MN
Remarks
Stephen Spaulding, Policy Director, U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration

9:15am Protecting and Supporting Election Officials
Abramson Family Auditorium
Moderator: Aquene Freechild, Public Citizen
Panelists: Judd Choate, Election Director, State of Colorado; Aghogho Edevbie, Deputy Secretary of State, Michigan; Beth Gilbert, Action Together, NEPA; Sam Liebert, All Voting is Local, Wisconsin
Pernicious intimidation and harassment of local and state election officials is causing a mass exodus from the field at a critical juncture. We’ll discuss lessons learned from state and county election officials, and also successful legislative efforts to protect and retain experienced election officials.

10:15am Break
Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation Lobby
Pearlstein Family Grand Foyer (overflow)

10:30am Getting the Message Out: Strategic Communications
Moderator: Liz Lebron, Blue Nexus Group
Panelists: Tara Buss, Research Collaborative; Genya Coulter, OSET Institute; Corrie Emerson, Verified Voting; Derek Tisler, Brennan Center for Justice
How can election officials, journalists and other stakeholders cooperate to communicate strategically in a way that a) educates the public; b) lowers the temperature; and c) does not undermine confidence in elections? We’ll explore how to make responsible and proactive disclosure of administrative errors and/or voting technology flaws without creating panic, and what messages work best to inform voters about challenges with voting tech and systems, without pushing them to disengage or distrust the process.

11:45am Voting Technology Roundup
Participants: Josh Benaloh, Microsoft Research; Kevin Skoglund, Citizens for Better Elections; Chris Wlaschin, Election Systems & Software
This session provides an update on recent newsworthy developments with voting technology, and how they might impact public confidence in elections. The session begins with the latest news about new voting systems, federal certification requirements, and some significant problems with deployed systems. Then, the session will turn to a one-on-one interview with the CISO of a prominent voting system vendor, to discuss these topics and the future of voting systems.

12:45pm Microsoft Research Sponsored Luncheon
Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation Lobby
Pearlstein Family Grand Foyer (overflow)

1:45pm Re-convene
Abramson Family Auditorium

2:00pm AI’s Impact on Elections: Ensuring Readiness
Moderator: Eddie Perez, OSET Institute
Panelists: Katie Harbath, Anchor Change/Duco; Tim Harper, Center for Democracy and Technology; Gowri Ramachandran, Brennan Center for Justice
What might the impact of AI on elections be? While AI’s ability to accelerate mis- and disinformation is much-talked-about, this panel will go deeper, to also assess how AI can impact the security of election infrastructure, systems and processes. How can Big Tech experts on AI and election officials learn from each other and support each other’s needs?

3:15pm Minding The Store: Minimizing Risks Associated with Election Staff Turnover
Moderators: David Levine, Alliance for Securing Democracy at the George Marshall Fund; Kurt Sampsel, PEN America
Panelists: Karen Brinson-Bell, North Carolina State Board of Elections; Shauna Dozier, Clayton County Board of Elections & Registration; Amanda Gonzalez, Jefferson County Clerk & Recorders Office
A pragmatic panel, focused on risk reduction and best practices to avoid disruptions as well as efforts to combat insider threats.

4:15pm Close and Toast
Mark Lindeman, Verified Voting
Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation Lobby

This conference is sponsored in part by: