EVN 2026 – Collaborative Resilience: A Collective Commitment to Secure Elections

The Election Verification Network 2026 Annual Conference will be held March 18-20 in Washington DC at the Constance Milstein and Family Global Academic Center at New York University, at 1307 L Street, Washington DC (Google Maps).

Join us for a stimulating and timely conference that will also feature keynote speeches on the top election security issues. Attendance at EVN 2026 is by invitation. Please contact us for more information.

Agenda

This program may be subject to change

Download the program agenda (PDF)

Wednesday, March 18

2:00 pm Welcome Reception (Registration table sponsored by Microsoft)
Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation Lobby

Thursday, March 19

8:00 am Breakfast/Check-in (Registration table sponsored by The Brennan Center for Justice)
Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation Lobby

9:00 am Welcome & Introductions
Abramson Family Auditorium
Kevin Skoglund, Citizens for Better Elections; EVN Coordinating Committee Chair
Grace Gordon, The Turnout, LLC; 2026 EVN Conference Co-Chair
Corrie Emerson, Verified Voting; 2026 EVN Conference Co-Chair

9:15 am Keynote Address
The Honorable Christopher Deluzio, U.S. House of Representatives, PA 17th District

9:45 am Election Integrity and Security: Assessing the SAVE Act and the 2025 Executive Order
Moderator: Veronica Degraffenreid, Brennan Center for Justice
Panelists: Amy Keith, Common Cause FL; John Odum, Montpelier, VT; Wren Orey, Bipartisan Policy Center
This panel explores two consequential federal efforts in recent U.S. election policy: the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act
(H.R. 22) and Make Elections Great Again (MEGA) Act of 2025. Both initiatives are positioned by their proponents as measures to
strengthen election integrity. While they have commonalities, they also take different approaches—and raise significant questions about
how elections should be made more secure and at what cost.

10:30 am Break sponsored by The Turnout, LLC
Pearlstein Family Foyer

10:45 am Beyond Message Testing: An Audience-First Communications Strategy
Moderator: Corrie Emerson, Verified Voting
Panelists: Kerrin Garripoli, Democracy Communications Collaborative; Jay Riestenberg, Secure Democracy USA
In a fractured and hyperpolitical information ecosystem, how can the EVN community break through the noise to reach our audiences
with information that increases voter confidence and participation? This panel will share data on the American public’s perceptions of
elections, offer strategies for identifying and segmenting audiences, and demonstrate how to reach them with targeted, compelling
content. Learn how an “audience-first” approach can inform who needs to hear which story about our elections, who they trust as
messengers, and the key messages that will most likely resonate.

11:45 am 2026 Annual EVN Awards Ceremony
Genya Coulter, OSET Institute, Chair EVN Awards Committee

12:45 pm Annual EVN Awards Luncheon
Catherine B. Reynold Foundation Lobby

1:45 pm Keynote Address
Abramson Family Auditorium
Pam Anderson, MPA, CERA, Electionland

2:45 pm When Democracy Is Tested: How Cross-Sector Collaboration Protects Elections
Moderator: Avani Singh, Brennan Center for Justice
Panelists: Kathy Boockvar, Athena Strategies, LLC; Aaron Hayman, Social Scout; Nathan Jaramillo, Bernalillo County, NM
In recent years, the United States has witnessed an alarming rise in political violence targeting elections and elected officials. From
swatting incidents and bomb threats to denial-of-service attacks, and confrontations with so-called First Amendment Auditors, these
threats undermine public trust and pose significant risks to the physical safety of election officials, law enforcement, and voters. This
session will explore how partnerships between election officials, law enforcement, and other stakeholders were absolutely critical to
ensuring the integrity and resilience of the 2024 and 2025 elections, with learnings that can be applied to this year’s midterms. In
addition, law enforcement quick reference guides and other election-related resources will be provided.

3:30 pm Break sponsored by Microsoft
Pearlstein Family Foyer

3:45 pm The Future of Election Security Testing
Abramson Family Auditorium
Moderator: Jared Marcotte, The Turnout, LLC
Panelists: Lindsey Forson, NASS; Commissioner Don Palmer, U.S. EAC; Dave Tackett, WV SoS Office; Spencer Wood, Election Security Exchange
Artificial intelligence and the constantly evolving cybersecurity landscape make security testing particularly challenging, especially for
under-resourced election offices. This panel will explore how election offices can modify their security policies to ensure that developers
implement security best practices and account for AI developments in their security processes. Panelists will discuss security resources,
cybersecurity tests, state security initiatives, and national verification programs, like RABET-V.

Friday, March 20

8:00 am Breakfast/Check-in (Registration table sponsored by Bipartisan Policy Center)
Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation Lobby

8:50 am Welcome & Introductions
Abramson Family Auditorium
Kevin Skoglund, Citizens for Better Elections; EVN Coordinating Committee Chair
Grace Gordon, The Turnout, LLC; 2026 EVN Conference Co-Chair
Corrie Emerson, Verified Voting; 2026 EVN Conference Co-Chair

9:00 am Keynote Address
The Honorable Adrian Fontes, Secretary of State, AZ

10:00 am Preparing For—And Protecting Against—Federal Seizure of Voting Equipment
Moderator: Susannah Goodman, Common Cause
Panelists: Matt Crane, CO County Clerks Association; Liz Howard, Brennan Center for Justice; Gowri Ramachandran, Brennan Center for Justice
The president and his administration have signaled that they have the authority to seize voting machines, and as we have witnessed in the
president’s second term, all threats must be taken seriously. The panel will explore various legal scenarios in which voting machines (or
voting machine parts) could be seized by federal authorities before, during, or after an election and the potential impacts on our elections.
The panel will discuss counter strategies to inoculate, prevent, and recover from the impact of voting equipment seizure including legal
strategies for advocates and election officials, communications tactics, and organizing strategies.

10:45 am Break
Pearlstein Family Foyer

11:00 am What is Good? Considerations for Setting Audit Standards
Moderator: Matt Bernhard, Enhanced Voting
Panelists: Pam Anderson, Electionland; Mark Lindeman, Verified Voting; Jennifer Morrell, Elections Group
Election audits have become an increasingly popular mechanism for jurisdictions to provide transparency and robustness to their election
processes. However, there are no uniform standards for election audits, be they inter-election, voter roll audits, pre-election logic and
accuracy audits, election day quality assurance audits, post-election tabulation audits, or more. State requirements vary greatly, and the
EAC has recently indicated it is working on its own standards. This panel will explore the current audit landscape, discuss the factors that
make good audit standards, and the considerations needed to both assure quality and allow policymakers and election officials to deploy
them effectively.

12:00 pm Connecting Experts, Advancing Security
Abramson Family Auditorium
Moderator: Spencer Wood, Election Security Exchange
Panelists: Luke Belant, NCSL; Chris Piper, Election Security Exchange; Meshach Walker, NJ SoS Office
The panel will open with an overview of today’s election security threats, then shift to how strong partnerships can turn strategy into action.
Attendees will learn to leverage existing resources and build alliances across security experts, technologists, election officials, and the
public. We will highlight how the election support community can assist local and state officials facing resource and capacity challenges,
and close by sharing best practices and building common ground on security measures.

12:45 pm Lunch sponsored by Verified Voting
Catherine B Reynolds Foundation Lobby

1:45 pm Protecting Election Officials from Polarization and Political Pressure
Moderator: Kevin Johnson, Election Reformers Network
Panelists: Julie Anderson, After Office Advisors; Paul Kitchen, Floyd County Electoral Board; David Levine, City of Richmond, VA
Politics in America is becoming increasingly existential; both sides fear the other side could destroy the country and will use every
electoral tool imaginable to win. This context creates major pressures on election officials, particularly in our system where partisan-
elected and partisan-appointed local election leaders play such an important role. The panel will present and discuss practical policy
options for increasing the separation between election leaders and the political parties. These options include non-partisan elections,
appointment options, ethics support programs, and conflict-of-interest guardrails.

2:45 pm Responding to Emergencies While Supporting UOCAVA Voters
Moderator: Casandra Hockenberry, The Council of State Governments
Panelists: Karen Brinson Bell, Advance Elections, LLC; Jared Marcotte, The Turnout, LLC
Emergency response in elections requires resilience, flexibility, and preparation. In addition to natural disasters, we have seen the frailty
of the mail system and faced multiple internet and cloud-based outages. These issues affect all voters but, military and overseas voters
require extra attention and detail during emergencies to ensure their ballots are transmitted and received in a timely manner. This panel
will explore the mechanisms necessary to prepare for and respond to emergencies during the election period with special attention to
considerations for UOCAVA voters. Panelists will discuss policies, planning, and real-world scenarios to ensure that election officials
are ready to serve all voters during times of emergency.

3:45 pm Lightning Talks: Building Institutional and Informational Resilience in US Elections with Evidence from Research and Practice
Moderator: Thessalia Merivaki, McCourt School of Public Policy
Speakers: Lisa Bryant, California State University Fresno; Martha Kropf, UNC, Charlotte; Alysoun McLaughlin, UMD;
Natalie Scala, Towson University; Lisa Singh, Georgetown University
1. The spread of false content on social media: A project by researchers at the Massive Data Institute at Georgetown University.
2. Improving turnout and the voter experience: A collaboration between Towson University, the McCourt School of Public Policy at
Georgetown, and the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections.
3. Understanding what voters know – and don’t – about elections: A project by researchers at Connecticut College, the McCourt School of
Public Policy, California State University Fresno and the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.
4. Understanding Overtime, Burnout, and Performance in Election Administration: A project by researchers at the Election Resilience
Lab at the University of Maryland.

4:45 pm Closing Toast
Pearlstein Family Foyer

This conference is sponsored in part by:

Bipartisan Policy Center, The Brennan Center for Justice, Microsoft, The Turnout, LLC, and Verified Voting