We’re the first to admit it—election security has not always been the hottest ticket in town, but after the 2016 election proved to be a watershed moment that vaulted questions of election security into the public eye, we were thrilled to see our work and the work of our partners garnering more widespread attention in 2017 than ever before. We thank you, and all our collaborators, for making a year of impact possible, for this is truly a team effort, achieving safeguards none of us could achieve alone.

As we look forward to building on our momentum throughout 2018 we share the following brief recap of some top accomplishments during this past year:

Verified Voting—experts in the spotlight

Verified Voting made headlines with a record number of high-profile hits in traditional and digital media—we’re proud to say the media continues to see Verified Voting as the go-to experts on all voting and election security issues. Here are links to a few 2017 media highlights in case you missed them:

• The New York Times ran a sweeping front page story on voting system security featuring Verified Voting
• The Rachel Maddow Show interviewed Verified Voting to shed light on the increasing reports of voting systems security breaches in 2016
• The Atlantic profiled Verified Voting Board Chair Barbara Simons and highlighted her decades of work striving to bring attention to election security
• Following Verified Voting’s involvement in DEF CON’s Voting Village, there were a total of 105 media hits – including the New York Times, USA Today, POLITICO, Reuters, VICE and more. The media repeatedly turned to Verified Voting Board Chair Barbara Simons for expertise on what the Voting Village was looking to accomplish and its significance outside of DEF CON.

Verified Voting—behind the scenes

A lot of our work takes place out of the public eye—on Capitol Hill and in state houses around the country. Here are a few examples of our most important “behind the scenes” work in 2017:

• Worked with a bipartisan group of senators and partner organizations (National Election Defense Coalition, Common Cause, Brennan Center) to strengthen the provisions of the Secure Elections Act, S 2261, introduced in December 2017
• Assisted the Commissioner of Elections in VA with resources and information to justify decertification of Direct Recording Electronic Voting Machines (DREs).
• Participated in two congressional briefings on election security
• Testified at a Georgia House of Science and Technology Committee hearing on voting system security at the invitation of the Committee
• Testified in New York on the importance of routine post-election risk limiting audits at the invitation of the State Government committee
• Provided technical expertise for the implementation of risk limiting audits in Colorado by organizing an experts group that reviewed and, on weekly teleconferences with state election officials,suggested revisions to detailed rules issued by the Elections Division
• Aided in developing election data standards (including standards for election results reporting, voter registration information and cast vote records) as a key member of the inter-operability, cyber-security, election process modeling working groups set up by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Election Assistance Commission (EAC) as part of their Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) efforts.
• Assisted in drafting a Risk-limiting Audit law in Rhode Island by working with local partners to explain RLAs to state election officials and legislators and by bringing RI activists into a weekly state audit working group
• Helped advise NY state Election Commissioner about proposed changes to permit automated tools to help conduct post election audits in New York.

Verified Voting—raising awareness

As cyber security and election experts who understand the unique threats to our voting systems created by emergent technology, we feel obligated to share our knowledge and raise awareness in ways that help strengthen our democracy. Here are a couple highlights:

• Provided funding and leadership to establish the highly successful Voting Machine Hacking Village at DEF CON. Verified Voting Board and Advisory Board members made presentations and provided valuable expertise to illuminate the vulnerabilities of voting technologies currently in widespread use across the US.
• Organized a press call following the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on voting system security to inform and educate the press on threats to our elections system.

I was thrilled to join Verified Voting as President in 2017 and look forward to continuing to find new ways to expand our impact in the year to come. Thanks for your support this past year as we worked to safeguard our elections, we couldn’t do it without you!

Sincerely,

Marian K. Schneider, President
Verified Voting