WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:01.320 Good afternoon, Voting Village. 00:01.420 --> 00:02.780 My name is Thor Ascenti. 00:02.780 --> 00:09.340 I'm the Director of Business and Government Affairs at the National Cyber Security Center, and I'm Maddie Gullickson, and I'm the Program Manager for Secure the Vote. 00:09.440 --> 00:11.300 We'd like to thank all of you for having us here today. 00:11.300 --> 00:14.280 We're excited to have our presentation accepted to the Voting Village. 00:14.280 --> 00:17.020 We look forward to future years in our work in elections. 00:17.440 --> 00:19.640 So we're with the National Cyber Security Center. 00:19.640 --> 00:22.640 We're a 501c3 based out of Colorado Springs, Colorado. 00:22.960 --> 00:29.860 We were founded in 2016, and a lot of our big focus has to do with cyber innovation and awareness and solving world cyber problems. 00:29.860 --> 00:42.720 We work in areas like space, where we actually have a presentation from one of our fellow colleagues in the Aerospace Village today, as well as areas like smart city technology like ICS and K-12, so being the future of the cyber workforce. 00:43.020 --> 00:48.840 Our presentation today is about the electronic ballot return standards and guidelines, titled The Future of Voting. 00:48.840 --> 00:56.560 I want to start off by talking a little bit about who we are, what the program is, and kind of how we fit into this whole picture. 00:56.780 --> 01:07.820 I want to start off by acknowledging that Secure the Vote is a nonpartisan , multi-agency, multi-policy group that kind of goes after a layered challenge. 01:07.880 --> 01:23.360 A lot of the different things out there with groups like EAC, CIS, the Election Security ISAC, even groups like Verified Voting, MIT, Alliance for Securing Democracy, all tackle different aspects of our election security problem in the U.S. 01:23.500 --> 01:36.840 And the combination of all these has led to a brilliant ecosystem in the United States that allows us for us to be able to publish and listen to and advocate for different policy standards, guidelines, whether it be at the federal or state and local levels. 01:37.520 --> 01:44.920 And a lot of our focus has primarily been on the ways that we can identify different gaps in critical infrastructure related to elections. 01:45.180 --> 01:54.580 So the first gap that we've really identified that we really want to talk about, the reason why we're here again, is all about this gap where security exists in the conversation of election technology. 01:55.620 --> 02:03.760 Security traditionally over this past, you know, four or five years has become an even heightened level of focus in the world of election security. 02:04.660 --> 02:13.920 So we're not going to say that we're going to become the new experts, but the biggest thing for us is all about identifying the critical piece of the future of voting technology. 02:13.920 --> 02:20.740 And what it means is that we've identified that security, cyber security specifically, is a barrier to the future of election technology. 02:20.740 --> 02:34.200 And what that looks like is that if people with disabilities or overseas voters or even the everyday person who might have an emergency come up and they can't get to their mail ballot or in-person voting, that there's more and more calls, especially after the pandemic, 02:34.200 --> 02:35.560 that people want to do this. 02:35.560 --> 02:42.260 But the biggest thing, the community agrees, the security is an issue and is a barrier to the future of where these technologies can go. 02:42.540 --> 02:44.780 And that's why we're interested in the conversation today. 02:46.140 --> 02:50.380 A little more background on us and how we've kind of learned more about this space and why. 02:50.380 --> 02:56.640 Our program was started in the middle of 2018, specifically to work on helping address security issues for overseas voters. 02:56.960 --> 03:06.240 Since then, we've participated in reviewing post-election logs and got feedback from jurisdictions in 10 pilots involving the use of mobile and online voting between 2019 and 2020. 03:06.820 --> 03:12.780 And like all critics of online voting, in every single pilot, we saw the need for enhancing these technologies. 03:13.120 --> 03:16.000 We also saw that there was also increased demand. 03:16.000 --> 03:23.080 Of the pilots we worked in, there was at least two to one, if in some cases three to one, in more demand for more places to use it. 03:23.080 --> 03:26.940 But the number one reason people chose not to is because of security concerns. 03:27.200 --> 03:40.720 So the more we try and understand these technologies and find and understand the different things that address the gap between where we are today, where we are tomorrow, consistently between election officials, the security community, and the academic community, 03:40.720 --> 03:46.200 we consistently see that these technologies are not going away, but the desire for them is growing. 03:46.500 --> 03:50.060 And to go back to the beginning, security is still a barrier. 03:50.440 --> 04:10.620 And through those pilots, some of the things that we have seen that are part of that core security problem are critical need for end-to-end verification of votes that maintains the secrecy of the ballot, critical need for common standards around better verification procedures and policies. 04:10.820 --> 04:17.880 Again, there's really no federally mandated or even state-mandated requirements around these newer technologies. 04:17.880 --> 04:24.800 And so there is a need for common standards around voter information privacy procedures as well. 04:24.920 --> 04:39.160 And also one of the biggest concerns is that vulnerability of the voters devices that may have problems on them that could hurt the system and interfere with the vote. 04:39.200 --> 04:49.160 And so we really need to have a system in place and standards in place that these newer technologies can be held accountable to. 04:49.160 --> 04:53.160 We need pre-election reviews and post-election reviews. 04:53.160 --> 05:02.000 We need the same kind of a level of guidelines that are offered through the Voluntary Voting System guidelines, the EAC. 05:02.440 --> 05:10.220 And that's really where we are working with, we have a working group that is looking at these different issues. 05:10.220 --> 05:14.040 We continue to look at these issues through the pilots. 05:14.480 --> 05:35.060 But ultimately, again, we're really working on these questions because even in 2016 there were about 3 million overseas voters who were eligible to vote, but only 6.9 percent of them actually submitted a ballot, compared to a 72 percent rate of domestic voters who are eligible to vote. 05:35.060 --> 05:51.160 We're doing this because if disabled voters had had the same access that voters without disabilities had in the 2018 election, we would have seen a rate increase of about 2.35 million additional voters participating in the system. 05:51.660 --> 06:04.780 You know, ultimately we live in the 21st century and we shouldn't accept that people living overseas or with disabilities don't vote because they struggle with access to voting centers or because they lack the privacy to do so. 06:04.780 --> 06:13.920 And this just, this slide in particular, just demonstrates that technology is a part of voting and it is part of our infrastructure. 06:13.920 --> 06:20.560 We have email and fax are already continually used by over 31 states. 06:20.560 --> 06:26.300 We have web portals that are allowing people to return a ballot via a web portal. 06:26.380 --> 06:30.080 So the technology exists, it's moving in that direction. 06:30.380 --> 06:42.260 Again, we just believe that there needs to be a common set of standards and guidelines that can be used to help provide those guardrails as this technology develops. 06:44.100 --> 06:59.660 When we look back at our progress in voting, one of the biggest things, and this drives home the point that Forrest was making, is we see that most of our legislation around voting has had to do with undoing policy barriers that have kept, actively kept, 06:59.660 --> 07:01.180 people from voting. 07:01.180 --> 07:04.820 For the 21st century, what is that going to look like? 07:04.820 --> 07:12.800 It's going to look like trying to undo the barriers of technology and security as, as the things that prohibit people from voting. 07:13.320 --> 07:26.000 And so as we look to that future, we want to, we want to participate with as many people as possible and collaborate with as many people as possible to figure out what does that future state of voting look like? 07:26.000 --> 07:32.980 What is the timeline going to look like in the next 10 to 30 years of legislation that we see, of technological advancements that we see? 07:33.200 --> 07:34.520 You know, these are some ideas. 07:34.520 --> 07:37.180 These are some of the things that we'd love to see happen. 07:37.400 --> 07:42.740 And, and we understand the concern about, about these, these types of technologies taking place today. 07:43.180 --> 07:46.960 But the point is, is that, that it isn't going away. 07:47.220 --> 07:49.600 And, and so how do we work together? 07:49.600 --> 07:52.140 How do we come together to figure out how to make these things happen? 07:52.140 --> 08:02.460 Because we believe that with the collective genius of the elections community and of the security community, we can make end-to-end voter verification a reality. 08:02.460 --> 08:08.960 We can make full-scale citizen audits of these a reality . 08:09.480 --> 08:13.780 And so this is what we envision when we see the timeline going forward. 08:13.860 --> 08:16.400 And , and what gets us excited about it. 08:16.400 --> 08:27.380 You know, there's, with, with the different organizations that we've worked with, blockchain has been one of the, one of the ways that people have been able to, one of the technologies that people have used. 08:27.380 --> 08:28.620 Is that the right way? 08:28.620 --> 08:30.020 Does it complicate things? 08:30.020 --> 08:31.400 Or does it make it safer? 08:32.260 --> 08:38.360 AWS as, as the secure cloud service, is that the right way? 08:39.340 --> 08:45.300 These are the kinds of conversations that we need to be having, not just the binary conversation of it shouldn't or it should. 08:45.440 --> 08:47.240 The fact is that it is. 08:47.260 --> 08:50.820 And so we have to have that conversation about what this looks like moving forward. 08:51.120 --> 09:02.720 And, where we wanted to come to the voting village, which is really that we want feedback. 09:03.100 --> 09:06.160 We know so many of you have thought through these things. 09:06.280 --> 09:19.540 And we want to provide that place where you can offer your advice and your feedback on how we can make these things the safest, the most secure, but ultimately the most accessible. 09:19.720 --> 09:23.760 Because that's the, that's the whole point of this thing in the, in the first place. 09:24.140 --> 09:30.720 And to get really sentimental about voting, I mean, it is truly the bedrock of our representative democracy. 09:30.720 --> 09:42.420 If we still have significant barriers to voting, that whole piece, the integrity of that, that institution in itself is, is undermined. 09:42.420 --> 09:45.000 And so, so we want your feedback. 09:45.000 --> 09:54.900 And so if you, if you have thoughts, questions about it, even, please email us at securethevote at cyber-center.org. 09:54.900 --> 10:05.300 We also will have an RFI that's going to go live this month for solutions to some of these key issues, like we talked through, that are associated with, with mobile or online voting. 10:05.800 --> 10:09.700 So please email us to receive a notification when that goes live. 10:09.700 --> 10:15.160 If you've got that next brilliant idea of how you think you can tackle a piece of this. 10:15.160 --> 10:16.260 Excellent. 10:16.320 --> 10:19.320 Well, a big thanks again to the Voting Village for having us. 10:19.620 --> 10:27.640 We want to thank you and just reaffirm that this issue is not just a security technology, security communities issue. 10:27.640 --> 10:34.100 This goes out to all the different election officials, government organizations, nonprofits, and think things out there that are all working on this. 10:34.180 --> 10:39.400 Whether you're against it or for it, there's a component of this that will be driving into the future. 10:39.640 --> 10:43.360 And if it's going to happen, the best thing we can do is make it as secure as possible. 10:43.360 --> 10:44.040 So thank you. 10:48.940 --> 10:55.340 Hi, this is Colorado Governor Jared Polis and I want to thank everyone involved with this effort to secure the vote. 10:55.340 --> 10:58.400 Voting is the most sacred right that we have in America. 10:58.400 --> 11:07.120 It's the right that protects all of our other rights, which means that we need to do everything that we can to safeguard voting. 11:07.400 --> 11:12.500 I'm proud that Colorado has been a national model for voting rights. 11:12.500 --> 11:29.000 With our all mail ballot system that guarantees paper trail for every vote, same day registration and so many other protections, we're not only recognized as one of the most secure election states, but one of the top states for voter participation and turnout as well. 11:29.000 --> 11:32.140 But we can't rest on our laurels and our past success. 11:32.140 --> 11:37.980 We need to continue to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow, which is why I'm proud. 11:37.980 --> 11:51.780 The one initiative led by the National Cybersecurity Center started right here in Colorado to secure the vote pilot program, where over 4,000 Coloradans use the blockchain secured mobile voting application to cast their vote. 11:51.780 --> 12:00.320 That program from Denver has since expanded to six other states, and now includes other technologies to also secure our vote and empower voters. 12:00.320 --> 12:07.960 Free and fair elections are the bedrock of democracy, and we need to work together to protect the integrity of our elections together. 12:08.160 --> 12:15.440 Thank you for your work on this critical and important initiative to make sure everyone has confidence that their vote will be counted. 12:16.840 --> 12:17.800 Good afternoon. 12:17.800 --> 12:19.320 My name is Jocelyn Beccaro. 12:19.320 --> 12:22.060 I'm the Director of Elections for the City and County of Denver. 12:22.220 --> 12:27.000 And I want to thank the National Cybersecurity Center for the invitation to be a part of this video. 12:27.220 --> 12:35.620 I am here because COVID-19 has highlighted the need for more options for voters to vote safely and securely, particularly voters with disabilities. 12:35.840 --> 12:45.900 Many states already offer some form of electronic delivery and return for some voters, but unfortunately, these voting technologies exist without robust standards for safety and security. 12:45.900 --> 12:48.640 This crisis has shown why we can't wait. 12:48.640 --> 13:02.820 We need all levels of government security, policy, and technology to join with election officials to establish better standards and guidelines to implement new technology solutions so all voters can vote safely and securely. 13:02.820 --> 13:04.080 Thank you so much. 13:05.060 --> 13:07.540 Hi, my name is Amelia Powers Gardner. 13:07.540 --> 13:13.500 I'm the Utah County Clerk Auditor, and I'm here to bring you a challenge, one that I'm confident you can accomplish. 13:13.800 --> 13:17.240 As you know, this week, we mark an important milestone. 13:17.600 --> 13:23.040 Astronauts safely returned to Earth from the space station for the first time aboard a private vessel. 13:23.200 --> 13:33.860 Add to that the mere fact that we have put men on the moon, can 3D print internal organs, and there's even emerging technology that can edit DNA. 13:33.860 --> 13:41.920 Technology has radically transformed the human experience and solved a great number of our challenges, both large and small. 13:41.920 --> 13:46.640 It's time to start finding voting solutions for the 21st century. 13:46.640 --> 13:58.040 It's no longer acceptable to suppress votes of an entire demographic or to accept low voter turnout because of weather, natural disasters, or a pandemic . 13:58.080 --> 14:01.260 Mobile voting is the future of elections. 14:01.320 --> 14:09.440 Upcoming generations demand it, and our current generations need to embrace it as a solution to age-old problems with voting. 14:09.440 --> 14:24.940 Our current voting methods require extensive logistics and cost a lot of money while still failing many voters, including those with disabilities, those with lower socioeconomic status, and our men and women serving us in the military. 14:24.940 --> 14:32.620 It's time to stop saying it can't be done, and it is time to start finding a way to do mobile voting. 14:32.620 --> 14:43.500 The industry needs to create standards that innovators can strive to accomplish and that election administrators like myself can use to judge potential solutions by. 14:43.640 --> 14:48.480 Join me in improving the way we do democracy in the 21st century. 14:48.480 --> 14:49.300 Thank you.