Author: Severin Walker, M3AAWG Chairman

The digitization of voting machines, the general reliance on digital communications, and the global health crisis have introduced new threats complicating the election landscape. But democracy depends on free and fair elections, so election security in today’s context has become an all-hands effort and everyone involved must now be equally engaged in cybersecurity. 

Over the years M3AAWG’s mission has continued to expand to cover other abuse vectors, many directly relevant to securing election systems. We were honored to have Barbara Simons, Ph.D., deliver the keynote presentation, “Voting in the Age of COVID-19”, this morning at M3AAWG’s 50th General Meeting. 

Simons is the board chair of Verified Voting, a member of the Board of Advisors of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, and the co-author of the book, “Broken Ballots: Will Your Vote Count?”. She has been a leading voice on technology policy issues for more than 40 years and co-authored numerous reports and studies on how to improve our voting systems.

During “Voting in the Age of COVID-19”, Simons explored the status of the upcoming election, voting security, post-election ballot audits, and more.

Please enjoy the full presentation below.