WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, September 30, Georgetown Law’s Project on State and Local Government and Policy Law program (SALPAL) presents a live discussion: “Secretary of State: Behind-the-Scenes Guardian of the 2020 Elections.”

WHAT

Hear the latest efforts to ensure election integrity from two pivotal state election officials – the current and next president of the National Association of Secretaries of State – New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver (D) and Louisiana Secretary of State R. Kyle Ardroin (R).

In 2000, election recount procedures in Florida’s tight presidential race made its then-Secretary of State Katherine Harris a national figure—with the outcome ultimately resolved by the Supreme Court. Since then, the work of Secretaries of State largely retreated behind the scenes, but now the COVID-19 pandemic and shifting voting patterns will dramatically increase mail-in and absentee ballots in the 2020 presidential election.

Already, Republican state legislative leaders have filed legal challenges to the timeline for counting mail-in ballots, including suits naming Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar as the defendant. Will Pennsylvania be the Florida of 2016? What is going on in other battleground states? What steps are being taken to assure a speedy and secure canvass of the votes? Join a discussion covering key responsibilities of Secretaries of State: election database security, voting machines and paper ballots, recount procedures, coordination with local and county officials to maintain voter registration integrity. Read more on topics to be discussed here.

WHO

R. Kyle Ardroin, Louisiana Secretary of State; President-Elect, National Association of Secretaries of State

Maggie Toulouse Oliver, New Mexico Secretary of State; President, National Association of Secretaries of State

Professor Paul Smith, (moderator) Georgetown Law; Vice President of Strategy, Campaign Legal Center

With comments from:

Meryl Chertoff – Executive Director of Georgetown Law’s Project on State and Local Government Policy (SALPAL)

Professor Sheila Foster, Georgetown Law; Faculty Advisor, SALPAL

Dean William M. Treanor, Georgetown Law

WHEN

Wednesday, September 30, 2020
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm EDT (4-5pm CT / 3-4pm MT/ 2-3pm PT)

WHERE

Zoom webinar link available upon registration.

RSVP

Click here to register.

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