From left, the secretaries of state for Nebraska, Bob Evnen; Iowa, Paul Pate; Missouri, Jay Ashcroft; and South Dakota, Monae Johnson. Tuesday (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner).
OMAHA, Neb. — Four secretaries of state and a federal agency director in cybersecurity described their work Wednesday as a line of defense in upholding election integrity and security ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen, in explaining the reason for Wednesday’s summit, asked simply, “Why not?” He said the Midwest states of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota have demonstrated that elections can be safe, smooth and secure.
“Election security is not static. Election security is not a one-and-done deal. Election security is dynamic,” Evnen said at the news conference. “If you’re going to continue to address these dynamic challenges to elections, then you do so in a dynamic fashion.”
The ‘imperative’ of election confidence
The National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center , or NCITE, headquartered at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, hosted the event.