Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos and Staff Attend Election Security Tabletop Exercise and National Conference

February 06 2020

Montpelier, VT – Last week Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos attended the annual Winter Conference held in Washington, D.C. by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). Preceding the conference, Secretary Condos and staff members joined with Secretaries, election officials, federal agency staff, and private sector vendors from across the country to participate in an elections security tabletop exercise held by the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

“Protecting the security and integrity of our democratic process requires non-stop diligence and vigilance,” said Secretary Condos. “It takes a team effort between state election officials, our federal intelligence community partners, and the private sector vendors who support our infrastructure. Opportunities like the CISA tabletop exercise help us all ensure we stay one step ahead of the bad actors.”

Representatives from 45 states, 11 federal agencies, and 16 private sector vendors participated in the tabletop exercise, which featured worst-case scenario response planning and discussion.

Vermont Deputy Secretary of State Chris Winters, Elections Director Will Senning, and Chief of Staff Eric Covey also participated in the tabletop exercise.

Following the tabletop exercise, Secretary Condos and staff attended the annual NASS Winter Conference, which featured sessions on cybersecurity, voting systems, countering foreign influence, election preparedness, combatting disinformation on social media, business services, and state archives.

“The opportunity to join with colleagues from around the country to share ideas and best practices allows us to share our successes in Vermont and, more importantly, bring ideas back to the Green Mountain State to improve how my office serves Vermonters,” said Secretary Condos.

NASS is the nation's oldest, nonpartisan professional organization for public officials. Secretary Condos is the immediate past President of NASS.