NASS 2021 Winter Virtual Conference Highlights

For Immediate Release — Feb. 11, 2021 —Washington, D.C. — The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) held a Virtual Winter Conference February 2-5, 2021. A bipartisan group of 39 Secretaries of State and Lieutenant Gover­nors, along with over 400 senior state government staff, federal, nonprofit and private sector represent­atives attended the online sessions.

Additionally, NASS was pleased to have the active participation of Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senate Committee on Rules and Administration Chair, Senator Roy Blunt, Senate Committee on Rules and Administration Ranking Member, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, House Committee on Administration Chair, Congressman Rodney Davis House Committee on Administration Ranking Member, and Con­gressman Jim Langevin, Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus Co-Chair. Each Member of Congress discussed issues relevant to the duties of Secretaries of State.

Conference Highlights

Conference Sessions - Open sessions of the conference were recorded and have been posted to the NASS conference page:

*Business Meeting

*Business Services Committee

*Cybersecurity Committee

*Elections Committee

*General Session - State Priorities in the New Biden Administration

*Session - Fireside Chat with Mr. Brandon Wales, Acting Director of CISA

*Workshop - Case Studies: Correcting Election Misinformation

*Workshop - Remote Online Notarization

The full conference agenda is available here, which includes a complete list of speakers and organiza­tions.

National Awards -

New NASS John Lewis Youth Leadership Award - On February 5, 2021, members voted to estab­lish the John Lewis Youth Leadership Award. This award aims to honor the impact of the extraordinary accomplishments of Congressman John Lewis that have inspired America’s young leaders to do great things for their communities.

NASS members can select and award a civic-minded, young person in their state each calendar year who demonstrates leadership, has a passion for social justice, and works to improve the quality of life for their fellow citizens. Read the full release here.

Margaret Chase Smith Award - The 2020 Margaret Chase Smith American Democracy Award for po­litical courage honoree, Mr. Bryan Stevenson, was recognized. Mr. Stevenson is a public interest law­yer, and the founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative. He was nominated by Ala­bama Secretary of State John Merrill. Read the full release here. 

Resolutions - The following NASS policy resolutions were approved by member vote on Feb. 5 during the NASS Business Meeting:

*NASS Resolution on Threats of Violence Toward Election Officials and Election Workers

*NASS Resolution on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Financial Assistance after a Disaster

*NASS Resolution on State, Local and Federal Responsibilities for Election Reform

Also, the NASS Elections Committee during their Feb. 4 meeting allowed the following NASS reso­lution to expire early:

*NASS Resolution Opposing Designation of Elections as Critical Infrastructure

Corporate Affiliate White Papers - Each year, NASS corporate affiliates submit white papers show­casing their expertise:

*BallotTrax

*Center for Internet Security

*Civix

*CT Corporation

*Cyber Defenses  

*OPEX

*Synack

*Voatz

Announcements - The 2021 NASS Summer Conference, hosted by Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, is currently planned to take place in Des Moines, Iowa, August 13-16.

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Media Contact:
Maria Benson, Director of Communications
mbenson@sso.org | 202-624-3528 | www.nass.org