CATEGORY: NASS

NASS 2025 Summer Conference Highlights

For Immediate Release
August 13, 2025

Washington, D.C. — 27 Secretaries of State, senior staff members, as well as nonprofit and private sector representatives met for the 108th annual summer meeting of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). The conference was held in Biloxi, Mississippi, August 4-7. Many productive discussions took place on relevant issues including election administration, business services, international relations, civics education, cyber and physical security, state records, and more.

On August 7, Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson was sworn in as the association’s President, along with his new Executive Board. View the NASS 2025-2026 leadership release here.

Conference Highlights

Keynote Remarks: Ben and Erin Napier, successful Mississippi business owners, authors and HGTV hosts, along with Dr. Catherine and Taylor Sledge, discussed their organization Osprey (Old School Parents Raising Engaged Youth), which promotes healthy online habits for children. They provided remarks on their mission and goals during the August 5 luncheon.

Speakers: Over 25 states shared presentations on their programs and practices. See the agenda here for links to many of those informative presentations. Additionally, various organizations joined the conference to present on their work including JustFOIA, Microsoft Tech for Society and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC).

National Awards:

During the August 6 breakfast, the Office of the Mississippi Secretary of State received the 2025 NASS IDEAS Award, which recognizes innovation and excellence in state programming for their “SOS Student Ambassador” program. View the NASS release here.

NASS also announced it will award the 2025 Margaret Chase Smith American Democracy Award for political courage to the Benedictine Sisters of Erie. They were nominated by the Office of the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth for their work to combat false election claims and promote civic engagement during the 2024 election. The award will be presented at the NASS 2026 Winter Conference in Washington, D.C.

Resolutions: The following resolutions were approved by member vote during the August 7 Business Meeting:

Corporate Affiliate Issue Papers: Each year, NASS Corporate Affiliates submit issue papers showcasing their capabilities. This summer's submissions include:

BallotDA: Fueling Election Success through Design Thinking
Civix: How Common Data Standards Are Reshaping State & Federal Integration
CT Corporation: Important Considerations for Business Entity Principal Address Listings
Docusign: Making Government More Efficient Through Technology
Enhanced Voting: The Election Audit Process and Its Importance to the Elections Industry
Mandiant: A Phased Approach to Election Security and Checklist for Officials
MobileVoting: Using Rigorous Digital Engineering (RDE) to Build an End-to-End Verifiable Voting System Cryptographic Protocol
MTX: Empowering Public Sector Innovation: The Role of AI in Elections, Business Services, LPI, and Grants Management
Northwest Registered Agent: Fighting Fraudulent Business Filings Through Modernization
Proof: Updating the Identity Proofing Paradigm for Remote Online Notarization
VoteProof: How a Paper Receipt Can Enhance Voter Trust and Create an End-to-End Verifiable System

Please note, NASS does not endorse, authorize, or approve products or services offered by Corporate Affiliates.

Announcements: For the NASS 2027 Summer Conference, the membership selected Manchester, New Hampshire. Future NASS conference dates and details as they become available are featured on our event page.

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Media Contacts:

Maria Benson, Senior Director of Communications
mbenson@nass.org | 202-624-3528

Brittany Hamilton, Communications & Special Projects Manager
bhamilton@nass.org