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A potential federal shutdown is yet another thing for election officials to worry about

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Athena Strategies President Kathy Boockvar recently spoke with Votebeat about the implications of a government shutdown on voting and the electoral process. Drawing from her experiences as Pennsylvania Secretary of State during the 2019 U.S. government shutdown, Boockvar described how Pennsylvania was at a critical point in the process of certifying new voting systems as the 2019 potential shutdown loomed. At the time, Pennsylvania was requiring all counties to procure updated voting systems meeting current standards of security and accessibility before the 2020 election, including auditable paper ballots. Boockvar discussed the challenges they faced in racing against time to move the federal certification forward, as well as other potential implications on election security.

For more insights into how a government shutdown could impact election processes, read the full article here.