Last-resort ballots are increasingly being rejected for technical errors in Pennsylvania. Why?

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There has been a growing and concerning trend in Pennsylvania’s elections: increasing rejections of provisional ballots due to minor, fixable technical errors. Kathy Boockvar spoke with Votebeat about these patterns and what might explain and prevent them. Boockvar and county election officials explained that the rise in rejected provisional ballots may be driven by a … Read more

How Trump’s ‘Conspiracy-Driven Policy Making’ Could Throw Elections Into Chaos

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Kathy Boockvar spoke with the Democracy Docket about President Trump’s “election integrity” executive order (EO), explaining that in addition to violating the U.S. Constitution and other federal laws, it also fails to understand the elections infrastructure ecosystem, timeframes, and needs across the country. Boockvar and other election security experts explained that the EO is full … Read more

How Trump’s new Executive Order could impact elections

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On March 25th President Trump issued an “election integrity” executive order (EO) covering a range of election issues including documentary proof of citizenship; voting system standards; timing of mail/absentee ballot return; DOGE review of voter data; and more. Kathy Boockvar spoke with several news outlets about this EO, explaining that it not only violates the … Read more

Federal cuts to information-sharing groups may damage nation’s security posture, warn officials

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Kathy Boockvar recently spoke with StateScoop on the threats to election security caused by the current Administration’s cuts to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC). Boockvar warned that our foreign and domestic adversaries are continually looking to attack American election systems and that reducing election … Read more

Pennsylvania awards $10.6 million contract to modernize its 22-year-old election system 

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Kathy Boockvar was recently interviewed by the Pennsylvania Capital-Star about the recent announcement that Pennsylvania has awarded a contract with government technology provider Civix to replace and upgrade PA’s voter registration, election night reporting, campaign finance, and lobbyist registration systems.     Boockvar noted that Civix has a strong reputation in the industry and understands the need … Read more

Trump’s cuts to federal cybersecurity agency CISA leave election officials worried 

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The Trump administration has made further significant cuts to important federal cyber and election security agencies and programs, elevating risks to national and election security and presenting serious challenges for state, county and local officials.  In a recent story by Votebeat about the cuts to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”), Kathy Boockvar described … Read more

Efforts to fight foreign influence and protect elections in question under Trump

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Kathy Boockvar recently spoke with NPR about the Trump administration’s cuts to the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and termination of the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force. Both these agencies have been key in helping defend against foreign influence in U.S. elections and supporting election officials’ work to strengthen election … Read more

2024: Year in Review

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Looking back on an enormously busy and productive year, Athena Strategies is very thankful for all our friends and partners and their great work in 2024, and we are very proud of our efforts to support election officials and strengthen election processes. And we especially want to thank election workers yet again for their continued … Read more

Election denialism has staying power even after Trump’s win 

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Though widespread claims of voter fraud have quieted some because President-Elect Trump won the election, the years of casting doubt on our election processes have had significant impact. Allegations, rumors, disputes, and disinformation campaigns continue, especially in swing states, and the public generally does not understand all the election security processes and guardrails that go … Read more

2020’s debunked election fraud claims are coming back due to Trump’s 2024 victory 

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As the results of the 2024 general election were being tabulated, Kathy Boockvar joined NPR to weigh in on baseless conspiracy theories and claims of election interference.  Boockvar noted that the last four years of fabricated attacks on election integrity have eroded the public’s trust in the process, resulting in a rise in suspicion among … Read more

Pennsylvania prepares for a recount as Casey and McCormick campaigns focus on ballots 

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The Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race between Bob Casey and Dave McCormick entered a recount due to a margin of under 0.5% between them, with approximately 7 million ballots cast. With certification not yet having occurred and canvassing and legal challenges of provisional and undated mail-in votes in process, Kathy Boockvar spoke with the Pennsylvania Capital-Star … Read more

After a bruising 4 years, a hope for normalcy in American elections 

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Kathy Boockvar recently spoke with Stateline to discuss the significant challenges faced by election officials during the past four years, including threats, harassment, and intentional disinformation campaigns, largely fueled by false claims of election fraud. While there were countless claims of fraud in the lead up to this year’s Election Day, once results began to … Read more