News

ICYMI, Kathy Boockvar recently joined Tina Johnson on her podcast, Let’s Talk Democracy, to discuss election security and participation in our democracy. Throughout the episode, Boockvar and Johnson unpack what makes our election system so strong, the threats and challenges we are confronting today, and the importance of having impactful and meaningful conversations about elections … Read more

It was great to be back at the National Association of Counties (NACo)’s annual conference in Philly! It was like old times for Kathy Boockvar to reunite with Mike Moser (former CISA Election Security Analyst and PA DOS Director of Election Security & Technology) for a fireside chat with Laurel Caldwell (Chief Information Officer, Latah … Read more

A second federal judge late last week issued a preliminary injunction blocking major provisions of President Trump’s executive order (EO) on elections issued in March. Kathy Boockvar was proud to be part of a bipartisan group of former secretaries of state, represented by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), who filed two amicus … Read more

We are excited to welcome Mike Moser as Senior Election Security Advisor to Athena Strategies! Mike has extensive experience in the election security field, having served as the Director of Election Security & Technology at the Pennsylvania Department of State and as an IT Cybersecurity Specialist with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Election Security … Read more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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