On October 20, the Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) Executive Education Program hosted a center-wide conversation on election security for CHDS students, alumni, faculty, and staff with a panel of national thought leaders and subject matter experts. The conversation, titled “Ensuring Safe and Secure Elections,” was part of the Executive Education Program Lecture and Webinar Series and focused on safety and security measures for the fall 2020 US elections. During the live webinar, panelists reviewed current and emerging election threats and discussed how homeland security leaders should incorporate these into their preparedness efforts.
The panel discussion was moderated by Dr. Chris Bellavita, CHDS Academic Programs Director. The panelists represented a diverse range of professionals involved in election security and included Elvis Chan, Supervisory Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Chad Houck, Deputy Secretary of State, Office of the Idaho Secretary of State; Lt. Col. Chris Kelenske, Deputy Director, Michigan State Police; and Brian Scully, Director of the Countering Foreign Influence Task Force, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Elvis Chan and Chad Houck are currently enrolled in the CHDS master’s program (CA2001/2002) and Chris Kelenske is a CHDS master’s graduate (NCR1003/1004). Participants were encouraged to submit questions for the panel in advance, but the panel also addressed questions posed by attendees during the live webinar. Many of the past Lecture and Webinar Series recordings are available to watch.
The Homeland Security Digital Library (HSDL) has also assembled a special collection of resources for the latest issue of In Focus that examines the 2020 US Presidential Election. Selected topics range from Election Infodemic to Safeguarding the Vote to Voting in a Pandemic to Voter Suppression. Each HSDL In Focus brings together short lists of resources in the HSDL collection that are highly relevant to current events and available to the general public. Past issues of In Focus have examined topics such as Supreme Court Nominations, Policing Protests, and COVID Conspiracies.
