Remarks from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Benjamin Hovland, Chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), delivers keynote remarks to the DEF CON Voting Village detailing federal initiatives to secure the 2020 presidential election amid the COVID-19 pandemic [00:00]. Hovland outlines the mission of the bipartisan EAC as the federal clearinghouse for voting system testing, certification standards, and grant administration for state and local election jurisdictions [03:30].

Hovland highlights the Rapid Architecture-Based Election Technology Verification (RABBIT) program, an innovative EAC initiative designed to provide agile security testing and verification for non-voting-machine election technology, such as electronic pollbooks, election night reporting (ENR) websites, and electronic ballot delivery systems [06:48]. He notes positive cultural shifts among commercial voting equipment manufacturers, who are increasingly embracing coordinated vulnerability disclosure programs, threat intelligence sharing, and formal bug bounties with security researchers [10:16].

The presentation emphasizes the critical role of the independent security research community in auditing election systems and identifying technical flaws before adversaries can exploit them [13:35]. Hovland concludes by addressing the severe shortage of poll workers caused by the pandemic, issuing a call for tech-savvy DEF CON attendees to volunteer as election workers to support secure and fair voting operations [16:52].

(AI summary — Gemini Flash)