California Receives 2020 NASS IDEAS Award

For Immediate Release — July 23, 2020 — Washington, D.C. — The Office of the California Secretary of State has been named the re­cipient of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) 2020 IDEAS (Innovation, Dedication, Excellence and Achievement in Service) Award. Voted on by NASS members, this award recognizes significant state contributions to the mission of NASS.

California’s VoteSure: A Public Education Campaign Encouraging Voters to be Vigilant of Election Misinformation launched in October 2018. The program was developed to counteract election misinformation, provide public education resources and strengthen voter confidence. View a video on the initiative here.

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said this about the VoteSure program receiving the NASS IDEAS Award:

“Bad actors — both foreign and domestic — continue to threaten our elections and elections offi­cials must be more proactive and innovative in strengthening voter confidence. In response, Cali­fornia launched VoteSure, the first initiative of its kind in the nation to both promote official, trust­ed sources of election information while countering election misinformation on social media.

VoteSure strategically placed social media ads aimed at directing voters to official elections tools, information, and resources. Other ads explained the various security measures in place that pro­tect the integrity of our elections. The initiative also included proactive social media monitoring for election misinformation and provided voters a dedicated email address to report suspicious posts. We worked in partnership with social media platforms to develop more efficient reporting procedures for potential misinformation. Misinformation identified by our office or voters was promptly reviewed and, in most cases, removed by the social media platforms.

This era demands swift communication campaigns to respond to emerging threats. Despite the threats and misinformation, a record number of Californians cast their ballots in the November 2018 midterm election. I’m proud of the California Secretary of State staff and of California voters who helped make VoteSure an immediate success, and I am thankful for my colleagues’ recogni­tion of our work in California.”

The award was announced by NASS Awards Committee co-chair and North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger during the NASS 2020 Virtual Summer Conference Business Meeting on July 22, 2020.

Secretary of State offices in Georgia, New Hampshire and Tennessee were also recognized for their final­ist submissions.

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Media Contact:
Maria (Dill) Benson, Director of Communications
mbenson@sso.org | 202-624-3528 | www.nass.org