NASS 2023 Winter Conference Highlights

For Immediate Release — Feb. 24, 2023 —  Washington, D.C. — The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) held its 2023 Winter Conference Feb. 15-18 in Washington, D.C. 38 Secretaries of State, including 12 newly elected or appointed Secretaries, were joined by an audience of over 400 people. The audience was com­prised of senior state government and Congressional staff, as well as nonprofit and private sector representatives. Bipartisan discussions throughout the meeting addressed cybersecurity, election administration, international relations, business services, state archiving and recordkeeping, feder­al legislation, and other relevant topics.

Highlights from the conference include the following:

Joan Lunden Keynote Remarks - Joan Lunden, award-winning journalist, best-selling author, and former television host, delivered the conference’s keynote speech on Feb. 17 regarding the evolution of media and the importance of thoughtful collaboration. NASS appreciates Vista Solu­tions Group for sponsoring the speech.

New Member Orientation and Reception - Several newly sworn-in Secretaries of State joined the conference. On Feb. 15, they attended a new member orientation to learn more about the as­sociation, as well as attended a welcome reception to meet their colleagues. NASS thanks Mi­crosoft for hosting and sponsoring the reception.

Margaret Chase Smith Award - Nominated by New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, the 2022 Margaret Chase Smith award for political courage was given posthumously to Mi­guel H. Trujillo for championing Native American voting rights. The award was accepted by his granddaughter Patricia Abeita. Read the release on the Feb. 16, award ceremony here.

IDEAS Award Finalists – The following member offices were announced as national finalists for the NASS 2023 IDEAS (Innovation, Dedication, Excellence and Achievement in Service) Award competition, recognizing originality and excellence in state programming. See all submissions:

*Iowa - Businesses Against Trafficking

*Minnesota - American Sign Language Voter Information

*Mississippi - Tackle the Tape

All finalists will be invited to showcase their programs at the NASS 2023 Summer Conference in Washington, D.C., where the recipient will be announced and recognized.

Positions - The following was approved by the full membership at the Business Meeting on Feb. 18:

*NASS Public Comment in Response to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Request for Information on the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022

Corporate Affiliate Issue Papers - Each year, NASS corporate affiliates submit issue papers showcasing their expertise: Civix | Clear Ballot | CT Corporation | DocuSign | Enhanced Voting | Fort Orange Press | Foster Moore | Hart InterCivic | Ingalls Information Security | Mandiant | Smartmatic | Soch | Thentia | Vista Solutions Group | VotingApp | VotingWorks

Speaker Organizations - Conference speakers represented a diverse array of entities, including the American Jewish Committee, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Elections In­frastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, FBI Cyber Division, Microsoft, National Insti­tute of Standards and Technology, National Conference of State Legislatures, U.S. Election Assis­tance Commission, U.S. State Department, U.S. Treasury and many more.

Announcements - The NASS 2023 Summer Conference will be held in Washington, D.C. from July 9-12, at the Grand Hyatt.

#   #   #

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