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Steve Simon
Secretary of State | Minnesota

NewDEAL Secretaries of State Steve Simon & Adrian Fontes Tighten Election Security, Increase Transparency

Idea Category: Defending Democracy

NewDEAL Leaders across the country continue to strengthen election security, accessibility, and transparency ahead of the 2024 election. In Minnesota, NewDEALer Secretary of State Steve Simon led a team of election officials through the testing of new, federally-approved voting machines at an open meeting this week. Not only is testing the machines required to ensure accuracy and security, but it also allows Minnesota voters to witness firsthand the tabulation process, promoting transparency in election administration in a way that other states can replicate. It's why public machine testing was included in the NewDEAL Forum's Democracy Playbook released earlier this year.

Meanwhile, in Arizona, NewDEALer Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is also working to restore public trust in elections as he leads a bipartisan task force alongside Republican and former Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell, Fontes is collaborating across the aisle in areas like tightening election security standards and increasing transparency. "We're not always going to agree on everything," Fontes said of the spectrum of political affiliations in the group. "But that doesn't mean that we don't try. We have to try for the betterment of the State of Arizona... for better systems for our citizens."