Colorado clerks, election and cybersecurity leaders to participate in training event Sept. 6

DENVER, Aug. 30, 2018 -- National leaders in elections and cybersecurity are coming to Colorado one week from today to attend a training exercise hosted by Secretary of State Wayne Williams.

Think of it as war games, election style.

Nearly 200 county election officials, along with representatives from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and the National Association of Secretaries of State will participate in the event.

“Colorado is viewed as a leader in election security, and this exercise is just the latest event to make sure we are ready for the Nov. 6 general election,” Secretary Williams said. “There’s a reason The Washington Post wrote about how Colorado became the safest state to cast a vote.”

The event -- Election Preparedness for Infrastructure and Cybersecurity or EPIC -- will feature two, hour-long exercises. The first follows the five months leading to the 2018 general election. The second concerns Election Day. Each exercise will feature cyber and physical security scenarios and subsequent cybersecurity preparedness activities.

EPIC will be held at the Inverness Hotel, 200 Inverness Drive, in Englewood. Homeland Security will make a special presentation during the lunch.

Participants must be credentialed to attend the Thursday, Sept. 6 event. Media wanting to cover EPIC must receive credentials in advance. Space is limited. If you are interested, please e-mail Lynn Bartels at Lynn.Bartels@SOS.state.co.us.

Among those who will attend EPIC is Leslie Reynolds, the executive director of the National Association of Secretaries of State, New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way and New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver.

"I am excited to participate in Secretary Williams' election security tabletop exercise next week," Reynolds said. "These hands-on exercises are tremendously valuable. By bringing together state and local election officials to walk through possible threats or incidents and discuss and address appropriate responses, everyone walks away more prepared than when they arrived."