EAC Commissioner Don Palmer welcomes West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner to discuss why he believes the erosion of confidence in elections is the worst form of voter suppression and the steps he has taken to restore trust in elections in his state. Sec. Warner details the difficulty for deployed military voters to cast a ballot and the importance of regularly updating voter registration lists to remove those who have died or moved out of state. He also explains his background with the Rule of Law program in Afghanistan and the decision to significantly increase his investigative staff so allegations of election irregularities or possible fraud can be examined immediately. Finally, Sec. Warner shares why he believes it is imperative for states to remain in control of their elections but how the federal government can play a vital role in helping the states conduct them successfully.

EAC Commissioner Don Palmer welcomes Escambia County Supervisor of Elections David Stafford to discuss why Florida's system counts votes and releases results so swiftly on Election Day.



With a major military presence in his county, Stafford also explains how he makes sure service members and their spouses get their ballots in a timely fashion - and how that can be difficult when those personnel are in a war zone or deployed on a ship in the middle of an ocean. Finally, Palmer and Stafford discuss the challenge of local officials staying up to date on aging voting machines, which are often very expensive, and what kind of funding local leaders need to conduct elections properly.

Mark Earley, current head of local election officials in Florida, explains the new Automated Independent Audit and Vote Visualization that is currently operational in Florida. The certified audit technology independently recounts all paper ballots with a different tabulation system to immediately confirm the accuracy of the election results. The popular new process provides visualization of every single ballot, race, and discrepancy in the election and has remarkedly increased transparency and trust in elections across Florida.

Michigan State Representative Ann Bollin joins Don to discuss how Michigan localities are working to fund and operate elections that facilitate the rights of voters and establish the best possible process to produce accurate and timely results. Bollin also explains how her 15 years as a township clerk informs her work in the state legislature, especially on election and voting issues.

Don welcomes Doug Lewis, former executive director of The Election Center, to tell the inside story of how advocates for the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) navigated past partisanship from both parties to pass major election reforms in the wake of the Election 2000 drama. Don and Doug also discuss what areas of our elections process currently need the most attention and what the greatest danger is to our elections.