Secretary of State Alex Padilla Addresses DEFCON Hacking Conference, Pushes for Federal Funding
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California Secretary of State Alex Padilla became the first Secretary of State to attend and speak at
DEFCON
, one of the world's largest hacker conferences.
Held annually in Las Vegas, the event attracts leading hackers, along with computer security professionals, journalists, lawyers, academics, and local, state and federal government leaders.
“As cyber threats become more sophisticated, so must our cyber defenses,” said Secretary of State Alex Padilla. “DEFCON provides a unique opportunity to learn about evolving threats to our elections and how officials can better secure our systems. Election security is my top priority and my staff and I are working around the clock to protect the integrity of our elections ahead of the November General Election."
The Secretary wrote an
OpEd in The Hill
discussing his experience and calling for more federal funding.
Notable Media Coverage:
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Secretary Padilla Urged Californians to Speak Up Against Census Citizenship Question, Launched New Census 2020 Portal
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California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and civil rights leaders urged Californians to submit public comments in opposition to the proposed citizenship question on the 2020 Census. The Secretary also launched "All Californians Count," the agency's Census 2020 initiative along with the new resource portal
Census2020.sos.ca.gov
.
“The stakes of the 2020 census are incredibly high for all Californians,” Secretary of State Alex Padilla said. “For decades, Census directors under both Democratic and Republican administrations abided by department policy and did not include a citizenship question. The Trump Administration’s decision to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census completely disregards science and proven methodology. I urge all Californians to speak out and submit a comment urging the exclusion of the citizenship question. The Trump Administration has clearly chosen to question the citizenship of every person in America in an effort to discourage diverse communities from participating. A census undercount would cost California its rightful share of billions of dollars in federal funding as well as our due representation in congress.”
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Nearly 800K Voter Registration Transactions Completed Since April Launch of California Motor Voter
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California Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced earlier this month that a total of 792,851 voter registration transactions were completed through the Department of Motor Vehicles in the first two and half months since the launch of
California Motor Vote
r
. This activity includes new voter registrations, as well as re-registrations and updated address transactions.
This total includes:
- 259,294 new voter registrations,
- 393,020 re-registrations,
- 120,016 updates to voter registration address, and
- 20,521 online voter registrations routed from DMV website and paper voter registration cards mailed to the Secretary of State’s office.
"California Motor Voter is a game changer for voter registration and hundreds of thousands of Californians have already taken advantage of this new opportunity," said Secretary of State Alex Padilla. "By automatically registering and pre-registering to vote eligible Californians as they complete a driver license, state ID, or change of address transaction at the DMV, we are making it easier than ever to participate in our democracy. California Motor Voter is helping ensure hundreds of thousands of eligible Californians will be registered and ready to vote this November."
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November 6, 2018 General Election Voter Information Guide Released
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Secretary of State Alex Padilla finalized the Official
Voter Information Guide
for the November 6, 2018 General Election. The guide, which will be mailed to every voting household in California, includes candidate statements, arguments for and against Propositions 1 through 12*, and other important election information such as the Voter Bill of Rights and how to find your polling place. California’s Official Voter Information Guide is available in 10 languages – English, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai and Vietnamese, as well as American Sign Language.
“The choices we make as voters this November will shape our state and nation for years to come,” Secretary of State Alex Padilla said. “During the General Election, Californians will vote on 11 propositions, elect a U.S. Senator, and a new Governor. It is crucial that all Californians make informed decisions at the ballot box. The Voter Information Guide includes candidate statements for statewide elected offices and US Senate, as well as nonpartisan analysis of each proposition from the Legislative Analyst’s Office.”
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WATCH: Secretary Padilla Speaks to PBS NewsHour on Election Cybersecurity, President's National Security Council Meeting
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California Secretary of State Alex Padilla sat down with PBS NewsHour's Judy Woodruff to discuss the Trump Administration's top intelligence and national security official's joint press conference on Russia's ongoing efforts to meddle in this November's elections.
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Secretary Padilla Comments on Congress' Failure to Approve Election Funding
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California Secretary of State Alex Padilla issued the following statement after the House of Representatives refused to approve additional funding for states to improve election cybersecurity:
"This week President Trump’s disgraceful display with Vladimir Putin shocked the world and undermined our nation’s intelligence agencies and election officials across the country. Today, House Republicans inexplicably rejected election security funding that would further protect and modernize our nation’s election infrastructure. Protecting the integrity of our elections and ensuring confidence in our elections should never succumb to partisan politics – but that’s exactly what happened today."
"While the November General Election is approaching quickly, and many states are left utilizing aging voting systems, House Republicans joined the President in failing to act urgently to defend against ongoing Russian threats to interfere in our elections. It took Congress until 2018 to fully appropriate funds approved in response to the 2000 election debacle. We cannot afford to wait decades to invest in election cybersecurity. The threats have never been greater.”
"Intelligence officials have been crystal clear—our democracy is, and will continue to be, under attack by Russia and others. Trump has chosen to ignore these warnings, so it is up to Congress to act. California Senators Feinstein and Harris understand the importance of this issue, but I'm incredibly disappointed that Senate Republicans voted against $250 million for states to further upgrade and protect voting systems. Improving election security should not be a partisan issue. Yesterday, Congress finalized a $717 billion defense spending bill—yet they could not come together to fund voting systems at a fraction of the cost. Bolstering our election infrastructure is a matter of national security. Free and fair elections are at the very foundation of our democracy. Every day Trump and Congress fail to act only makes the jobs of elections officials across the country harder."
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November 6, 2018 General Election is 78 Days Away!
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The November 6, 2018 General Election is 78 days away! Need to register to vote? Want to check your voter registration status? We can help.
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