Election Security: A Conversation (Julia Reed & Gael Tarleton)

Election security is a critical concern as we head into the November election. Please join the Truman National Security Project as they discuss multiple aspects of this national security concern with Josh Benaloh, from Microsoft's Defending Democracy Initiative, Julia Reed from the Truman National Security Project and State Rep.and now candidate for WA Secretary of State, Gael Tarleton.
Please register at the Zoom link and join us Saturday August 1 at 130PM!

About the Speakers
Josh Benaloh is Senior Cryptographer at Microsoft Research, an Affiliate Faculty Member of the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington, and spent 17 years on the Board of Directors of the International Association for Cryptologic Research. He earned his S.B. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and M.S., M.Phil., and Ph.D. degrees from Yale University where his 1987 doctoral dissertation, Verifiable Secret-Ballot Elections, introduced the use of homomorphic encryption to enable end-to-end verifiable election technologies.

Dr. Benaloh’s numerous research publications in cryptography and voting have pioneered new technologies including the “cast or spoil” paradigm that brings voters into the election verification process with minimal burden.
He has served on the program committees of dozens of cryptography and election-related conferences and workshops and is a frequent speaker on the history, development, and mechanisms behind verifiable voting. He also served on the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on the Future of Voting — whose 2018 report Securing the Vote — Protecting American Democracy — has been widely cited in both academic literature and public deliberations.
Among other side interests, Dr. Benaloh recently completed two years as chair of the Citizen Oversight Panel for the Seattle region’s Sound Transit agency that is currently investing about $1 billion per annum in improving the region’s mass transit infrastructure. He has also authored numerous puzzles used in a variety of Seattle-area puzzle competitions.

State Rep. Gael Tarleton (D-Seattle) is a former senior defense analyst for the Pentagon, Port of Seattle Commissioner, international business director, and most recently worked at the University of Washington for more than 8 years before joining the Washington State Legislature in 2013. She is currently the only Democrat and only elected official running against the two-term Republican incumbent for Secretary of State.As a state representative for the 36th Legislative District, Gael has always voted to expand voting access, and she recently prime sponsored two pieces of legislation to protect and fund WA elections. The Election Security Breaches Act (2020), which passed unanimously in both chambers, requires an annual review and report of security breaches and vulnerability testing for all new voting systems while the Elections Funding Act (2020) requires the state to reimburse counties for proportionate share of election costs in even-numbered years
Gael has served on several boards and work groups such as the Women Legislators Lobby (WiLL), Pacific NorthWest Economic Region, and Legislators’ Energy Horizons Institute.
She holds a master’s degree from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Science from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. Gael was the youngest person ever to receive in public the Director of Central Intelligence’s “National Intelligence Medal of Achievement” for recognition of her exceptional contributions to protecting vital national interests

Julia Reed is a Senior Consultant at Kinetic West. Her expertise includes policy and strategy development, communications, and organizational management. Prior to joining Kinetic West, Julia was a Senior Policy Advisor to Mayor Jenny Durkan, with a wide-ranging policy portfolio including youth employment, workforce development, civil rights, emergency preparedness, Census organizing, transportation, and arts policy issues. Prior to joining the Mayor’s office, she was the City of Seattle’s Regional Affairs director. From 2009-2015, Julia served in the Obama administration, working in the State Department and the Office of Management and Budget. She holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Princeton University and BA from Smith College. Julia grew up in Seattle, attending both Seattle Public Schools and Holy Names Academy high school. She is a board member for the YMCA Accelerator and the Global Leadership Forum.