commissioner hovland: we have heard that from a number of jurisdictions and states. some of that depends on what the needs were. new statewidea voter registration database, we saw that was where a lot of focus of 2018 activity was. that was something that benefits the entire state. we did see some states that passed most of the money down. we have seen states that kept most of it up top. with the additional 20 20 money, it will be interesting to see -- if you had an initial investment in a statewide voter registration database, maybe you are in a position to award more local grants. we are hopeful to see that. matthew: what is happening in one state certainly impacts what is happening in every other state. you go back 20 or 30 years, maybe states could run their own elections separately. the monitor has been, we do not want to be the next -- the mantra has been, we do not want to be the next florida. voters hear stories. what they are hearing is different from what is happening in their states. you have lung deadlines for certification of results. ofeads to a lot mis

. >> brangham: ben hovland is chairman of the u.s. election assistance commission. too was nominated by president trump. hovland's commission studies and helps disseminate election system best practices. >> one of the things that makes working election issues difficult from the national level is, is the decized nature of our elections. and dictor krebs, i think, did a great job empowering his team to recognize that the 50 states each run elections in their own unique way. and so it was important to listen, to hear what their needs were and try to provide that. >> brangham: dmitri alperovich is a co-founder of the cybersecurity company crowdstrike. he worked with krebs to improve the capabilities of local election officials to detect and withstand cyber tacks. >> one of the things that chris was very passionate about is in stateinstrumentatio systems and local municipalities that are running these election systems so that we would know if they're being attacked by foreign actors or domestic actors. and we worked very hard in the private sector to help them gain that

i want to bring in ben hovland as well the chairman of the u.s. election assistance commission and when you and i talked the other day ben you've worked with mr. krebs. you know him. what is your reaction to what the president of the united states has just done? >> yeah, you know, i don't have official confirmation yet that what has happened obviously i saw the tweet. certainly concerning. my experience with director krebs is that he's been a great director, showed a lot of leadership particularly in the election space. i know he has done a great job pulling together as a team and has enjoyed working with him on election issues. we had, you know, such a success story this year as far as what we were able to do through the critical infrastructure sub sector. that partnership, working on a range of issues of course primarily around cyber security but a lot of work that was done as well in response to the pandemic and running elections this year and these challenging times. >> so, ben, you come out, your team, right, you are saying this is the most s

. >> ben hovland, thank you for coming on. >>> alice stewart and our director for dnc, erin benny. ladies, lovely to see you. alice, let's start with you. you are a republican. three weeks after the election, trump is refusing to out right the steps that he lost the election. today he had two more setback in pennsylvania and wisconsin. as someone that supported president trump and supported him in the past, how damaging is this for the country and what is your message to him? >> the message is let's put this behind us and move on. we have an important election coming up in january in georgia. i think it is critical. we have free and fair elections in this country to reenforce of what was said. there are plenty of checks and balances up and down our election process. the integrity of our election is the corner stone of our democracy. we have a free and fair election, when donald trump won four years ago and free and fair election this year when he did not win. any comments to the contrary is damaging to our election. if there is evidence of rigged election or has been wrongful votii

with mr.egin today hovland. >> good afternoon.hank you, chairperson fudge and members of the this is an important issue. combating disinformation was one of the expected issues of the 2020 election and the covid-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the risk. from the 2016 for interference in our elections, there has been an increased focus and dedication to the security of our elections. the department of homeland security has helped to codify and coordinate efforts between federal, state, and local government agencies as well as private industry. this has led to a change in information sharing and coupled with an act -- his greatly improved the security posture of our elections. that commitment to securing our elections has continued, but it is impossible to discuss this election without acknowledging the impact of the covid-19 pandemic. since march amid the debates about the health of our communities and economy, election administrators have had a difficult path of determining how to adapt their practices and procedures to conduct s

. >> my name is ben hovland. i'm chairman of the u.s. election assistance comm asion, which ederal agency dedicated to studying best practices in election administration. as far as everyone who works in the space, everyone a committed professional to elections, this was the safest anection we've ever hathe most secure election we've ever had. >> my name is natalie adona, i am the assistant clerk recorder voters for the county of nevada . the e thing that we all have in common is that we care really deeply about democracy and making democracy work. so if we need to, for example, register a voter, it does not matter what that voter's opinion is about politics.ca what w about is, is the person qualified to register to vote. >> my name is reynaldo valenzuela. i am the co-director for maricopa county and i oversee early voting andeslection serv we' agnostic to the politic party when you go through these doors. and we couldn't do it without having that kind of commitment from our staff that knows that this is important work to do. maggie toulo

joining us today, benjamin hovland, the commission's current chair, has confirmed, was confirmed by unanimous consent in the senate on january 2nd, 2019, he previously served as acting chief counsel to the senate committee on rules and administration. jena griswold is colorado s 39 secretary of state, she began her term on january 8th, 2008, the youngest elected secretary of state in the country. secretary jena griswold worked as border protection attorney and previously served as director of the governor of colorado fcc office. inajo davis chappell substance or appointment in 2007, she's an oop in cleveland ensures that firm group. spencer overton with the center for political and the complex studies, also a tenured professor at the george washington university school of law. previously served as principal deputy assistant attorney general in the office of legal policy at the department of justice during the obama administration. it is interesting to note we are holding this hearing during national voter education week. i will now recognize our members for their 5 minutes. we will begin toda

hovland you are recognized for five minutes. >> good afternoon thank you chairperson and members of the committee i appreciate this opportunity to testify before you today. regarding the u.s. election systems commissions ongoing work in this important issue. combatting misinformation and disinformation was one of the suspected a skews of the 2020 election. and the covid-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the risk. following the 2016 foreign interference in our election there's been an increased focused and dedication to the security of our elections. the department of homeland security's designation of election structure that's critical has helped voters and coordinate efforts between federal state and local government agencies. as well as with private industry. this is led to a change of information sharing and coupled with the help [inaudible] has greatly improve the security posture of our elections that commitment to caring our liking has continued it's impossible to discuss the 2020 election without acknowledging the impact of the covid-19 pandemic. since march and made the ongoing d

moments of heroism and solidarity too american survivor becca hovland was deeply impressed how the lebanese have been pulling together >> the dust hardly settled and all of the lebanese people are on the streets bringing their own brooms, handing out food, handing out water. donating clothes, donating blood. >> reporter: yesterday we saw this person entering the delivery room. her husband capturing the moment on a cell phone when the blast hit. >> nurses and doctors were on the ground i was looking around to check where's my wife. because all the ceiling was down i was afraid that she might hit or the baby was hit. she was all covered with blood >> reporter: the mother and baby are doing well >> sound asleep. >> reporter: rescue teams are scouring through debris. dozens remain missing. funerals are now widespread. and in the emotion and grief, covid-19 precautions have fallen by the wayside lebanon was already facing its worst economic crisis in decades. when french president emmanuel macron visited yesterday, he was mobbed by protesters denouncing their government's corruption and ineptitu