RON THORNBURGH
Secretary of State |
STATE OF KANSAS |
Memorial Hall, 1st Floor
120 SW 10th Avenue
Topeka, KS 66612-1594
(785) 296-4564
www.kssos.org
|
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Contact Information
Stephanie Wing, Public Information Officer
Office of the Secretary of State, Kansas
(785) 296-8571
StephanieW@kssos.org
Mike Sietz
Office of the Secretary of State, Missouri
(573) 526-0949
mike.seitz@sos.mo.gov
CARNAHAN AND THORNBURGH ANNOUNCE MULTI-STATE INITIATIVE
TO CLEAN UP VOTER ROLLS AND IMPROVE ELECTION SECURITY
Cooperation puts Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska Ahead of the Curve
Overland Park, Kansas – Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan and Kansas Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh announced today that their offices have entered into an agreement along with Iowa Secretary of State Chet Culver, and Nebraska Secretary of State John Gale to improve the security of the states’ election systems.
The agreement, signed at the Midwest Election Officials Conference in Overland Park, KS, establishes a task force to research ways for the four states to cooperate in order to improve election administration. The task force will study
- · A process for cross-checking voter registration data;
- · Cooperative training of election officials;
- · Cooperative testing of election systems;
- · Cooperative improvements for election security processes; and
- · Establishing uniform protocols for international observers.
Eventually, the states hope to develop a system to cross-check voter registration information to provide for cleaner and more accurate voter lists.
“As Missouri’s Secretary of State it’s my top priority to protect the integrity of our state’s elections,” said Carnahan. “This agreement is a commonsense way Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska can work together to clean up our voter lists, improve election security, and increase peoples’ confidence in the elections system.”
“This is a significant step toward improving the security of our elections,” said Thornburgh. “I am pleased our four states were able to come together for the benefit of our voters.”
“By signing the agreement the four states are clearly ahead of the curve in cooperating to protect the integrity of our elections,” said Thornburgh.
This formal, cooperative effort between different states to improve election administration is one of few such agreements in the nation.
To view the agreement, visit:http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/2005-12-11_MO-KS-IA-NE-MemorandumOfUnderstanding.pdf.
To find out more about Missouri’s Secretary of State’s office, visit www.sos.mo.gov.
To find out more about Kansas’ Secretary of State office, visit www.kssos.org.
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