The Secure Elections Network is a left-leaning election policy advocacy organization founded in 2020 that attempts to provide left-leaning election administration activists with training and educational tools around election administration. The organization is staunchly supportive of increasing mail-in balloting as well as a set of election administration policies introduced by Congressional Democrats. The organization has supported the elimination of the U.S. Senate’s filibuster rule to pass certain left-leaning election administration policies such as the H.R. 1 For the People Act and H.R. 4 John Lewis Voting Rights Act, although it has conceded that some aspects of such legislation may ultimately be deemed unconstitutional. ^{1 2 3}

The organization promotes left-leaning advocacy groups and election resources including the Brennan Center for Justice, Vote.org, and Common Cause. ⁴

Background

The Secure Elections Network was founded around the time of the 2018 elections. The organization does not have publicly available financial or registration information as of January 2022. The organization is a self-described resource for election administration advocates to collect information on state election systems and pending legislation regarding elections. The organization states that it plans to host regularly scheduled webinars on various topics related to “election security.” ⁵

The organization currently hosts a podcast that discusses various election-related topics and left-leaning election administration policy goals including in-person voting, mail-in ballots, and election hacking. ⁶

Activity

Programming offered by the Secure Elections Network includes a webinar presented by the Brennan Center for Justice and New York University School of Law titled “Election Officials Under Attack,” a webinar titled “Local News, Democracy and the 2020 Elections” presented by the Columbia University Journalism School, and a presentation on “Misinformation and the Local News Industry” presented by left-progressive organization Media Matters for America. ⁷

The organization has also sponsored presentations from the National Vote at Home Institute, the Alliance for Securing Democracy, and the Bipartisan Policy Center. ⁸

People

Many of the Secure Election Network’s podcasts feature John Sebes discussing various election administration issues. Sebes is a cybersecurity consultant who has served as the chief technology officer of Trust the Vote Project since 2007 and is the co-director of its affiliated Open Source Election Technology Foundation. ^{9 10}

One of the organizers of the Secure Elections Network is Martin “Marty” Perlmutter. Perlmutter is a self-described “revolutionary” and “social justice warrior” who has written many opinion pieces on the organization’s website and elsewhere. ^{11 12}

Associations

The Secure Elections Network promotes left-leaning advocacy groups and election resources including the Brennan Center for Justice, the National Conference of State Legislatures, Vote.org, Verified Voting, the Columbia School of Journalism, Media Matters for America, and Common Cause. ¹³

The organization has joined left-of-center coalitions calling for the adoption of left-leaning election-related legislation in congress and has signed coalition letters alongside groups including the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers, the Center for American Progress, and the Center for Media and Democracy. ¹⁴

Policy Stances

The Secure Elections Network supports many left-leaning election administration policies proposed by many Democrats in the U.S. Congress. One op-ed from the organization discussed both the H.R. 1 For the People Act and H.R. 4 John Lewis Voting Rights Act and supported the elimination of the Senate filibuster to pass such legislation. Another opinion piece on the organization’s website conceded that while mail-in ballots and early voting were deemed “vital” to the organization’s cause, many provisions of H.R. 1 likely constituted federal overreach. ^{15 16}

1. Perlmutter, Marty. “Voting Rights and Wrongs.” Secure Elections Network. Accessed January 9, 2022.  https://secureelectionsnetwork.org/voting-rights-and-wrongs/
2. Perlmutter, Marty. “Slouching Towards Bethlehem.” Secure Elections Network. Accessed January 9, 2022.  https://secureelectionsnetwork.org/slouching-toward-bethlehem-2/
3. “About.” Secure Elections Network. Accessed January 9, 2022.  https://secureelectionsnetwork.org/about/
4. “Organizations.” Secure Elections Network. Accessed January 9, 2022. https://secureelectionsnetwork.org/organizations/
5.  “About.” Secure Elections Network. Accessed January 9, 2022.  https://secureelectionsnetwork.org/about/
6. “Podcast.” Secure Elections Network. Accessed January 9, 2022.  https://secureelectionsnetwork.org/category/podcast/
7.  “Election officials Under Attack.” Secure Elections Network. Accessed January 9, 2022.   https://secureelectionsnetwork.org/category/https-docs-google-com-presentation-d-1qgbham_i-ay5mg0sjbqn3raukzoug90s64nm3iqgirs-editslideid-p/
8. “Election officials Under Attack.” Secure Elections Network. Accessed January 9, 2022.   https://secureelectionsnetwork.org/category/https-docs-google-com-presentation-d-1qgbham_i-ay5mg0sjbqn3raukzoug90s64nm3iqgirs-editslideid-p/
9. “John Sebes.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed January 9, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsebes
10. “Podcast.” Secure Elections Network. Accessed January 9, 2022.  https://secureelectionsnetwork.org/category/podcast/
11. “Martin Perlmutter.” Medium. Accessed January 9, 2022.  https://martinperlmutter.medium.com/
12. “Martin Perlmutter.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed January 9, 2022.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-perlmutter-96163/
13. “Election officials Under Attack.” Secure Elections Network. Accessed January 9, 2022.   https://secureelectionsnetwork.org/category/https-docs-google-com-presentation-d-1qgbham_i-ay5mg0sjbqn3raukzoug90s64nm3iqgirs-editslideid-p/
14. “Declaration for Democracy.”  National Association of Social Workers.  Accessed January 9, 2022. https://www.socialworkers.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=0GobO6jQ04A%3D&portalid=0
15. Perlmutter, Marty. “A Fight Worth Having.” Secure Elections Network. Accessed January 9, 2022.  https://secureelectionsnetwork.org/a-fight-worth-having/
16. Perlmutter, Marty. “Slouching Towards Bethlehem.” Secure Elections Network. Accessed January 9, 2022.  https://secureelectionsnetwork.org/slouching-toward-bethlehem-2/