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Person

Noah Praetz

Occupation:

Consultant
Expertise:

Election Security
Election Day Management
Voter Registration Modernization
Partisanship:

Democratic
Lives:

Chicago, Illinois

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Noah Praetz is an election security consultant who currently advises the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Election Security Initiative. 1 Prior to his work with CISA, Praetz ran elections in Illinois’s Cook County, where he was responsible for managing one of the largest election jurisdictions in the country. 2 Most recently, Praetz has been retained by the California Secretary of State’s office to provide guidance for the state’s vote-by-mail expansion throughout the 2020 election cycle. 3 He was a registered Democrat as of 2016. 4

Affiliations

Praetz currently operates under his own firm, Noah Praetz Consulting, to provide consulting services in the area of election security to various clients, most notably the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Election Security Initiative. 5 Furthermore, Praetz also teaches election law as an adjunct professor at DePaul University College of Law, his alma matter. 6 He is a member of the advisory board of the University of Chicago’s Cyber Policy Initiative. 7

Previously, Praetz spent eighteen years working for the Cook County Government, where he held titles including Deputy Director, Manager of Planning and Preparation, Law Clerk, and Staff Attorney. 8 During his time with the Cook County Government, Praetz managed the transition from Punch Cards to a “blended system of optical scan and touch screen voting.” 9 Most recently, Praetz was responsible for managing one of the largest election jurisdictions in the country as the Cook County Government’s Director of Elections. 10

Throughout his career, Praetz has held a number of different roles to include the following: treasurer of the International Association of Government Officials, executive committee member of the Department of Homeland Security’s Elections Sub-Sector Government Coordinating Council, and co-chair of the Election Center’s Cyber Security Committee. 11

Advocacy

Generally speaking, Praetz is an advocate of the following security mantra as it pertains to the electoral process: “defend, detect, recover.” 12 Essentially, this theory recognizes that a perfect defense is practically impossible, and entities should instead focus on ensuring any potential attacks do not exceed their capability to “detect and recover.” 13

Praetz has presented to a variety of audiences on numerous election-related matters, to include the following: Election Security, Sustainability, Election Day Management, Voter Registration Modernization. 14 His published articles focus on Cyber Security, Election Day Administration and Referendum Law. 15

Praetz is skeptical of the three dominant suppliers of election machinery (S&S, Dominion Voting Systems, and Hart InterCivic), and cites their lack of oversight and transparency among his concerns as they relate to election security. 16 He is a proponent of increased federal investment in the security of election systems nationwide, and “love[s] the idea of automatic voter registration.” 17 He cites the U.S. Postal Service as an example of a worthy partner with regards to increasing efficiency within the electoral process. 18

References

  1. Praetz, Noah. “Noah Praetz.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 18, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-praetz-83a968/.
  2. Praetz, Noah. “Noah Praetz.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 18, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-praetz-83a968/.
  3. “Secretary of State’s Office Bringing On Expert Consultants to Help with Vote-by-Mail Expansion for General Election.” AP20:046 SOS Office Bringing on Expert Consultants to Help with VBM Expansion for General Election | California Secretary of State. Accessed June 18, 2020. https://www.sos.ca.gov/administration/news-releases-and-advisories/2020-news-releases-and-advisories/ap20046-sos-office-bringing-expert-consultants-help-vote-mail-expansion-general-election/.
  4. Scarr, Abe, and Emma Boorboor. The 21st Century Election: Illinois County Clerks Share Their Perspective on AVR. Issue brief. May 2016. Accessed June 18, 2020. https://illinoispirg.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/The 21st Century Election – IL Report FINAL.pdf.
  5. Praetz, Noah. “Noah Praetz.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 18, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-praetz-83a968/.
  6. Praetz, Noah. “Noah Praetz.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 18, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-praetz-83a968/.
  7. Praetz, Noah. “Noah Praetz.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 18, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-praetz-83a968/.
  8. Praetz, Noah. “Noah Praetz.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 18, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-praetz-83a968/.
  9. Noah Praetz Bio. Biography published by Election Assistance Commission.

    https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/event_document/files/Noah Praetz bio.pdf

  10. Praetz, Noah. “Noah Praetz.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 18, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-praetz-83a968/.
  11. Praetz, Noah. “Noah Praetz.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 18, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-praetz-83a968/.
  12. United States of America. Cook County Clerk. 2020 Vision: Election Security in the Age of Committed Foreign Threats. By Noah Praetz. Accessed June 18, 2020. https://www.defcon.org/images/defcon-25/Election Security White Paper_Praetz_12062017.pdf.
  13. United States of America. Cook County Clerk. 2020 Vision: Election Security in the Age of Committed Foreign Threats. By Noah Praetz. Accessed June 18, 2020. https://www.defcon.org/images/defcon-25/Election Security White Paper_Praetz_12062017.pdf.
  14. Praetz, Noah. “Noah Praetz.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 18, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-praetz-83a968/.
  15. Praetz, Noah. “Noah Praetz.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 18, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-praetz-83a968/.
  16. Press, Associated. “US Election Integrity Depends on Security-challenged Firms.” Daily Herald. October 29, 2018. Accessed June 18, 2020. https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20181029/business/310299954.
  17. Scarr, Abe, and Emma Boorboor. The 21st Century Election: Illinois County Clerks Share Their Perspective on AVR. Issue brief. May 2016. Accessed June 18, 2020. https://illinoispirg.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/The 21st Century Election – IL Report FINAL.pdf.
  18. Naylor, Donita. “Give Voters Lots of Options, Guidance, Elections Experts Tell Common Cause Webinar.” Providencejournal.com. April 21, 2020. Accessed June 18, 2020. https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20200421/give-voters-lots-of-options-guidance-elections-experts-tell-common-cause-webinar.
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