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Brunner Named Midwest Region VP for NASS
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July 30, 2008 |
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner was sworn-in Monday as the Midwest region vice president for the National Association of Secretaries of State at the organization's annual summer meeting in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Pedro A. Cortes, the association's newly-named president, with the advice and counsel of the organization's bipartisan executive board nominated Secretary Brunner to serve in this capacity. She and the slate of other officers and members of the executive board were appointed by a unanimous vote of the secretaries of state of the national association. Cortes is the secretary of state of Pennsylvania.
"Serving as one of four Vice Presidents for the National Association of Secretaries of State, allows Ohio to have a strong voice in the executive decisions of the nation's oldest organization of elected officials on matters of state and federal elections and laws affecting business formation and operation," Secretary Brunner said. "NASS is fortunate to have a leader in Cortes who is compassionate about the elections process and has made voter participation a core focus for his year as leader of the association."
"I share Secretary Cortes' commitment in this effort and will work closely with the states in my region to address important issues affecting our offices and respective states from now through 2009," Secretary Brunner said.
During the four-day conference held July 25 - July 28, secretaries of state and staff from around the country were offered the opportunity to share best practices, discuss issues affecting not only the elections process but other aspects of their offices, including the business filings and corporations responsibilities.
Sample topics covered at the conference included:
- Voter Participation Shared Practices
- Including a presentation form Secretary of State Brunner on the Grads Vote Ohio program to encourage voter participation of high school students, including poll worker service in addition to absentee voting information and voter registration.
- State Election Administration Shared Practices
- Post election auditing procedures
- Voter identification
- Military and overseas voting issues
- Committee meetings on elections updates and issues, International Relations committee reports, Election reform group panel,
Secretary Brunner will work closely with President Cortes and the new slate of NASS executive officers who will oversee the association's activities for the coming year, including its direction on election administration, business services, securities, international relations and state archives.
States in the Midwest Region include: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
The members of the NASS Executive Board, who will hold office through July 2009, are:
Hon. Pedro A. Cortess, Pennsylvania (President)
Hon. Todd Rokita, Indiana (Past President)
Hon. Trey Grayson, Kentucky (President-Elect)
Hon. Matt Dunlap, Maine (Treasurer)
Hon. Robin Carnahan, Missouri (Secretary)
Hon. Ralph Mollis, Rhode Island (Eastern Region Vice President)
Hon. Karen Handel, Georgia (Southern Region Vice President)
Hon. Jennifer Brunner, Ohio (Midwestern Region Vice President)
Hon. Brad Johnson, Montana (Western Regional Vice President)
Hon. Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez, New York (Member at Large)
Hon. John Gale, Nebraska (Member at Large)
Founded in 1904, the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) is the oldest nonpartisan, professional organization of public officials in the U.S. Members include the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. On the Web: www.nass.org.
