BRIEFING #3
Pennsylvania Pre-Election Briefing
WHEN: Completed 10/2/24, 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm ET
WHAT: This Pennsylvania briefing introduced the Election Overtime project and highlighted potential election issues facing Pennsylvania. The online event will also feature an overview of resources for journalists, presentations from members of our speakers’ bureau, and stressed the importance of accurate reporting.
SPEAKERS
Listed in order of appearance.
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Heather Balas
Heather Balas, Vice President of the Election Reformers Network, will moderate the briefing and provide context on the Election Overtime legal briefing materials. She brings over 25 years of experience in public policy, including research, citizen deliberation, advocacy, and voter education. Heather is a senior consultant to the Carter Center, advising on reforms to strengthen American democracy. Heather is the previous President and Executive Director of New Mexico First, a cross-partisan public policy organization co-founded by former U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Pete Domenici. She holds a master’s degree in political communication from the University of Maryland and a bachelor’s degree in journalism. |
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Kevin Johnson
Kevin Johnson, Executive Director of the Election Reformers Network, will present newly released survey data on voter understanding of the rule of law in elections, as well as context around the increased attention to certification procedures in the U.S. He is the co-founder ERN, and since 2017, has led the organization’s research and advocacy programs focused on impartial election administration, independent redistricting, and election protection. Kevin draws on decades of experience supporting emerging democracies overseas and advancing reforms in the U.S. Kevin holds an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from Yale University. |
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Judge John E. Jones III, President, Dickinson College
Judge John E. Jones III was named Dickinson’s College’s 30th president in February 2022. Jones previously retired as chief judge of the U.S. Middle District Court of Pennsylvania. He was appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate in 2002. Jones presided over several high-profile cases, including the landmark case of Kitzmiller v. Dover School District, after which he held that teaching intelligent design within a public school science curriculum was unconstitutional. He also resolved the matter of Whitewood v. Wolf by striking down as unconstitutional Pennsylvania’s ban on same-sex marriage. Jones co-chaired Pennsylvania Governor-elect Tom Ridge’s transition team and served as chair of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Judge Jones graduated from Mercersburg Academy, Dickinson College, and Penn State Dickinson Law. He and his wife, Beth, have two children and three grandchildren. Kathy Boockvar, President, Athena Strategies LLC
Kathy Boockvar is President of Athena Strategies LLC, working to strengthen election security and democracy across the U.S. Boockvar previously served as Pennsylvania Secretary of State, overseeing secure and accessible elections amidst a global pandemic, marked by unparalleled transparency and voter participation. She also served as co-chair of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS)’s Elections Committee from 2019-2020, and as NASS Representative on the Election Infrastructure Subsector Government Coordinating Council (EIS-GCC), a collaboration among federal, state, and local officials to secure elections. Boockvar is a founding member of the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections, a cross-sector collaboration working to help protect election workers, voters, and infrastructure. She received her law degree from the American University, Washington College of Law, and her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. |
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Jennifer Morrell, CEO and Co-Founder, The Elections Group
Jennifer Morrell is the CEO and Co-Founder of The Elections Group, where she creates professional resources for elections officials and consults on election administration and auditing. She serves as a subject matter expert and advisory board member for a number of national organizations. Morrell is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and was an elections official in Utah and Colorado. She is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs and completed a Master of Arts in Management at Webster University. |
Emma Shoucair, Antigerrymandering Political Lead, RepresentUS
Emma is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan Law School (Go Blue!). After graduating from law school, she completed two federal clerkships and practiced for several years litigating constitutional and democracy issues in Pennsylvania, including federal- and state-level redistricting in 2022 and many lawsuits over the constitutionality of mail-in ballots and related issues. Emma is currently the Antigerrymandering Political Lead for RepresentUs.
Emma is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan Law School (Go Blue!). After graduating from law school, she completed two federal clerkships and practiced for several years litigating constitutional and democracy issues in Pennsylvania, including federal- and state-level redistricting in 2022 and many lawsuits over the constitutionality of mail-in ballots and related issues. Emma is currently the Antigerrymandering Political Lead for RepresentUs.
