Love It or Leave It: A Conversation About Elections Resilience and Resolve with Kim Wyman

Democracy thrives when elections are secure, transparent, and trusted by the public. In the latest Democracy Fix episode, Mia Minkin, Angelina Clapp, and I sat down with former Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman, a member of Issue One’s National Council on Election Integrity and advocate for safe and secure elections, to unpack the complexities of election administration in the modern era and to reflect on how elections were safe and secure in 2024, even in spite of a wide range of challenges, including foreign malign influence and dozens of bomb threats at polling sites in key states on the last day of voting. One thing is clear from our conversation: Protecting our democratic processes is not just a job — it’s a calling.

Sec. Wyman’s journey into election administration began serendipitously in the 1990s when she applied for a position in the Washington State Auditor's office. “Like everyone I know in elections, you either love it and dedicate your career to it, or you leave within six months,” she shared. For Sec. Wyman, it was love at first ballot. In the over three decades that she’s worked in the sector, she’s seen the field transform, adapting to seismic political and technological shifts while weathering escalating public scrutiny.

Transparency to Build Public Confidence

In our conversation, Sec. Wyman underscored the importance of public confidence in elections. “Elections are the foundation for the representatives we send to Congress, state legislatures, and even local governments. If people lose trust in the process, they lose trust in their leaders,” she explained.

One of the greatest challenges election officials face is the spread of false election information. Sec. Wyman noted that it’s often the losing side in any election that questions its integrity. “Both sides do it. Sometimes it’s easier to say the election was rigged than to look at what went wrong in a campaign,” she said. This narrative, compounded by foreign and domestic interference, threatens to continue to erode public trust in the system. Transparency, she emphasized, is the key to restoring faith. “Election officials spend most of their time not only doing their job technically well but also focusing on building trustworthy elections. We lean into transparency — welcoming observers, explaining processes, and showing how every vote is counted accurately.”

The Evolving Threats to Election Security

Sec. Wyman spoke candidly about how election administration has become increasingly complex over the years. From the early days of punch cards to today’s digital systems, the threats have evolved, and so has the expertise required to mitigate them. “By 2016, when Russia started trying to hack into our systems, I had to become a cybersecurity expert. By 2020, I had to add public health and communications expertise to the mix,” she said.

The 2020 election was a turning point, where election officials had to ensure safe voting during a global pandemic while simultaneously fending off cyber threats and misinformation. Sec. Wyman commended the field’s resilience, attributing much of the success to preparedness. “The tabletop exercises, the incident response plans — we were ready for COVID because we had already been preparing for ‘what ifs,’” she explained.

Supporting the People Who Protect Democracy

Behind every secure election is a dedicated workforce, often operating with limited resources. Sec. Wyman highlighted the disparities between well-funded jurisdictions and those with fewer resources. Federal funding for elections remains a critical issue. “Congress sets specific rules for how federal elections must be run, yet provides little funding for implementation,” Sec. Wyman said. She advocated for a national conversation about cybersecurity and technology funding, noting that aging systems are a vulnerability. “We need to ensure that every jurisdiction, no matter how small, has the resources to protect against nation-state actors.”

Leadership and Resolve

Sec. Wyman’s passion for elections stems from her deep commitment to democracy. Her resilience is rooted in her belief in the collective good. “Election officials focus on the basics — getting the mechanics right — because this work is too important to fail,” she said.

As our conversation concluded, Sec. Wyman reminded us that safeguarding democracy requires a collective effort. Whether it’s advocating for election funding, combating misinformation, or simply voting, we all play a role in ensuring the integrity of our elections. Our conversation is a testament to the power of public service and a reminder that protecting our electoral system is a challenge worth undertaking — for this generation and the next.

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