Election officials across the country are busy preparing for safe and secure elections in 2026. Officials update and improve their plans every year based on factors such as the evolving threat environment, new tools, and lessons learned from challenges in prior election cycles. This continuous improvement is a key component of successful election security planning throughout the country.
The Brennan Center recently spoke with Ben Spear, the chief infrastructure and security officer and director of the Secure Elections Center at the New York State Board of Elections, about how officials responded to challenges during the 2025 election cycle, the lessons learned, and the extensive partnerships the board has with other state, local, and federal agencies. Spear has worked in elections for 10 years and previously launched the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, a national resource established to help election officials strengthen cybersecurity and information-sharing practices.
The mission of Spear and every election official is clear: ensure that every eligible voter can cast their ballot freely and fairly. This requires year-round planning, which may include conducting crisis scenario exercises, implementing election night reporting systems, and preparing for severe weather. The Brennan Center’s annual survey of election officials found that 71 percent are actively planning how to mitigate potential disruptions and 89 percent plan to coordinate with at least one other agency.
Tell us about your role at the New York State Board of Elections and what led you to this position.
Ben Spear: As Chief Infrastructure & Security Officer, I am responsible for internal policy and security initiatives at the New York State Board of Elections, as well as supporting counties through regulations, services, funding, and cybersecurity consulting. It’s really an all-directions job. The Secure Elections Center is a cross-functional team of not just security professionals but also the Election Operations team, which handles voting system certifications and election technology approvals, and our Public Information Office, which handles grants and mis- and disinformation. We serve as the bridge between county information technology folks and county boards of elections, providing workshops and security assessments.
What role does the New York State Board of Elections play in election administration?
Spear: New York is a bottom-up state; all county and city boards are independent. So, our role here is twofold: to regulate and enforce, and to be a partner. Because of the New York State election system’s bottom-up nature, rural Hamilton County has to have the same security for elections as Manhattan. At the board, we are constantly thinking about how we can help everyone achieve that. How do we provide resources through grants, services, people, to get everyone to a good place.
The important piece is the coordinating function. We have the ability to notify relevant state and federal agencies if something is happening and can connect to state and federal resources. During the election period, we have daily calls, email syncs, and playbooks to prepare for different events that may occur and a list of who’s responsible for each piece. We have built a network that acts fast. Utilities, state agencies, federal agencies, whoever is the best equipped to respond will. That’s probably the biggest benefit of the board.
Important local elections happened in New York City in 2025, including the mayoral election, which had the largest turnout in more than 50 years. Can you talk about the challenges elections offices faced, and how you were able to respond effectively?
Spear: Last year, the primary election in New York occurred during a major heatwave. We worked with the New York State Office of Emergency Management, New York State Department of Health, and other agencies to ensure that election workers and voters could continue safely. We made sure there was sufficient air conditioning and water at poll sites. Our ability to respond effectively was due to the benefit of relationships we already had in place with these state agencies. For example, we were able to provide water to voters in the primary because the state has stockpiles for different emergencies around the state. Since we’ve linked up with the Office of Emergency Management, we have access to and knowledge of pre-staged stockpiles across the state in advance of the election.
What role do partnerships play in keeping New York’s elections safe and secure?
Spear: Our core group of partners includes the state’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, Office of Information Technology Services, Department of Public Service, Department of Transportation, and state police, as well as the FBI and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. We meet throughout the year with these partners in advance of elections to plan for potential challenges. Following the heat wave and blizzard, we have engaged more with the Office of Emergency Management and have brought them into our election preparation plans. Now, we participate in their calls and are a part of the larger emergency management community. For example, when there are concerns about suspicious white powder mailings at an elections office, we are able to locate the nearest HAZMAT team and ensure they can respond accordingly. It goes back to this big piece of coordination where we are getting access to resources and folks that deal with these kinds of emergency response operations every day. It’s of real value to the Board and to our counties as well.
New York has an election security playbook. How does your office identify potential risks and vulnerabilities for each election cycle?
Spear: We have our core stock of vulnerabilities and risks that we think about. Then we evaluate with partners what has changed from the previous election, in the community environment and in the public sphere. For example, we knew other states were experiencing challenges related to people showing up to polling places being aggressive, so we knew this was potentially going to arise in our forthcoming election. We rely on what other states have seen, and other states rely on what we’ve seen, to drive preparation. So, when we had people showing up at polling places and making a ruckus, we had already given our election officials de-escalation training.
Everything with security, risk, and elections is a cycle. After each election, we review: What did we miss? What’s new? What did we already know was coming? Then we take those lessons, and we put them back into the playbook. That has been a really effective approach for us.
