Election Cyber Incident Communications Coordination Guide

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs (2018)

This guide was published with direct input from the National Guard Bureau (NGB) by the Defending Digital Democracy Project (D3P) as part of a larger series of guides designed to be used together by election administrators. It recommends that when a cyber incident crosses state lines, federal, state, and local officials speak with a single coordinated voice to maintain public trust — noting that contradictory messaging between federal and state officials, as occurred in 2016, erodes public confidence in the election system.