In the News
What States Can Do to Build Public Trust in Elections
(October 31, 2025) Advance Elections’ Karen Brinson Bell, interviewed by Governing.com: “In some ways, it’s not surprising that elections are fraught. The complexity of election processes can set the stage for misunderstanding, says Karen Brinson Bell, North Carolina’s chief election official from 2019 to 2025. ‘We’ve become a society that lives for sound bites and short snippets to explain things,’ she says. Sometimes, those short explanations can be misleading.” READ MORE
2025 Virginia Voter Guide & Behind the Ballot: An Inside Look Into Virginia Elections
(October 28, 2025) The 2025 Virginia Voter Guide was published by Cardinal News in partnership with Keep Our Republic. Additionally, a video interview with three registrars was produced. Advance Elections’ Chris Piper helped coordinate this effort. READ MORE & VIEW VIDEO
Va. registrars share how they keep rolls accurate, reflect on their role in the democratic process
(October 27, 2025) The Virginia Mercury and civic education nonprofit Keep Our Republic released as video series on the experiences of election workers from around Virginia with the help of Advance Elections’ Chris Piper. READ THE ARTICLE and view the videos.
Fostering Resilient Elections
A New Report on Strengthening Preparedness and Collaboration
By Andrea Byrne (Center for Tech and Civic Life Cybersecurity Advisor), Karen Brinson Bell (Advance Elections), Carolina Lopez (Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions) and TJ Pyche (The Elections Group)
Emergencies don’t wait for ballots to be counted. Natural disasters, cyber incidents, and infrastructure failures can strike at any point in the election cycle, disrupting operations, jeopardizing voter access, and undermining public confidence.
A new report from the Center for Tech and Civic Life, Fostering Resilient Elections: Opportunities for Stronger Election Administration and Emergency Management Collaboration, highlights how election officials and emergency managers can build stronger partnerships to safeguard elections in the face of disruption.
Read the rest of the article here.
Brinson Bell pens Op-Ed with Former Director of the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management on Importance of Election Officials Partnering with Emergency Management Professionals to Prepare for All Hazards
(October 8, 2025) - North Carolina recently recognized the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene. While it’s a moment to reflect on the state’s preparedness in the face of such a disaster, it’s also an opportunity to consider what happens when another storm hits, particularly during an election.
You can read the entire op-ed here.
Advance Elections’ Brinson Bell Panelist on Votebeat’s Public Trust in Elections Webinar
(September 19, 2025) - Votebeat hosted a Public Trust in Elections webinar with election expert and Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Charles Stewart; Philadelphia City Commissioner Seth Bluestein; and Karen Brinson Bell, Advance Elections Principle and Co-Founder, to talk about the factors that drive trust in elections. The conversation and online forum were moderated by Votebeat Editorial Director Jessica Huseman. You can watch the recording here.
Nearly a year after Helene, former NC elections director testifies about preparing for disaster
Washington, DC (September 16, 2025) - Advance Elections’ Principle and Co-Founder, Karen Brinson Bell told a subcommittee of the Committee on House Administration that preparation and close work with North Carolina Emergency Management and FEMA were key to moving obstacles out of the way of voters. The subcommittee hearing was on running elections in the face of natural disasters. READ MORE
Brinson Bell and Piper Launch Advance Elections
Richmond, VA; Raleigh, NC (September 3, 2025) – Advance Elections, LLC, a new partnership between former chief election officials, Karen Brinson Bell of North Carolina and Chris Piper of Virginia, recently launched to provide services and support to election jurisdictions across the country, particularly focused on cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, and emergency response and resiliency. READ MORE