Media Advisory: Elections expert Christy McCormick, a UB alum, to discuss election integrity, misinformation Thursday

BUFFALO, N.Y. — University at Buffalo alumna Christy A. McCormick is one of four commissioners serving on the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which is an independent, bipartisan group charged with helping Americans vote.

That includes everything from certifying voting systems and creating voting system guidelines to maintaining the national mail voter registration form and serving as a clearinghouse for information on how to best administer elections.

McCormick will visit UB to meet with students, including assisting in a voter registration drive. She’ll also lecture in a political science class, and join a panel discussion with UB faculty titled “Safeguarding Democracy: Examining election integrity and the impact of misinformation.”

When and where: Thursday, Sept. 19 on UB’s North Campus. Best times for news media:

·       11 to 11:45 a.m. – Voter registration drive at Baldy Hall.

·       3 to 4:15 p.m. – Lecture in a political science class at 201 Natural Sciences Complex.

·       6 to 7 p.m. – Panel discussion on election integrity and misinformation at the UB Center for the Arts Screening Room theater.

Background: In 2014, McCormick was nominated as a commissioner to the Election Assistance Commission by then President Barack Obama. She was confirmed by unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate.

She previously served as a senior trial attorney prosecuting discrimination violations of federal voting statutes in the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). While with the DOJ, she also helped oversee Iraq national elections from 2009-10.

For additional information on McCormick, visit her bio page at the Election Assistance Commission website.