Our guest speaker on Friday, October 27, 2024 was Secretary of State Steve Hobbs to talk about the upcoming elections. The Secretary has been a member of our Club since May 2005.
The Office of Secretary of State is much more than just elections. The Secretary of State is Washington's chief elections officer responsible for supervising state and local elections and working with 39 county auditor's offices running those elections, certifying results and producing the state's voter guide. During the past few years, the effort has been to encourage voter registration and turnout, adopt new technologies and policies to support that work and bolster the security of voting infrastructure and practices in Washington state.
The Secretary of State is also responsible for running the state library and related programs in communities and safeguarding and providing access to historical records and collections, registering and licensing corporations, partnerships and trademarks and registering charities and nonprofits and serving as chairman of the state Productivity Board and administering the address confidentiality programs for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.
Steve was involved in elections in Kosovo and Iraq. Misinformation is the biggest threat to the United States. There are over one million cyber attacks. Prior to Steve being appointed, former Secretary of State Kim Wyman had set up a good security programs and systems in Washington state. His office monitors social media website for misinformation. Integrity in the office of Secretary of State is absolutely key to running the office and maintaining a level of trust by the citizens of Washington State.
Prior to Steve's appointment to the secretary of state's position, he served as a state senator representing the 44th Legislative District and has over three decades of service in the U.S. Army Reserve as Lt. Colonel. Steve obtained his master's degree in public administration from the University of Washington.