With the first 2020 votes just weeks away, groups are stepping up with new messaging initiatives that aim to inform the public and counteract the risks of external influences.

The news industry announced something to this effect recently, and now the National Association of Secretaries of State is getting in on the action with a program called #TrustedInfo2020. The campaign will bring together dozens of partners to help encourage the public to reach out to state and local election officials for trusted, accurate information.

In a news release, NASS President Paul Pate, the Iowa secretary of state, noted that the initiative was an effort to put up a united front on an important, bipartisan issue.

“The best way we can combat potential foreign influence in the 2020 elections is to be united as Americans and look to election officials for accurate election information,” Pate said in the release. “By promoting #TrustedInfo2020, my colleagues and I are able to shine a bright light on the importance of getting election information directly from us—the trusted sources.”

NASS will be teaming with partners throughout the government, association, and technology spaces to help expose this message to a broad audience. Among those taking part are the National Governors Association, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the National Association of Attorneys General, the Center for Democracy & Technology, Google, Facebook, and Twitter.

The groups hope to reach millions of Americans with recommendations on what to do. Maggie Toulouse Oliver, NASS president-elect and the New Mexi­co secretary of state, says the initiative reflects the value NASS members’ respective offices have in informing the public.

“Election officials are experts in their field. We are the go-to sources for correct and up-to-date in­formation for every election,” Toulouse Oliver said in the release. “We answer questions, solve problems, certify results, and protect the integrity of every election, among many other things. It’s our job to be the trusted sources people use for election information, and we’re going to make sure that voters can easily and securely par­ticipate in the 2020 elections.”

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