Common Cause NC bolsters election security work by hiring new coordinator to examine readiness of NC’s voting infrastructure

RALEIGH – Common Cause NC is redoubling its commitment to ensuring a safe and secure election this year by bringing on a full-time election resiliency coordinator. Izzi Hernandez-Cruz will serve in that role with a primary focus on auditing North Carolina’s election systems to spot places in need of improvement.

“The addition of Izzi to our team strengthens our ability to help North Carolina fully prepare for this year’s historic election and meet any challenges to our election infrastructure,” said Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause NC. “It’s crucial that voters have complete confidence in the integrity of our election system, and we’re pleased to be a part of this important effort.”

Hernandez-Cruz has a master’s degree in public policy from Duke University and has spent the majority of his career researching North Carolina’s public education system with an eye towards building a better means of accountability. Now he’s applying those skills to help ensure counties are prepared for the election. That preparation includes having enough emergency paper ballots available if voting machines fail, effectively securing their online networks, and having paper backups of poll books in case electronic systems encounter problems.

He will also work to monitor the resiliency of the state’s absentee-by-mail process and the newly implemented online voter registration system. Finally, he will lead a post-election audit to rigorously check North Carolina’s various voting procedures to make sure the election accurately reflects the will of voters.

Common Cause NC is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy.