US National Association of State Election Directors

What US National Association of State Election Directors does

NASED (the National Association of State Election Directors) is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) professional membership association founded in 1989 and headquartered at 1200 G Street NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC. The organization serves as the recognized professional body for state election directors across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five US territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). Its core function is to disseminate election administration best practices, coordinate with federal agencies (notably CISA on the annual Tabletop the Vote exercise and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission on Voluntary Voting System Guidelines), and advocate for election officials on policy matters. State election directors working under NASED's umbrella are responsible for implementing election laws, maintaining voter registration databases, and supporting more than 9,000 local election jurisdictions nationwide.

NASED's core offerings are informational resources rather than technology products: the Election Communications Toolkit (developed in partnership with the National Association for Media Literacy Education, providing customizable social media graphics, animated videos, and media literacy tip sheets in English and Spanish), the For Voters Portal (state-by-state links to voter registration, absentee ballot, and poll worker information), and a Careers in Elections job board. The organization does not develop proprietary technology, sell software, or charge for its services or resources. The organization is led by Executive Director Amy Cohen, with Mandy Vigil (New Mexico Secretary of State) serving as President and Bryan Caskey (Kansas Secretary of State) as Incoming President.

As a nonprofit professional membership association, NASED operates primarily through membership dues from state election directors and coordinates high-profile initiatives including the annual Tabletop the Vote election security exercise (over 1,000 participants in 2021), the annual NASED Innovators Awards program (running since 2019), and the Poll Worker, Esq. initiative with the American Bar Association. The organization functions with a small staff (1-10 employees) and pursues a community-led go-to-market motion across digital channels (website, press releases, social media on Twitter @NASEDorg and Facebook, email newsletters, and annual in-person and virtual conferences).

Name

US National Association of State Election Directors

Legal name

National Association of State Election Directors

Website

https://nased.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NASED is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) professional membership association founded in 1989 that disseminates election administration best practices and coordinates election security among state election directors across all 50 states, DC, and five US territories.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Election Administration Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

National Governing Bodies (NGBs) (MPAKAFAC)

Keywords

• Election administration
• Election security coordination
• Voter education resources
• Membership association
• Professional election officials

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional association, NASED operates primarily through membership from state election directors. The organization does not charge for services and provides free resources to members and the public.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NASED is a nonpartisan professional membership association that disseminates election administration best practices and information across the states. It offers free informational resources to members and the public, including the Election Communications Toolkit, a state voter information portal, and an election jobs board. The association also coordinates election security initiatives with federal agencies and private sector partners.

Product overview

NASED is a nonpartisan professional membership association that provides election administration resources, not a technology product company. Its primary offerings include the Election Communications Toolkit (social media graphics, videos, and tip sheets for election offices), the For Voters Portal (state voter information links), and Careers in Elections (job postings). These are informational resources and tools for election officials and voters, not software products or platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Election Communications Toolkit A free library of customizable social media graphics, animated videos, and media literacy tip sheets for election offices, available in English and Spanish, developed in partnership with the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) to help election officials communicate with voters and combat misinformation.
• For Voters Portal State voter information portal providing links to register to vote, check registration status, find absentee ballot information, and locate poll worker opportunities across all 50 states and US territories.
• Careers in Elections Job posting board for positions available in state and territorial election offices, currently featuring positions from member states including Massachusetts and Mississippi.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and supporting.

• National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022NASED partnered with NAMLE to develop the Election Communications Toolkit, a comprehensive library of materials for election offices including customizable social media graphics, animated videos, and media literacy tip sheets in English and Spanish to help election officials communicate with voters and combat misinformation.
• Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021CISA coordinates with NASED and NASS to host the annual Tabletop the Vote election security exercise, bringing together federal, state, local, and private sector partners. CISA provides cybersecurity support, vulnerability assessments, and threat information sharing through the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC).
• U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021The EAC works with NASED on voting system guidelines, election security, and standards development. NASED has provided input on Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) 2.0 adoption and deprecation of VVSG 1.0.
• American Bar Association (ABA)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2020NASED and NASS collaborate with the ABA on the 'Poll Worker, Esq.' initiative to recruit attorneys and law students to serve as poll workers. The program began in 2020 and has continued through 2024 elections, with poll worker training potentially eligible for Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.
• Anheuser-BuschminorOthers · 1 January 2020During the COVID-19 pandemic, Anheuser-Busch donated more than 8 million ounces of hand sanitizer to polling locations across the US, coordinated through NASED, NASS, and CISA. The brewer utilized its production capabilities and logistics network to distribute the sanitizer.
• National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019NASS and NASED issue joint statements, coordinate on election security initiatives including Tabletop the Vote, and work together on poll worker recruitment and voter registration campaigns like National Voter Registration Day.
• Center for Internet Security (CIS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIS created resources to help state and local election officials understand cybersecurity priorities and engage in collaboration to address common threats. CIS operates the EI-ISAC for election infrastructure threat information sharing.
• Defending Digital Democracy Project (Belfer Center, Harvard Kennedy School)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated three guides for state and local election officials: the State and Local Election Cybersecurity Playbook, Election Cyber Incident Communications Coordination Guide, and Election Incident Communications Plan Template.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Conference of State Legislatures: NCSL is a larger bipartisan association serving all state legislators and legislative staff across the U.S. It overlaps with NASED in election policy domain expertise and convenes state officials, but operates at a much broader scope covering all legislative issues, not just election administration.
• Council of State Governments: CSG is a nonpartisan association serving all three branches of state government, with election administration as one area of focus. CSG offers policy research and convening capacity similar to NASED but at a broader scope, making it comparable as an established umbrella organization for state officials.
• National Association of Counties: NACo is a nonprofit association serving county governments, which are responsible for administering elections at the local level through more than 9,000 local jurisdictions that NASED state directors oversee. NACo provides parallel convening, advocacy, and best-practice sharing capacity in the local-government space.

Emerging players

• Bipartisan Policy Center: BPC's Election Reform Program works directly with state election officials on policy, administration, and security issues — overlapping with NASED's mission. While BPC is a broader think tank, its election program operates as a comparable convening and policy-development entity for the same state-director audience.

Direct peers

• The Election Center: The Election Center is a nonprofit association for election officials at federal, state, and local levels, providing training and certification. It overlaps directly with NASED's mission of professional development for election administrators and serves a related but broader membership that includes local election officials.
• National Association of Secretaries of State: NASS is the most direct peer to NASED — both are nonpartisan 501(c)(3) associations serving state-level election officials (Secretaries of State vs. State Election Directors). They coordinate on joint statements, Tabletop the Vote, National Voter Registration Day, and poll worker recruitment, making them structurally and operationally twin associations.
• U.S. Election Assistance Commission: The EAC is the federal independent agency that partners with NASED on voting system guidelines (VVSG 2.0), election security standards, and best practice dissemination. While federally chartered rather than a private association, EAC and NASED share the same customer base (state election officials) and pursue overlapping missions in election administration.

Regional players

• International Association of Government Officials: Other NAICS/SIC government official associations. Not confident this exists as a real entity — skipping.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights3 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/NASEDorg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-association-of-state-election-directors

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about US National Association of State Election Directors