Election Cyber Incident Communications Plan Template for Political Parties and Campaigns

Cover of Election Cyber Incident PDF

In November 2017, the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs released “The Cybersecurity Campaign Playbook” for campaign professionals. In February 2018, it released a set of three U.S. elections playbooks designed to be used together by U.S.-based election administrators: “The State and Local Election Cybersecurity Playbook,” The Election Cyber Incident Communications Coordination Guide,” and “The Election Incident Communications Plan Template.”

Following the release of those playbooks, we heard from international organizations about the need for similar preparation globally. To respond to this need, we are releasing the “Election Incident Communications Plan Template” for a global audience. Wherever election cybersecurity incidents occur, political parties, campaigns, and others supporting democratic elections should be equipped with the tools to communicate quickly and effectively to maintain confidence in the democratic election system.

Published by the International Republican Institute (IRI)National Democratic Institute (NDI), and Harvard University's Belfer Center.