Petersen for Nebraska
Scott Petersen, Republican nominee for Nebraska Secretary of State, today announced the endorsement of Clay Parikh, a retired U.S. Marine, cybersecurity professional, and nationally recognized election security expert.
Parikh brings an unusually technical perspective to the election integrity debate. Over a career spanning two decades in cybersecurity and information assurance, he has worked in vulnerability management, security testing and evaluation, system accreditation and support of both civilian and defense agencies. He also spent nearly a decade working in several Voting System Test Labs, where he tested election systems produced by multiple vendors.
That experience, Parikh said, shaped his view of what genuine election security requires.
“I’m proud to endorse Scott Petersen for Nebraska Secretary of State,” Parikh said. “As a Marine and cybersecurity professional, I know security must be tested, verified and able to withstand scrutiny. Scott Petersen understands that.”
Parikh said public confidence cannot depend solely on assurances that technology or election systems are functioning as intended.
“Security is not achieved by simply asking people to trust a system,” Parikh said. “It is achieved by testing the system, challenging assumptions, identifying vulnerabilities and either remediating or mitigating them to build processes capable of standing up to scrutiny.”
Parikh said Petersen’s approach to election administration reflects those principles.
“Scott understands that election security requires transparency, strong chain of custody, accurate voter rolls, meaningful verification, durable records of voter intent and election processes the public can understand and trust,” Parikh said.
“He also understands that cybersecurity and election integrity cannot be separated. Modern elections increasingly depend upon technology, software, databases and outside vendors. Those systems deserve the same seriousness we expect from other critical infrastructure.”
Petersen said Parikh’s endorsement is particularly meaningful because few voices in the election integrity movement bring his combination of military service, professional cybersecurity experience and direct experience testing voting systems.
“Clay brings something incredibly valuable to this national conversation: firsthand technical experience,” Petersen said. “He is a Marine who has spent decades thinking about security, vulnerabilities, testing and verification. He has actually worked inside Voting System Test Labs and tested election equipment from multiple vendors. When Clay talks about election security, he understands both the technology and the principles required to secure critical systems.”
Petersen also praised Parikh’s willingness to continue raising difficult questions about election technology and public confidence.
“Clay has remained steadfast because he understands that election security is bigger than a political cycle,” Petersen said. “He has dedicated years to helping Americans understand that good security welcomes scrutiny. You test assumptions, identify weaknesses, correct them and keep improving. That mindset is exactly what we should bring to election administration.”
Petersen said Nebraska has an opportunity to become a national leader in applying those principles.
“My goal is not to ask Nebraskans to simply trust their elections,” Petersen said. “It is to build processes transparent and verifiable enough that we continually earn that trust. Having someone with Clay’s background and experience standing with our campaign reinforces the importance of that mission.”
Petersen has made restoring confidence in Nebraska elections a central focus of his campaign for Secretary of State, emphasizing accurate voter rolls, citizenship verification, voter ID, voter-verifiable paper ballots, strong chain-of-custody protections, transparent audits and greater public visibility into election administration.
About Clay Parikh
Clay Parikh is a retired U.S. Marine and election security expert with approximately 20 years of experience in cybersecurity and information assurance.
His professional work has included vulnerability management, security testing and evaluation, system accreditation, and cybersecurity support for civilian and Department of Defense agencies as well as international clients including NATO.
Parikh holds a Master of Science in cybersecurity/computer science from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and a Bachelor of Science in computer science from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He maintained the Certified Information Systems Security Professional designation for 17 years in good standing and also held Certified Ethical Hacker and Certified Hacking Forensic Investigator certifications.
From 2008 through 2017, Parikh worked in Voting System Test Labs. He has tested voting systems from at least eight different vendors.
About Scott Petersen
Scott Petersen is the Republican nominee for Nebraska Secretary of State. A Nebraska business owner, conservative leader and longtime Republican activist, Petersen is running to restore confidence in Nebraska elections, modernize business services, promote civic education and ensure the Secretary of State’s office serves every Nebraskan with transparency, accountability and professionalism.
Learn more at PetersenForNebraska.com.
