ST. LOUIS (AP) — A national gathering in St. Louis in September will focus on election security.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft announced this week that the National Election Security Summit will be Sept. 10-11. Participants will include national, state and local election authorities, who will be joined by officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Election Assistance Commission and other experts.

Ashcroft says the goal is to mitigate threats and vulnerabilities in preparation for the November 2018 elections.

The gathering is hosted by St. Louis-based World Wide Technology.