Originally published in The Washington Post | July 10, 2020 Across the country, election officials are living with a palpable sense of dread. Their worry is less about who will win or lose on Election Day than about how our vast, diverse system of voting will function amid a pandemic. Evidence from some primaries this…
Originally published in The Fulcrum | July 10, 2020 The Supreme Court has disarmed one time bomb ticking away in our presidential election system — the risk of “faithless” electors throwing an election to an undeserving candidate. Other critical problems remain, which the decision can play a part in helping us address. The court’s conclusion…
July 5, 2020 Election Reformers Network (ERN) joins with democracy activists and organizations around the world in mourning the death of Lorne Craner. Mr. Craner served as foreign policy advisor to Senator John McCain, longtime president of the International Republican Institute, and Assistant Secretary of State. As a tireless advocate for democracy, Mr. Craner worked…
June 22, 2020 The Election Reformers Network (ERN) stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement and disadvantaged populations in the United States and around the world. Banishing racism concerns all of us because the conditions that allow for its systemic exercise are deeply rooted in the political, social, and economic fabrics of all…
We join this letter from profound love of our country, and from personal experience with what freedom and democracy in the United States symbolize for people around the world. In working to strengthen democracy and human rights overseas, we have seen nations overcome monumental crises in pursuit of freedom. So often these heroic acts have…
For Immediate Release Contact: Kevin Johnson 617 794 4383 kjohnson@electionreformers.org electionreformers.org Bipartisan Group of International Democracy Experts Calls on U.S. Leaders to Respond to Crisis by Reaffirming Commitment to Fair & Inclusive Elections Washington, DC; April 30, 2020. Fifty leading members of the international democracy promotion community released an open letter today urging political leaders…
Published in The Fulcrum, April 14, 2020 Regrettably, the bipartisan cooperation that enabled last month’s $2.2 trillion economic stimulus package fell short when it came to addressing concerns about coronavirus and elections. Congress did allocate $400 million for state election preparation, but proposals to require more voting by mail and early in-person voting met with…
Originally Published: US News & World Report | April 7, 2020 IT MAY BE A SIGN OF things to come: Wisconsin voters went to the polls Tuesday in what could be a pivotal race for the Democratic presidential nomination and during a time of national crisis. And they won’t know who won for almost a week….
COVID-19 creates unique hurdles for the United States’ electoral system. Whatever responses are developed, including expanding voting by mail, we should be careful that untested procedures, or signature verification issues, or other unexpected problems don’t become 2020’s hanging chad. A critical way to reduce risk is to make better use of the 77-day time period…
By Kevin Johnson, Larry Garber, and Edward McMahon Since Ronald Reagan launched the National Endowment for Democracy in 1982, the U.S. government has regularly funded American organizations working to support democracy overseas. In scores of countries around the world, Americans have advised on the design of new election systems, nurtured emerging civil society, funded voter…
