This post originally appeared on the Foreign Policy website. Violent conflict over contested elections has plagued authoritarian and undemocratic countries around the world, as well as democracies that are troubled and threatened. On Wednesday, the United States became the newest member of this unfortunate club. Based on my experience working on election observation and democracy promotion…
This post originally appeared in GOVERNING. With new threats of ‘faithless legislatures’ ignoring the popular vote, reform is more urgent than ever. Allocating electoral votes proportionately would avoid election disasters and could have bipartisan appeal. — Happily, there was no drama when the nation’s presidential electors met on Monday to elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Thanks in…
This post originally appeared in Attorney at Law Magazine. Despite many Cassandra-like warnings of nightmare scenarios, the 2020 elections were an institutional success. Deserving credit are voters who participated in large numbers, election officials who adapted to the realities of conducting an election during a pandemic, and judges who balanced vague and sometimes conflicting constitutional…
This blog post originally appeared on The Fulcrum’s Election Dissection. One of the most talked-about questions of this incredibly fraught election has been whether President Trump will concede if defeated by Vice President Joe Biden. Trump has fueled this concern through unsubstantiated accusations of election fraud, remarkably irresponsible statements that probably rank among the most…
This post originally appeared on foreignpolicy.com. With an incumbent president attacking the electoral process as rigged and refusing to commit to accepting the results, the Nov. 3 U.S. elections increasingly resemble those in struggling democracies and autocratic countries. I speak from experience, having led or managed some 40 election observation efforts in 22 countries over…
This post originally appeared on Medium. By Larry Garber and Thessalia Merivaki With only a few weeks to go before the Nov. 3 election, Americans are being bombarded by stories in the news and on social media about election irregularities. On a daily basis, voters hear reports that registration applications have been addressed to deceased persons…
Larry Garber has worked on overseas elections for 35 years and is on the board of Election Reformers Network, a nonprofit founded by such international specialists now working to improve American electoral systems. Thirty years ago this spring, I received a call from a colleague at the National Democratic Institute who was on assignment in Eastern…
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…
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…
SKINNING THE DEMOCRATIC CAT We Americans find our ourselves today in a crisis of democracy. Our institutions don’t seem to work. They produce polarizing results. Gridlock and political stasis are prevalent. Visions of the future are bleak, featuring continued and increased stressing of our democratic institutions and traditions until they risk reaching the breaking point….
