Centers Of Excellence

Safeguarding Democracy Project

Safeguarding Democracy Project promotes research, collaboration, and advocacy aimed at ensuring free and fair elections in the U.S. conducted in accordance with democratic norms and the rule of law.

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Professor Hasen Speaks About “Safeguarding Democracy Project”

Professor Hasen Speaks to CNN about January 6, the risks of election subversion in 2024, and the new “Safeguarding Democracy Project” at UCLA Law.

The Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA Law promotes research, collaboration, and advocacy aimed at ensuring continued free and fair elections in the United States, conducted in accordance with democratic norms and the rule of law. The events following the 2020 presidential elections, which led to the dangerous January 6, 2021 insurrection at the United States Capitol, demonstrated that the American electoral system depends as much, if not more, on people acting in good faith as upon mere legal constraints. Since those events, this risk of election subversion has been coupled with new efforts to make it harder for some eligible voters to register and to vote. These changes threaten the cornerstone of American democracy: that all eligible voters, and only eligible voters, will be able to freely cast a vote that will be fairly and accurately counted, with the winner of the election peacefully taking office and accepted as legitimate.

Under the leadership of UCLA Law Professor Richard L. Hasen, one of the nation’s leading election law scholars, the Safeguarding Democracy Project is built upon the premise that tackling issues of U.S. election integrity must be collaborative: across ideologies, across scholarly disciplines, and as a bridge between theory and practice.

The Safeguarding Democracy Project brings together in dialogue scholars, election administrators, legislators, lawyers, voting rights advocates, and concerned citizens to develop practical solutions to urgent problems. It holds conferences, produces reports, and files legal briefs to educate and serve the public good.


National nonpartisan ad hoc committee, under the auspices of the SDP, releases report with 24 recommendations for protecting election integrity in 2024

A national nonpartisan panel led by UCLA professor Richard Hasen issued 24 recommendations for safeguarding the 2024 U.S. elections.

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Sep 13, 2023

National panel led by UCLA Law professor recommends 24 ways to protect integrity of 2024 elections

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Aug 15, 2023

Rick Hasen writes in Slate about the Trump indictment in Georgia

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