Can American Democracy Survive the 2024 Elections?


The role of media, law, political norms, and technology in assuring free and fair elections and public acceptance of election results in the U.S.

Can American Democracy Survive the 2024 Elections?

The role of media, law, political norms, and technology in assuring free and fair elections and public acceptance of election results in the United States.

On March 17, 2023 the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA School of Law convened leading election officials, election administrators, scholars, lawyers, and community leaders in a cross-ideological, interdisciplinary conversation to consider ongoing threats to free and fair elections in the United States, and what may be done for a safe and successful 2024 U.S. presidential election.

Conference program

Address questions to: austindocampo@law.ucla.edu

Conference Videos

Complete playlist of all videos

Still image from the conference, Can American Democracy Survive the 2024 Elections?Welcome and introduction

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Richard L. Hasen, Professor of Law and Political Science and Director, Safeguarding Democracy Project, UCLA School of Law

 


Still image from the conference, Can American Democracy Survive the 2024 Elections?Panel 1: Election threats: inside and outside

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Moderator:

  • John Fortier, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

Panelists:

  • Jocelyn Benson, Secretary of State, Michigan
  • Neal Kelley, Registrar of Voters, Orange County, CA (Retired)
  • Stephen Richer, Recorder, Maricopa County, Arizona

 


Still image from the conference, Can American Democracy Survive the 2024 Elections?Panel 2: The role of media and social media

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Moderator:

  • Nathaniel Persily, James B. McClatchy Professor of Law, Stanford Law School

Panelists:

  • Renée DiResta, Technical Research Manager, Stanford Internet Observatory
  • Pam Fessler, Editor and Correspondent, NPR News (Retired)
  • Jack Lerner, Clinical Professor, UC Irvine School of Law
  • David Kaye, Clinical Professor, UC Irvine School of Law
  • Brendan Nyhan, James O. Freedman Presidential Professor, Department of Government, Dartmouth College

 


Still image from the conference, Can American Democracy Survive the 2024 Elections?Panel 3: The role of tech

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Moderator:

  • Elizabeth Howard, Senior Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice

Panelists:

  • Andrew Appel, Eugene Higgins Professor of Computer Science, Princeton University
  • Matt Masterson, Director of Information Integrity, Microsoft
  • Alex Stamos, Director, Stanford Internet Observatory
  • Kim Wyman, Senior Election Security Advisor for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

 


Still image from the conference, Can American Democracy Survive the 2024 Elections?Lunchtime Conversation: Election Denialism and the Future of the Republican Party

Sarah Longwell, President and CEO, Longwell Partners, and Publisher, The Bulwark, in conversation with Richard L. Hasen, Professor of Law and Political Science and Director, Safeguarding Democracy Project, UCLA School of Law

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Still image from the conference, Can American Democracy Survive the 2024 Elections?Panel 4: The role of politics and norms

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Moderator:

  • Bruce Cain, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Bill Lane Center for the American West, Stanford University

Panelists:

  • Julia Azari, Professor of Political Science, Marquette University
  • Larry Diamond, William L. Clayton Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, the Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), and a Bass University Fellow in Undergraduate Education, Stanford University
  • Norman Ornstein, Senior Fellow Emeritus, American Enterprise Institute
  • Charles Stewart III, Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Michael Tesler, Professor of Political Science, UC Irvine

 


Still image from the conference, Can American Democracy Survive the 2024 Elections?Panel 5: The role of election law

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Moderator:

  • Joey Fishkin, Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law, where he teaches and writes about employment discrimination law, election law, constitutional law, education law, fair housing law, poverty and inequality, and distributive justice.

Panelists:

  • Michael Morley, Sheila M. McDevitt Professor, Florida State University College of Law
  • Richard H. Pildes, Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law, NYU School of Law
  • Bertrall Ross, Justice Thurgood Marshall Distinguished Professor of Law; Director, Karsh Center for Law and Democracy, University of Virginia School of Law
  • Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, Brennan Center fellow and Professor of Law, Stetson University College of Law

 


Still image from the conference, Can American Democracy Survive the 2024 Elections?Panel 6: The role of practicing lawyers

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Moderator:

  • Emily Rong Zhang, Assistant Professor of Law, UC Berkeley School of Law

Panelists:

  • Bob Bauer, Professor of Practice and Distinguished Scholar in Residence Co-Director of the Legislative and Regulatory Process Clinic, NYU School of Law
  • Ben Ginsberg, Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution and Lecturer, Stanford Law School
  • Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense Fund
  • Nina Perales, Vice President of Litigation, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund

 


Complete playlist of all videos

Images from the Conference

Images from the Conference

Images from the Conference

Images from the Conference

Images from the Conference

As always, we welcome you to support the UCLA School of Law's Safeguarding Democracy Project. By donating you enable UCLA Law to put on events like this, which respond to the current legal and societal issues facing us today.

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Generously supported by:

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William and FLora Hewlett Foundation logo


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News
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Sep 30, 2024

Rick Hasen discusses mail-in ballot gathering with the AP

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Sep 20, 2024

Rick Hasen writes in Slate about the dangers of late efforts to mess with the election

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