U.S. Election: Election Bites

Grab your lunch and join The Carter Center for 10-minute interviews with election experts on some of the most pressing U.S. election issues.

Election Bites: From Recommendations to Reform
Carter Center Democracy Program
Panelist: Amb. Urszula Gacek, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Election observers issue recommendations for how to improve future elections. But do these really bring about change—especially in the U.S.?
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Election Bites: Redistricting 2021
Democracy Program
Panelist: Kevin Johnson, Carter Center U.S. Election Expert Study Team
With the 2020 census complete, it will soon be time for states to redraw congressional and state legislative districts. How does this process work—and how should it work?

Election Bites: Election Reform
Democracy Program
Panelist: Lia Merivaki, Carter Center U.S. Election Expert Study Team
Now that the 2020 cycle is over, everyone is talking about improving future elections. But improvement is in the eye of the beholder. Can we find a happy medium between making it easier to vote and holding secure elections? Can't integrity and access go hand in hand?

Election Bites: Election Reflection
Democracy Program
Panelist: Larry Garber, Carter Center U.S. Election Expert Study Team
The 2020 races are finally in the rearview mirror. Time to take a few minutes to look at what went well, what pandemic innovations we might want to keep, and what needs improvement.

Election Bites: Digital Divide
Panelist: Michael Baldassaro, Carter Center Consultant
A member of a Carter Center team that has been monitoring U.S. social media for disinformation, hate speech, and violent rhetoric will share key findings.

Election Bites: Validating the Election
Panelist: Larry Garber, Carter Center U.S. Election Expert Study Team
On Jan. 6, Congress meets to read out the slate of electors from each state and tally the Electoral College votes. This process is a formality, but it promises to offer a little more drama than usual this year. Just before the process kicks off, learn a little about what can and can’t happen.

Election Bites: Once More to the Polls
Panelist: Kevin Johnson, Carter Center U.S. Election Expert Study Team
Georgians return to the voting booth Jan. 5 to settle two of the most hotly contested Senate races in history. Did you know Georgia is one of the only states that holds runoffs? Why? And how does it work in other places? What’s likely to happen if these races end up as close as Georgia’s presidential race?

Election Bites: A Toxic Brew
Panelist: Nathan Stock, Carter Center Conflict Resolution Program Consultant
Polarization. Dehumanization. Disinformation. Though November’s election was largely violence free, all the factors that made many worry about the possibility of violence still exist. With all eyes on Georgia’s Senate runoff, our conflict resolution expert discusses these factors and what we can do about them.

Election Bites: Electoral College Reform
Panelist: Kevin Johnson, Carter Center U.S. Election Expert Study Team
On Dec. 14, electors will meet in their states to vote for president and vice president, a key step in one of the most unusual election systems in the world. Join us for a discussion of our peculiar institution and the proposals to make it better reflect the will of the people.

Election Bites: Can Dead Cats Vote?
Panelist: Lia Merivaki, Carter Center U.S. Election Expert Study Team
On the last day to register to vote for Georgia’s Senate runoffs, our expert takes a look at how voter registration works, including the way that voter rolls are cleaned, the safeguards in place to help ensure that the voters on the books are indeed living humans who legally reside in Georgia, and more.

Election Bites: The Final Countdown
Larry Garber, Carter Center U.S. Election Expert Study Team
Election season is winding down, but there are still important steps ahead. Next week brings the safe harbor deadline, and the week after, states' electors cast their votes. But what is a safe harbor deadline? Who chooses state electors? And how does the Electoral College even work?

Election Bites: Secret Ballots
Avery Davis-Roberts, Carter Center Democracy Program
The right to cast ballots in secret is a basic election principle. But did you know this wasn’t always so in America? Learn more about the history of ballot secrecy and its relationship to voter intimidation and vote buying – and how ballot secrecy is protected in today’s world of voting machines and mail-in ballots.

Election Bites: Get Informed
Lia Merivaki, Carter Center U.S. Election Expert Study Team
What’s the difference between a legal and illegal ballot? Why did vote counting take so long in some states but seem to go so quickly in others? What happens when fraud is alleged? With rumors flying, where can voters turn for accurate information? Get answers to these and other questions and find out how to be a more educated voter.

Election Bites: Recounts & Audits
Kevin Johnson, Carter Center U.S. Election Expert Study Team
As the initial vote counting wraps up, talk turns to recounts and audits. Nearly half of all states do automatic recounts if the margin of victory is below .25 or .5 percent; in others, losers must request and pay for recounts. But what exactly are officials counting? And what’s the difference between a recount and a postelection audit?

Election Bites: How Community Leaders Can Support Peaceful Elections
Nathan Stock, Carter Center Conflict Resolution Program Consultant
The possibility of election-related violence is making headlines nationwide, and the Center is partnering with grassroots organizations to offer conflict prevention training and disseminate messages supporting a peaceful electoral transition. Learn what community and faith leaders can do to mitigate possible violence.

Election Bites: Preventing Fraud & Safeguarding Ballots
Tammy Patrick, Senior Advisor, Democracy Fund
Patrick spent 11 years as an election official in Maricopa County, Arizona, and now provides election officials across the country with the knowledge and tools they need to best serve voters. She’ll offer an inside look at some of the safeguards in place to make sure that absentee ballots don’t get lost, that citizens vote once and only once, and that counting procedures are accurate.

Election Bites: What to Expect Election Night – and Beyond
Larry Garber, Carter Center U.S. Election Expert Study Team
What is likely to happen after the polls close? Find out what many people are saying about how long we’ll have to wait for results, the likely spread of disinformation, and the possibility of election-related court cases in the days and weeks after Nov. 3.

Election Bites: An International Observer Looks at U.S. Elections
David Carroll, Director, Carter Center Democracy Program
Carroll has been involved in about 80 of the Center’s 111 election missions. Hear what he has to say about international election standards and how the U.S. does and doesn’t measure up to those, and what the 2020 U.S. election has in common with some of the 39 other countries in which we’ve worked.

Election Bites: Election Observers & Voter Intimidation
Lia Merivaki, Carter Center U.S. Election Expert Study Team
Learn more about the various kinds of observers you may see at the polls on the Election Day – their goals, what they can observe, and what rules are in place to help ensure that they can promote transparency in our election processes without subjecting voters or election workers to intimidation.

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The Carter Center is working to support elections at home by providing objective information and analysis about the election process and advancing good practices in transparency. Learn more »