Protecting Free & Fair Elections

Our Work

Without free, fair, and secure elections, voters have no voice, little control over the direction of the country, and few ways to correct course when things go awry.

Why Is This Important

Elections are the linchpin of our democracy. Holding elections, and ensuring that power changes hands in accordance with their outcomes, is the essence of democratic self-government. By defending them, we also protect our rights and our system of government.

This takes two steps. First, we defend the process of holding elections. We do so by making sure that election officials are allowed to do their work without interference, that election systems are secure, and that politicians are unable to dictate the outcome or manipulate election rules.

Second, we protect voters’ ability to participate meaningfully in the process, free from intimidation and harassment.

By ensuring that elections remain free, fair, and secure, we maintain our collective ability to shape the future of the country — or, when needed, to change course. In that, we protect voters’ trust in the results, even when their preferred candidates lose.

The kinds of outcomes we seek

  1. Build secure, accessible, and accurate election systems and processes that are free from interference from foreign adversaries or domestic political actors.
  2. Create guardrails that ensure voters and candidates abide by the outcomes of every election.
  3. Foster public confidence in the fact that elections are free, fair, and secure.

What Impact Have We Had

Protected tens of thousands of voters from disfranchisement, intimidation, suppression, and election manipulation, and secured new precedents around the Ku Klux Klan Act and the Voting Rights Act.

Helped defend the 2020 and 2022 elections from attempts to manipulate and subvert a free and fair result, and assisted in the passage of reforms to the Electoral Count Act that will better protect the will of the voters and the transfer of presidential power.

The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, explained

The Ku Klux Klan Act used nearly all of Congress’s constitutional powers to respond to the Klan’s coordinated political violence and intimidation.

October 17, 2023

  • Protecting Elections
  • Analysis
A cartoon of what happens if no candidate gets 270 electoral votes - a contingent election

A contingent election, explained

A contingent election is what happens if no one wins 270 electoral votes. The House selects a president & the Senate selects a vice president

August 22, 2023

  • Protecting Elections
  • Shaping the Democracy of Tomorrow
  • Analysis

What is the Big Lie?

The Big Lie is the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump and that the Republicans who affirmed Biden’s victory were part of a conspiracy to defeat their own party’s president

August 15, 2023

  • Countering Disinformation
  • Defending the Rule of Law
  • Protecting Elections
  • Analysis

What is election subversion?

Election subversion is any effort to change the rules to prevent the true election winner from taking office. It includes disinformation, voter intimidation & suppression, and election denialism.

August 14, 2023

  • Countering Disinformation
  • Protecting Elections
  • Analysis