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.
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.
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 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.
- Build secure, accessible, and accurate election systems and processes that are free from interference from foreign adversaries or domestic political actors.
- Create guardrails that ensure voters and candidates abide by the outcomes of every election.
- Foster public confidence in the fact that elections are free, fair, and secure.
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.
SPOTLIGHT: The Shortlist Seven Ways Platforms Can Prepare for the U.S. 2024 Election SPOTLIGHT: The Shortlist
Unraveling the Rise of Mass Voter Challenges
How voter challenge laws are being abused to disrupt the election process.
June 17, 2024
Analyzing Mass Voter Challenges in 2024
Mass challenges are frivolous, redundant, and are an attempt to circumvent federal law, but largely fail.
October 9, 2024
Defending the rights of eligible voters
Protect Democracy filed a lawsuit in 2024 to restore the rights of eligible voters in the state of Virginia.
October 7, 2024
The ‘blue shift’ and ‘red mirage’ in election results, explained
The terms refer to a phenomenon where the proportion of votes counted for Democratic candidates increases as votes continue to be tabulated.
October 7, 2024
The 2024 Election After Hurricane Helene: North Carolina
The State Board of Elections and other officials have broad authority to make sure that all eligible voters are able to vote safely and securely this year.
October 7, 2024
The lurking danger of zombie lawsuits
Election deniers are suing — but not to win. Zombie lawsuits are designed to come back from the dead months after they're filed.
October 4, 2024
Understanding the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022
The Electoral Count Reform Act provides much-needed clarity on the process of casting and counting electoral votes.
September 18, 2024
Noncitizen voting lies, explained
Viral lies about noncitizen voting are straight out of the election subversion playbook.
September 10, 2024
Arizona voter rolls: A fact sheet for 2024
There is no “correct” amount of inactivations or removals we can expect each year, since state populations are constantly changing in varied ways.
September 10, 2024
Authoritarianism, explained
Authoritarianism is a method of rule that suppresses political freedoms and civil rights, using various levers of control to shift power from the people to the hands of one ruler or set of rulers.
August 12, 2024
Election certification, explained
Election certification is the process through which the canvass – the process of counting and aggregating ballots, and ensuring that every ballot is accounted for – is concluded.
July 24, 2024