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 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 Lloyd D. George Courthouse.

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

  • Protecting Elections
  • Analysis

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

  • Protecting Elections
  • Analysis

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

  • Defending the Rule of Law
  • Protecting Elections
  • Safeguarding the Public Square
  • Shaping the Democracy of Tomorrow
  • Analysis

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

  • Protecting Elections
  • Analysis