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Looking Forward: The Paths and Prospects for Democracy Reform

DescriptionAs the smoke (slowly) clears from the 2020 elections, advocates for full participation and democracy reform are charting a path forward. In Congress and in state legislatures, the lessons of 2020 and the new contours of politics will shape efforts going forward. What is the terrain reformers will confront, what are the reforms being proposed, and what are the prospects for success, short term and long term? The Ash Center is pleased to pose these questions to four leading democracy advocates and election experts:

Discussing Prospects and Plans for Congressional Action
Congressman Jamie Raskin, MD-8

Discussing Prospects and Possibilities in the States:
Wendy Underhill, Director of Elections and Redistricting, National Conference of State Legislatures;
Carmen Lopez, Democracy Program Director, State Innovation Exchange

Discussing the Major Challenges Facing our Democracy
Heather McGhee, Author of the forthcoming The Sum of Us, and former President, Demos

Moderator
Tova Wang, Democracy Fellow, Ash CenterTime

Dec 15, 2020 12:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Georgia on Our Minds: Voter Engagement and Voter Protection in the Senate Runoffs

DescriptionAt this moment, the attention of the country is sharply focused on the state of Georgia. Just two months after a breathtakingly narrow election, one in which the mechanisms of democracy and the performance of the officials who administered it were severely tested, the voters of Georgia will make another high-stakes decision on January 5. While the candidates and the media are mostly focused on who will win the two Senate runoff races, there is another crucial set of dynamics at work about the voting process itself. We want to look at what efforts are taking place to encourage and protect the votes of Georgia’s citizens, what challenges those efforts are facing, and the state of play three weeks from the day of the runoff. We will pose these questions to four Georgia leaders deeply involved in the hard work of democracy in the state.

Panelists include:

• Tamieka Atkins, Executive Director, ProGeorgia
• LaTosha Brown, Founder, Black Voters Matter; Former Fellow, Institute of Politics, HKS
• State Senator Nan Grogan Orrock, 36th Senate District, Atlanta, GA
• Stephanie Cho, Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta
• Miles Rapoport (Moderator), Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy, Ash CenterTime

Dec 17, 2020 12:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)