The 2020 elections hinged, in dramatic ways, on widely varying state laws and state election procedures. Major changes were made in light of the pandemic, to expand options for mail-in and early voting and to Election Day itself. These changes engendered strong support and strong opposition, and were one reason for the record turnout of 160 million voters. Now, state legislatures are in session all around the country. Will the changes adopted in 2020 be made permanent? Will voting options be expanded further? Or will states seek to roll back voting opportunities as a result?
On Thursday, February 18th, the Ash Center hosted a discussion titled Moving Forward or Moving Backward: Election Legislation in the States with leading state election experts and state legislators to see where things stand, and where they might go. Tune into the discussion featuring:
- Dale Ho, Director of the Voting Rights Project, ACLU
- Nan Grogan Orrock, State Senator, Georgia
- Wendy Underhill, Director of Elections and Redistricting, National Conference of State Legislatures
- Miles Rapoport (Moderator), Senior Practice Fellow of American Democracy, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
The transcript for this episode is online here.
About the Ash Center
The Ash Center is a research center and think tank at Harvard Kennedy School focused on democracy, government innovation, and Asia public policy. AshCast, the Center's podcast series, is a collection of conversations, including events and Q&As with experts, from around the Center on pressing issues, forward-looking solutions, and more.
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