Dukakis Center Live on election administration in the US
Dukakis Center director David Wisner welcomed two guests to a special episode of Dukakis Center Live this past Friday night for an informative discussion of election administration in the United States. Coming at the tail end of the Center’s fifth annual Civil Society Forum, the program was the culmination of a week of endeavor and activity on the theme of voting and elections.
First up constitutional law scholar Quinn Yeargain of Widener University, author of an impressive series of articles on election administration in the fifty states and the District of Columbia, reviewed some of the complexities in the way in which elections are conducted throughout the US. Rather than having one national election, as is the case generally in other countries, Yeargain noted that the United States essentially has fifty separate elections, each one governed by state law in broad accordance with the US Constitution. This can lead to confusion and misnomers about a whole range of issues, as became evident in the 2020 General Election, where bad actors can create chaos as votes are counted and certified. Yeargain pointed to the need for vigilance and greater public understanding of state and federal law, particularly with regard to state and local elections.
Yeargain was followed by Charles Stewart, Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who was making his fifth appearance at a Dukakis Center event since 2016. Stewart reviewed some of the changes that have take place since 2020, many for the better. He observed that elections were generally more secure now, aside from some minor concerns over such practices as mail-in voting. He also opined that publications like the Democracy Index by The Economist were exaggerated in their assessment of the flaws of democratic governance in the United States.
When asked to conclude with an assessment of the state of higher education in America, Stewart replied, “American universities are intellectually healthy and intellectually engaging... Students are worried about a world in which the diversity they thrive in is seen as a threat by the older generation... When it comes to the intellectual content, being in a university these days is a great place to be.”
Now celebrating twenty five years of public service initiatives, the Dukakis Center at ACT has organized many public events on voting and elections since the inaugural visit to Anatolia College and ACT by Michael and Kitty Dukakis in September 1999. Still to come in 2024 are a briefing on the state of public opinion throughout the EU prior to the 2024 elections to the European Parliament, and a second voter registration drive for American citizens in September 2024.
