How America Runs Its Elections
On Tuesday, November 3, Americans vote in the midterm elections. Before the results come in, two of the country's most experienced election lawyers, one a Democrat and one a Republican, walk through how the system actually works: how votes are cast, counted, audited, and certified; where the real vulnerabilities lie and where the imagined ones do; what gives them confidence in American elections; and what still concerns them.
Bob Bauer served as White House Counsel to President Obama. Benjamin Ginsberg was national counsel to the Bush-Cheney and Romney presidential campaigns. In 2013 they co-chaired the bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Administration, and they have worked together ever since to strengthen public confidence in how America runs its elections. The conversation is moderated by Liam Julian, the Institute's Chief of Programs & Public Policy.
Featured Guests
Bob Bauer
Bob Bauer served as White House Counsel to President Obama from 2010 to 2011 and was general counsel to the Obama presidential campaigns. In 2013, President Obama appointed him, along with Benjamin Ginsberg, as co-chair of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration. He later co-chaired the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States.
He is Professor of the Practice and Distinguished Scholar in Residence at New York University School of Law. With Ginsberg, he co-founded the Election Official Legal Defense Network and co-chairs Pillars of the Community.
Benjamin Ginsberg
Benjamin Ginsberg practiced election law for more than three decades, representing the Republican Party and its candidates. He was national counsel to the Bush-Cheney presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2004 and to Mitt Romney's campaigns in 2008 and 2012, and he played a central role in the Florida recount of 2000.
In 2013, he co-chaired the bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Administration with Bob Bauer. Together, they co-founded the Election Official Legal Defense Network, which provides pro bono counsel to election officials facing threats, and they co-chair Pillars of the Community, which works with local leaders to strengthen public confidence in American elections.
Moderator
Liam Julian
Liam Julian is Chief of Programs & Public Policy at the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute. He was previously managing editor of Policy Review magazine in Washington, D.C., and a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. His writing and commentary on public policy have appeared in publications such as The Washington Post, The Atlantic, National Review, and RealClearPolitics, and on NPR programs including Morning Edition and All Things Considered. He also directed development of Advanced Placement curricula at the College Board, including leading the redesign of the AP U.S. Government and Politics course.