The IFES U.S. Election Program

• Hon. M. Peter McPherson, Board Co-Chair, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) 
• Anthony N. Banbury, President and CEO, IFES 

• Anne Applebaum, Journalist and Pulitzer-prize Winning Historian 

U.S. elections “101” that covers the basics of the election system, as well as key strengths of the American system and its weaknesses. 

Speakers: 

• Professor Rebecca Green, Co-Director, Election Law Program, William and Mary Law School  

• Professor Joshua A. Douglas, Professor and Associate Dean for Faculty Research, University of Kentucky Rosenberg College of Law  

• Chad Vickery, Vice President, Global Strategy and Technical Leadership, IFES, Moderator 

Moderated discussion with panelists representing the Democratic and Republican perspectives on the election. 

Speakers: 

• Mũthoni Wambu Kraal, Executive Director, Women's Democracy Lab

• Mike DuHaime, CEO, MAD Global Strategy Group 

• Clifford Young, President, Ipsos Public Affairs 

• Steve Clemons, Contributing Editor, The National Interest, Moderator 

Elections commissions and voters are facing a much-changed information environment, driven by big shifts with social media companies and the emergence of AI as a ubiquitous communications tool. How are commissions in the U.S. thinking about and experimenting with AI and other new approaches, and how should we think about them going forward? What do we need to do to protect fundamental freedoms like free expression as we confront new opportunities and new threats? 

Speakers: 

• Nadine Farid-Johnson, Knight First Amendment Institute, Former Diplomat  

• Tim Harper, Center for Democracy and Technology 

• Ben Hovland, Chairman of the EAC and the Designated Federal Officer (DFO) for the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) 

• Matt Bailey, Senior Global Advisor, Cyber and Information Integrity, IFES, Moderator 

The U.S., like many countries, faces challenges with regard to citizens’ trust in the integrity of elections. This session will feature noted experts to discuss these issues and share their insights into promising approaches to building and sustaining trust in elections that can be applied around the globe.  

Speakers: 

• Mark de la Iglesia, Director, US Democracy, Freedom House  

• Dr. Thad Kousser, Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of California San Diego and Co-Director of the Yankelovich Center for Social Science Research 

• Erica Shein, Managing Director, Center for Applied Research and Learning, IFES, Moderator 

This panel will explore the use of voting technology in the U.S.’s decentralized electoral system. 

Speakers: 

• Tammy Patrick, CERA, Chief Programs Officer, The Election Center  

• Kim Wyman, Senior Fellow, Elections Project, Bipartisan Policy Center and Former Secretary of State of Washington 

• Carolina Lopez, Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions 

• Matt Bailey, Senior Global Advisor, Cyber and Information Integrity, IFES, Moderator 

This session will look at delimitation standards for Congressional districts, at the role of “gerrymandering,” as well as at some of the most gerrymandered districts in the U.S. (both Democratic and Republican). It will also consider the evidentiary needs for drawing and evaluating fair maps.  

Speakers: 

• Professor Nicholas Stephanopoulos, Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law, Harvard Law School and co-founder of PlanScore 

• Professor Christopher Warshaw, Professor of Political Science at George Washington University 

• Dr. Micah Altman, Social and Information Scientist at MIT’s Center for Research in Equitable and Open Scholarship 

• Dr. Cassandra Emmons, Global Democracy Data Advisor, IFES, Moderator 

How did the ADA revolutionize accessible voting? What reasonable accommodations and assistive devices are used in U.S. elections? This session will be an interactive simulation. 

This session will examine how the U.S. manages voters within and outside the U.S. who are residing or traveling outside of their constituencies at the time of elections, as well as the infrastructure that makes this possible (e.g., the U.S. postal service).  

Speakers: 

• Amber McReynolds, U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors 

• Michelle Bishop, Director, Voter Access and Engagement, National Disability Rights Network  

• Peter Erben, Principal Advisor and Senior Country Director, IFES 

• Dr. Fernanda Buril, Deputy Director, Center for Applied Research and Learning, IFES, Moderator 

This panel will provide an overview for participants to learn about the formal legal and regulatory aspects of the U.S. campaign and political finance system, strengths and weaknesses of the system, and proposals for reform. The panel will also examine the threat of dark money, illicit finance, and the abuse of the system by foreign malign actors. 

Speakers: 

• Commissioner Ellen Weintraub, Federal Election Commission  

• Trevor Potter, Campaign Legal Center  

• Kimberly Adams, Marketplace, Moderator 

Showcase of some interesting U.S.-based voter education campaigns. 

Speakers: 

• Emily White, #IVoted  

• Dr. Greer Burroughs, Associate Professor of Education at The College of New Jersey  

• Dairanys Grullon-Virgil, Associate Director of Alumni and Youth Voice, Generation Citizen  

• Rushdi Nackerdien, Senior Global Advisor, Training and Capacity Development, IFES, Moderator 

• Matt Masterson, Director of Information Integrity, Microsoft 

• Katherine Ellena, Vice President, Programs, IFES  

Panelists will reflect on their experiences as international election observers and how polling site visits help spark exchange and learning around election administration and building trust in elections. Speakers will outline the day’s activities and best practices to follow when visiting polling sites. 

Reminder: Participants of the U.S Election Program in polling site visits on election day are NOT formal or accredited “observers” to the U.S. elections. Participants are requested to refrain from public comment on the elections, or from doing anything that might be misinterpreted as election observation. 

Speakers:  

• Gerardo de Icaza, Director, Electoral Cooperation and Observation, Organization of American States 

• Ulvi Akhundlu, Deputy Head, Election Department, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODHIR) 

• Clara Cole, Regional Director, Africa, IFES, Moderator 

Panelists will discuss major takeaways from election day, and what might come next. Will the electoral count process be different in 2024 than 2020 due to the “Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022”?  

Speakers: 

• Tad Devine, President, of Devine, Mulvey, and Longabough; former advisor to Al Gore, John Kerry, and Bernie Sanders  

• Daniel P. Tokaji, Professor, Fred W. & Vi Miller Dean and Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin Law School  

• Danny Diaz, Partner & Co-Founder, FP1 Strategies, LLC  

• Katherine Ellena, Vice President, Programs, IFES, Moderator 

• Anthony N. Banbury, President and CEO, IFES