Events

The Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA promotes research, collaboration, and advocacy under the leadership of UCLA Law Professor Richard L. Hasen; one of the nation’s leading election scholars. The Safeguarding Democracy Project is built upon the premise that tackling issues of the U.S. election integrity must be collaborative: across ideologies, across scholarly disciplines, and as a bridge between theory and practice. Our events this semester are focused on the 2026 midterm elections. Speakers: David Folkenflik, NPR; Carrie Levine, Votebeat, and Shannon McGregor, University of North Carolina.

When: 3:15pm Eastern.

The Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA promotes research, collaboration, and advocacy under the leadership of UCLA Law Professor Richard L. Hasen; one of the nation’s leading election scholars. The Safeguarding Democracy Project is built upon the premise that tackling issues of the U.S. election integrity must be collaborative: across ideologies, across scholarly disciplines, and as a bridge between theory and practice. Our events this semester are focused on the 2026 midterm elections. Speakers: Bill Gates, Arizona State University; Guy-Uriel E. Charles, Harvard Law School; Charles Stewart, MEDSL; Susan Stokes, University of Chicago and Tammy Patrick, Election Center.

When: 3:15pm Eastern.

Every election office scales up. Temporary hires, loaned county staff, vendor crews and returning seasonal workers. Most of the planning goes into how many people to bring on. Less goes into who will supervise them, when they have to be trained and cleared, and how the work gets handed off between shifts.Join Ready for Tuesday and Election Talent Partners for a discussion that treats surge staffing as an operations problem rather than a hiring problem. We will talk about finding the step that actually sets your pace, and why adding people somewhere else just changes where the work piles up. We will get into applicant pools, and the fact that a wider one costs staff time in the same weeks you need for training. We will cover what a shift model has to settle before the first evening shift runs, and why supervision is usually the thing that turns extra hands into finished ballots. Then the part offices skip: Keeping a few numbers as you go, and knowing which temporary employees you want back.

When: 12pm Eastern

The 2026 midterm elections will determine the leadership of nearly every level of government, yet for the 1 in 4 Americans with a disability, the right to a private and independent ballot remains under threat. Following a wave of restrictive state voting laws in 2025 and additional bills under consideration to further restrict voting, the complex landscape of procedural barriers could stifle several of the nation’s largest voting blocs. New America will host a virtual event on the state of accessible democracy. This event will highlight grassroots power and examine the legal protections afforded by the ADA and the Voting Rights Act. The panel will discuss critical 2026 initiatives, such as the expansion of curbside voting pilots, the impact of federal “SAVE” legislation, and how election officials can ensure that polling places are physically and digitally accessible for all. The event will feature election experts, democracy experts, and voting experts, including disabled voting rights leaders.

When: 12pm Eastern.

The Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA promotes research, collaboration, and advocacy under the leadership of UCLA Law Professor Richard L. Hasen; one of the nation’s leading election scholars. The Safeguarding Democracy Project is built upon the premise that tackling issues of the U.S. election integrity must be collaborative: across ideologies, across scholarly disciplines, and as a bridge between theory and practice. Our events this semester are focused on the 2026 midterm elections. Speakers: Jonathan Diaz, Campaign Legal Center; Matt Germer, R Street Institute; and Justin Leavitt, Loyola Law School.

When: 3:15pm Eastern.