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Francesca Hong Gains Momentum in Wisconsin Democratic Governor’s Race

Francesca Hong Gains Momentum in Wisconsin Democratic Governor’s Race

Lawyering in a Good Cause Can Go Bad and Threaten the Rule of Law

Lawyering in a Good Cause Can Go Bad and Threaten the Rule of Law

As Cruelty Normalizes, America’s Authoritarian Drift Deepens

As Cruelty Normalizes, America’s Authoritarian Drift Deepens

Travis Scott, Benny Safdie, Elliot Page, Corey Hawkins, Tom Holland, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong'o, Charlize Theron, John Leguizamo, Zendaya, Samantha Morton, Himesh Patel, Jon Bernthal, and Logan Marshall-Green attend the premiere of "The Odyssey" presented by Universal Pictures on July 14, 2026 in New York City.

The Odyssey Isn’t Real, But American Diversity Is

Digital generated image of multiple white cubes with abstract economy graphs and charts.

Data Crisis Deepens as Agencies Face Cuts, Disruptions, and Declining Trust

How David Becker Works to Safeguard America’s Election Integrity

Becker joins The Unity Forum to strengthen election trust and defend officials.

News

​Center for Election Innovation and Research Executive Director and Founder David Becker speaking into a microphone, while sitting down.

Center for Election Innovation and Research Executive Director and Founder David Becker testifies during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on October 7, 2021 in Washington, DC.

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David L. Nevins
By David L. NevinsJul 17, 2026
David L. Nevins
David L. Nevins serves as publisher of The Fulcrum. Additionally, Nevins serves as co-founder and Board Chairman of the Bridge Alliance. Nevins brings business acumen, vision and a tireless this-must-and-can-be-done zeal to the burgeoning movement to bridge divides to transform the political process. As a business leader, Nevins excels at building bridges between people and organizations from the right, left and center for civilized conversation and then action. He co-founded the Bridge Alliance because, as he says, “No matter how well managed and how well funded anyone organization is, significant political reform will not happen without an alliance to further collaborative interactions. Together we can and will raise the collective impact of all.” He is a member of the Aspen Institute Society of Fellows, with a focus on the Aspen Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership, he established and continues to work with The Nevins Democracy Leaders program at Penn State University. Nevins graduated with honors in economics from Penn State in 1969 and received an M.B.A. in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1971.
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The Unity Forum, a cross-partisan webinar and podcast series presented in partnership with the Bridge Alliance and produced by Alumni for Freedom and Democracy, is dedicated to fostering reasoned discourse and strengthening the foundations of an open society. Each program brings forward respected experts who challenge assumptions about current events, elevate civil dialogue, and deepen public understanding of today’s most pressing social, economic, and legal issues. In addition to attending Unity Forum events, readers are invited to join post-event discussions, volunteer as community dialogue facilitators, or help promote open society initiatives within their networks. Opportunities to stay engaged and make a difference are available for anyone who wants to support the mission of meaningful civil engagement.

On July 23, the Unity Forum welcomes David Becker, executive director and founder of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Center for Election Innovation & Research, which works with election officials of both parties across the country to ensure elections are trustworthy.

A key element of Becker’s work with CEIR is managing the Election Official Legal Defense Network, which provides pro bono legal assistance to election officials threatened with frivolous criminal prosecutions, harassment, or physical violence.

Prior to founding CEIR, Becker was director of the elections program at the Pew Charitable Trusts. As the lead for Pew’s analysis and advocacy on election issues, Becker spearheaded the development of the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, which, to date, has helped most states update tens of millions of out-of-date voter records and register new eligible voters easily and securely.

Before joining Pew, Becker served for seven years as a senior trial attorney in the Voting Section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, overseeing voting rights enforcement in several states, including California and Georgia, and served as lead counsel on major voting rights litigation, including Georgia v. Ashcroft, ultimately decided by the Supreme Court.

Becker serves as CBS’ election law expert, and his many media appearances include The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, “PBS NewsHour,” and NPR, and he is frequently published on election issues.

He is the co-author, with CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent Major Garrett, of the book “The Big Truth: Upholding Democracy in the Age of The Big Lie. ”

Join the Conversation

To find out more, sign up for the free Unity Forum live webinar on Thursday, July 23, 2026, at 1:00 PM ET. The session will be interactive, with a live Q&A, so you can ask questions directly to David Becker and the moderator.

The event will discuss:

  • What voters should understand about election integrity heading into the 2026 midterms
  • How election officials verify results and maintain accurate voter rolls
  • The difference between real election vulnerabilities and disinformation
  • The ongoing debate over voting access, mail ballots, and election security
  • How citizens can help protect voting rights and strengthen public confidence

REGISTER NOW:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Alb0FmtdRh2CRKZv5rPXDg#/registration

David Nevins is the publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.


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50501 Movement – Thomas Paine’s Political Philosophy in the 21st Century

circa 1770: The English-born American revolutionary philosopher Thomas Paine, (1737 - 1809), who wrote and published 'The Rights of Man', (1791 - 1792), in England. In it he expressed his support for the French Revolution and called for the overthrow of the British monarchy.

(Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

50501 Movement – Thomas Paine’s Political Philosophy in the 21st Century

The 50501 Movement can be viewed as a 21st-century manifestation of the anti-authoritarian, pro-egalitarian framework that Thomas Paine championed in Common Sense. Both movements share a core belief in challenging entrenched power and mobilizing the collective voice of everyday people to defend democracy. By utilizing decentralized, nationwide grassroots mobilization to challenge executive overreach and billionaire consolidation, the 50501 movement directly echoes Paine’s anti-authoritarianism, his belief in collective civic power, and his demand that power remains in the hands of the people.

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The Thousand Injuries: The Not-Qwhite Voter and the Politics of Recognition

In the fall of 2003, Howard Dean said he wanted to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in the back windows of their pickup trucks. It was clumsy but not dishonest. He meant that his party had written off a whole category of American voter and wanted to change that. He was attacked at once, mostly by his own side, and walked it back within forty-eight hours. The lesson his party drew was not that the outreach had been badly phrased; It was that the outreach itself was impermissible, that to pursue the rural white working class voter was to be complicit with everything he was presumed to represent. Dean was the last major Democrat to try, and the consequences have accumulated in the shape of the electoral map.

Edgar Allan Poe understood something the party still does not. "The Cask of Amontillado" opens with a line that ought to hang in every campaign office: the thousand injuries of Fortunato the narrator had borne as best he could, but when Fortunato ventured upon insult, he vowed revenge. Injuries can be borne as long as the injured man believes his tormentors still regard his suffering as real. The insult is different. It reframes the injuries as deserved, telling the sufferer he is the kind of person who deserves to suffer. Poe's narrator does not recalculate his interests; he takes his revenge at great cost to himself. That is not irrational but human, and it is the most precise framework we have for what has happened to rural white working-class voters over the last twenty years.

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Painting by John Trumbull made in 1818 depicting the Committee of Five (Adams, Livingston, Sherman, Jefferson, and Franklin) presenting their draft of the Declaration of Independence.

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Defending Democracy Through the Founders’ Principles

As we have been celebrating the 250th anniversary of our country's founding, America is faced with its biggest challenge probably ever, save the Civil War. While there is much to celebrate in the 250 years of our existence, this moment is fraught with danger—not just for our democracy but for our founding principles of equality and the people's right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

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