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Webinar rewind: Preparing for potential election crises

A pandemic. Battles over millions of mailed-in ballots. The Supreme Court deciding an Electoral College dispute. The accelerated undoing of democratic norms. Dozens of legal battles over election administration and voting rights. Each would be enough to create unprecedented challenges to an election. But all are present this year, positioning Election Day 2020 and the days after to face challenges rarely as intense before. As Nov. 3 approaches, voters, government officials, candidates and the media may become overwhelmed by the many storylines, the shifting landscape and the potential outcomes. Preparation needs to start now.

The Fulcrum convened an expert panel to discuss these issues and more on June 9. Editor-in-Chief David Hawkings moderated the webinar, which also included:


  • Bryan Monroe, associate professor of practice at Temple University's Klein College of Media and Communication. Before joining Temple, Bryan was editor of CNNPolitics and Washington opinion editor for CNN; president of the National Association of Black Journalists; and editor-in-chief of Ebony & Jet magazines.
  • Trevor Potter, president of the Campaign Legal Center. Trevor is a past chairman of the Federal Election Commission and was general counsel to John McCain's 2000 and 2008 presidential campaigns.

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American soldier in headquarter control center

American soldier in headquarter control center

Getty Images

Why America Must Rethink Its Counterterrorism Strategy in Nigeria

When American forces conducted airstrikes against suspected Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria on Christmas Day 2025, the operation signaled a renewal of security cooperation between Washington and Abuja. Yet for Nigerians living in communities plagued by terrorism, kidnapping, and armed attacks, a critical question remained: Will these strikes make their daily lives any safer?

That question demands serious consideration in Washington. The United States has spent decades helping Nigeria combat terrorism through military equipment, intelligence sharing, and tactical training. Yet, armed violence continues to disrupt daily life across northern Nigeria, raising doubts about how the effectiveness of American counterterrorism assistance should be measured.

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American flag behind barbed wire

American flag behind barbed wire

Photo provided

A Question of Trust: What Maryland’s New Laws Mean for Immigrant Communities

On October 1, Maryland’s Public Safety Law, which bars police officers from wearing face masks, went into effect across the state. Within hours, the U.S. Justice Department sued the state and two of its most liberal counties, Montgomery and Prince George’s, which had passed similar legislation earlier in the year.

The 2020 Census ranked Maryland as the most diverse state on the East Coast and fourth in the nation. As a Democratic-led state with a Democratic governor, Maryland has been in the crosshairs of the Trump administration since the start of the president’s second term. The mask ban is the latest in a series of laws passed in 2026 to protect immigrant communities across the state.

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Pete Hegseth

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on October 28, 2026.

(Photo by Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)

Pete Hegseth and the High Price of Compromised Governance

Just days after a historic midterm election in which everyday Americans sent a clear, undeniable demand for political accountability and transparency, the halls of Congress have devolved into a new theater of crisis. Republican Representative Thomas Massie’s introduction of eight articles of impeachment against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has thrown the Department—and the nation’s fragile democratic norms—into uncharted territory.

Massie, a longtime Trump critic who plans to retire from Congress at the end of the year, accuses Hegseth of bypassing Congress and violating constitutional limits on war powers.

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Voters cast their ballots inside a polling location.

Voters cast their ballots inside a polling location at the Bridge of Hope Church on November 3, 2026 in Youngstown, Ohio.

Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

Democracy Won as American Voters Spoke Loudly

Turnout and free exercise of the vote, including in many super-gerrymandered districts, was decisive on November 3, despite various attempts at suppression. Fear and hate mongering, floods of disinformation, avalanches of political cash, and coercive deployment of federal agencies in the runup to November 3 did not stop Americans from speaking loudly for change.

That expression was safeguarded by officials in the multitude of US election jurisdictions and by over 600,000 poll workers and ballot counters. Civic groups, electoral candidates, and political organizations assisted registration and voting with hotlines, door-to-door engagement, and pollwatching. In many places citizen groups organized protection efforts outside the polls to encourage voters and impede interference.

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