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The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumSep 24, 2020
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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With legal fights over the election being waged across the country and disinformation clouding the truth about voting systems, Americans can be forgiven for their confusion about how to cast a ballot this fall. Because each state sets its own rules — for registering, getting and returning vote-by-mail ballots, timetables for balloting in person and so many other things — keeping it all straight can be difficult for both voting rights advocates and individual voters.

The Fulcrum hosted a live discussion in which we discussed the realities of voting during the coronavirus pandemic and resources that you can share with friends and family.

The discussion was moderated by The Fulcrum's editor-in-chief, David Hawkings, and featured:

    • David Levine, elections integrity fellow, Alliance for Securing Democracy
    • Jack Noland, research manager, RepresentUs
    • Eliza Sweren-Becker, Democracy Program counsel, Brennan Center for Justice

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    President Donald Trump

    President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a campaign rally at Lubbock Memorial Civic Center on Oct. 27, 2026, in Lubbock, Texas. With one week until the midterm elections, President Trump was pushing to boost support for incumbent Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Republican U.S. Senate candidate, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

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    Trump doesn’t care about the midterms. You should

    Despite how ubiquitous, prolix, and attention-seeking as he is, sometimes it’s still hard to know what makes President Trump do the things he does.

    Why, for example, is he so fixated on “acquiring” places like Greenland? Why is he obsessed with renaming things and changing the maps? Shouldn’t he be too busy presidenting to care about whatever Bill Maher said about him? And what the hell is with all the butt talk lately?

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    Photo by Ernie Journeys on Unsplash

    Political Accountability Begins Before Election Day

    In a response video circulating on September 22, Brandon Herrera, the Republican nominee in Texas’s 23rd Congressional District, described his remarks about mothers and children as “a bit crass” but said “the sentiment stands”. His response renewed a question that extends beyond one candidate: what responsibility do parties bear before voters make their choice?

    Elections are supposed to make politicians accountable. Candidates ask voters to judge their records, their positions, and their conduct, and voters ultimately decide who will represent them. But that familiar picture of democracy leaves out an important part of the process: much of the work shaping the general-election choice happens earlier. Parties recruit candidates, political organizations support them, donors help finance them, and influential political figures give them credibility. Herrera’s candidacy offers a revealing example of how that process works.

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    Nigeria flag, elections, ballot box, casting vote.

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    As Nigeria Prepares to Vote, Years of U.S. Democracy Support Face a New Test

    For years, American institutions helped Nigerian civic groups train election observers, track political violence and challenge false information. As Nigeria approaches its 2027 elections, the organizations that developed that expertise face a different question: how much of the work can they sustain with less financial and technical support?

    Dauda Garuba, director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD West Africa), sees the change as part of a broader shift in American foreign policy. But he also believes it invites an uncomfortable assessment of Nigeria’s elections.

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    Taxpayer-Funded, Closed to Millions: The Growing Push to Reform Kentucky’s Primaries

    More than half of America’s military veterans identify as independents, not Democrats or Republicans. Yet in many states with closed primary systems, those voters are barred from participating in taxpayer-funded primary elections. Because veterans swear an oath to defend the Constitution, not a political party, a growing coalition of veteran-led organizations is advocating for open primaries and other electoral reforms designed to expand voter participation and strengthen representative democracy.

    In Kentucky, veterans have emerged as leading voices in a nonpartisan campaign to open the Commonwealth’s closed primary system. Their efforts come as the state's electorate shifts: independent voters are the fastest-growing segment of registered voters.

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