Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Register for Election Overtime Project briefing for Michigan media

Michigan ballot box
RobinOlimb/Getty Images

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

The Election Overtime Project, an effort to prepare journalists to cover the outcome of the 2024 election, is hosting its third swing-state briefing on Oct. 25, this time focused on Michigan.

The series is a part of an effort to help reporters, TV anchors and others prepare America to understand and not fear close elections. Election Overtime is an initiative of the Election Reformers Network and developed in partnership with the Bridge Alliance, which publishes The Fulcrum.


This Michigan briefing will introduce the Election Overtime Project and release new survey data on voter knowledge of election rules. The online event will also feature an overview of resources for journalists, presentations from expert speakers and projections for priority races.

Register now for the event which will take place Friday, Oct. 25, 2:30-3:30 pm. Eastern.

Speakers include:

  • Jocelyn Benson, Michigan secretary of state. Prior to her election in 2018, Benson served as CEO of the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality, a national nonprofit organization using the unifying power of sports to improve race relations, and as dean of Wayne State University Law School in Detroit. In 2010, Benson authored "State Secretaries of State: Guardians of the Democratic Process," the first major book on the role of the secretary of state in enforcing election and campaign finance laws. She holds a law degree from Harvard Law School and a master of philosophy degree from Oxford University.
  • Aghogho Edevbie, deputy secretary of state: Edevbie has served as the deputy secretary since March 2023. Previously, Edevbie served as the Michigan director for All Voting Is Local, a nonpartisan voting rights organization, and practiced law with Detroit-area firms and for the Wayne County government. Edevbie earned his law and bachelor's degrees from the University of Michigan.
  • Tonya Schuitmaker, right-leaning lead, Michiganders for Civic Resilience. Schuitmaker served in the Michigan Senate from 2010 to 2018. She was the second woman to serve as the chamber’s president pro tempore. She served on the Senate Appropriations Committee and as chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education. She was also a member of the Judiciary and Energy & Technology committees. She is a practicing attorney at Schuitmaker Moraitis Law in Paw Paw, Mich. She is also co-director of the Michigan Political Leadership Program at Michigan State University. Schuitmaker earned her juris doctor and graduated cum laude from the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University
  • Christine Greig, left-leaning lead, Michiganders for Civic Resilience. Greig was elected in the state House 2014 and served as the Democratic floor leader in 2017-18 and the Democratic leader in 2019-20. As a lawmaker, she championed legislation on economic development, public education, and reproductive rights. She was a 2015 fellow for the Council of State Government Midwest's Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development Program. She received numerous awards including the National PTA Lifetime Achievement Award, AAUW Michigan Martha Griffiths Equity Award and numerous Legislator of the Year recognitions. Greig is senior advisor to The Lawmaker Network, a nonprofit organization supporting state lawmakers across the country.
  • Justin Roebuck, clerk and register of deeds, Ottawa County, Mich. As clerk and register, Roebuck has focused on leading in the areas of customer service, technology and the security of public records and elections. The county clerk is responsible for the administration of all elections within Ottawa County, recording and preserving all records related to real property such as mortgage and deed documents, maintaining all records of the 20th Circuit Court, as well as all vital records such as birth, marriage, death and business registration records. Justin began serving Ottawa County in 2009 as the elections coordinator for the clerk’s office. He was appointed county clerk and register of deeds in 2014 and elected to the position in 2016. Previous to this role he served on the staff of Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land and Rep. Tim Walberg (D-Mich).
  • Heather Balas, vice president, Election Reformers Network. Balas, the moderator, brings over 25 years of experience in public policy, including research, citizen deliberation, advocacy and voter education. She is a senior consultant to the Carter Center, advising on reforms to strengthen American democracy. Balas is the previous president and executive director of New Mexico First, a cross-partisan public policy organization co-founded by former Sen. Jeff Bingaman and Pete Domenici. She holds a master’s degree in political communication from the University of Maryland and a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
  • Kevin Johnson, executive director, Election Reformers Network. Johnson will present newly released survey data on voter understanding of the rule of law in elections, as well as context around the increased attention to certification procedures in the United States. He is the co-founder of ERN and, since 2017, has led the organization’s research and advocacy programs focused on impartial election administration, independent redistricting and election protection. Kevin draws on decades of experience supporting emerging democracies overseas and advancing reforms in the U.S. Johnson holds an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from Yale University.

Read More

When Good Intentions Kill Cures: A Warning on AI Regulation

Kevin Frazier warns that one-size-fits-all AI laws risk stifling innovation. Learn the 7 “sins” policymakers must avoid to protect progress.

Getty Images, Aitor Diago

When Good Intentions Kill Cures: A Warning on AI Regulation

Imagine it is 2028. A start-up in St. Louis trains an AI model that can spot pancreatic cancer six months earlier than the best radiologists, buying patients precious time that medicine has never been able to give them. But the model never leaves the lab. Why? Because a well-intentioned, technology-neutral state statute drafted in 2025 forces every “automated decision system” to undergo a one-size-fits-all bias audit, to be repeated annually, and to be performed only by outside experts who—three years in—still do not exist in sufficient numbers. While regulators scramble, the company’s venture funding dries up, the founders decamp to Singapore, and thousands of Americans are deprived of an innovation that would have saved their lives.

That grim vignette is fictional—so far. But it is the predictable destination of the seven “deadly sins” that already haunt our AI policy debates. Reactive politicians are at risk of passing laws that fly in the face of what qualifies as good policy for emerging technologies.

Keep ReadingShow less
Why Journalists Must Stand Firm in the Face of Threats to Democracy
a cup of coffee and a pair of glasses on a newspaper
Photo by Ashni on Unsplash

Why Journalists Must Stand Firm in the Face of Threats to Democracy

The United States is living through a moment of profound democratic vulnerability. I believe the Trump administration has worked in ways that weaken trust in our institutions, including one of democracy’s most essential pillars: a free and independent press. In my view, these are not abstract risks but deliberate attempts to discredit truth-telling. That is why, now more than ever, I think journalists must recommit themselves to their core duty of telling the truth, holding power to account, and giving voice to the people.

As journalists, I believe we do not exist to serve those in office. Our loyalty should be to the public, to the people who trust us with their stories, not to officials who often seek to mold the press to favor their agenda. To me, abandoning that principle would be to betray not just our profession but democracy itself.

Keep ReadingShow less
Fighting the Liar’s Dividend: A Toolkit for Truth in the Digital Age

In 2023, the RAND Corporation released a study on a phenomenon known as "Truth Decay," where facts become blurred with opinion and spin. But now, people are beginning to doubt everything, including authentic material.

Getty Images, VioletaStoimenova

Fighting the Liar’s Dividend: A Toolkit for Truth in the Digital Age

The Stakes: When Nothing Can Be Trusted

Two weeks before the 2024 election, a fake robocall mimicking President Biden's voice urged voters to skip the New Hampshire primary. According to AP News, it was an instance of AI-enabled election interference. Within hours, thousands had shared it. Each fake like this erodes confidence in the very possibility of knowing what is real.

The RAND Corporation refers to this phenomenon as "Truth Decay," where facts become blurred with opinion and spin. Its 2023 research warns that Truth Decay threatens U.S. national security by weakening military readiness and eroding credibility with allies. But the deeper crisis isn't that people believe every fake—it's that they doubt everything, including authentic material.

Keep ReadingShow less
From TikTok to Telehealth: 3 Ways Medicine Must Evolve to Reach Gen Z
person wearing lavatory gown with green stethoscope on neck using phone while standing

From TikTok to Telehealth: 3 Ways Medicine Must Evolve to Reach Gen Z

Ask people how much they expect to change over the next 10 years, and most will say “not much.” Ask them how much they’ve changed in the past decade, and the answer flips. Regardless of age, the past always feels more transformative than the future.

This blind spot has a name: the end-of-history illusion. The result is a persistent illusion that life, and the values and behaviors that shape it, will remain unchanged.

Keep ReadingShow less