• Home
  • Opinion
  • Quizzes
  • Redistricting
  • Sections
  • About Us
  • Voting
  • Events
  • Civic Ed
  • Campaign Finance
  • Directory
  • Election Dissection
  • Fact Check
  • Glossary
  • Independent Voter News
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up

David Levine

David Levine is the Elections Integrity Fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, where he assesses vulnerabilities in electoral infrastructure, administration, and policies. David is also an advisory committee member for the Global Cyber Alliance’s Cybersecurity Toolkit for Elections and an advisory council member for The Election Reformers Network, an organization dedicated to advancing nonpartisan reforms to address significant challenges in U.S. democracy. Previously, he worked as the Ada County, Idaho Elections Director, managing the administration of all federal, state, county, and local district elections. David’s research interests and recent publications focus on election access, trust and security, and the nexus between external threats from malign actors and the challenges many democracies face in conducting free and fair elections. David’s work has been published and quoted in USA Today, New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, and others. He received his JD from the Case Western School of Law and has administered elections, worked with advocacy groups to improve the election process, and observed elections overseas in a number of countries for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
    FollowUnfollowFollowing
    Threats to democracy

    Reforming the Electoral Count Act remains critical to ensuring free and fair presidential elections

    David Levine
    December 12, 2022
    Rep. Paul Gosar objects to the election

    Republican Rep. Paul Gosar objects to the certification of the electoral votes for the state of Arizona on Jan. 6, 2021.


    Win McNamee/Getty Images

    Levine is an elections integrity fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, which develops strategies to deter and defend against autocratic efforts to interfere in democratic institutions.

    Should members of Congress be able to object to election results as part of a strategy to draw greater attention to election reform efforts, as two Democratic members tried to do following George W. Bush’s reelection in 2004?

    Should members of Congress be able to object to election results on the basis of spurious allegations of election fraud, as some Republicans sought to do following the 2020 presidential election?

    If the answer to each of the above is no, then the surest way to avoid repeating the aforementioned scenarios, while also ensuring that future presidential elections remain free and fair, is for the House and Senate to reform the Electoral Count Act, the poorly written 1887 statute governing how Congress counts electoral votes, before the end of the current lame-duck session.

    Keep ReadingShow less
    electoral count act

    Join an Upcoming Event

    View All Events
    Voting

    Election officials will keep the midterms fair. Voters will determine the integrity of future elections.

    David Levine
    November 04, 2022
    Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria

    Isabel Longoria, seen speaking to a reporter in March, is the first election administrator for Harris County, Texas.

    Mark Felix for The Washington Post via Getty Images

    Levine is an elections integrity fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, which develops strategies to deter and defend against autocratic efforts to interfere in democratic institutions.

    While much has been written about the nearly 300 election-denying candidates seeking public office this November, Americans who believe in democracy shouldn’t lose hope yet. But they do need to act now to ensure the integrity of future elections.

    Despite the ongoing assault on American democracy, the 2022 midterms are not doomed to fail. In fact, election officials across the country have taken steps and implemented measures this cycle to uphold the legitimacy of the vote, in some cases risking their own safety to do so.

    At a time when many Americans rightly seem concerned about democracy, but apathetic about its danger, election officials continue to go to great lengths to protect American democracy from malign actors — both foreign and domestic — and they remain one of the biggest reasons to be confident in the integrity of the midterms.

    However, with so many candidates running this fall who don’t fully support the legitimacy of the 2020 results and by extension the integrity of American elections — many for positions with influence over how future elections are conducted — there could be a sea change in how future elections are conducted. Americans need to step up and defend American democracy, first with their votes in the midterms and then by both supporting legislation that bolsters the integrity of American elections and speaking up for free and fair elections.

    Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

    Keep ReadingShow less
    election administration
    Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
    Follow
    Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
    Follow
    Contributors

    Reform in 2023: Leadership worth celebrating

    Layla Zaidane

    Two technology balancing acts

    Dave Anderson

    Reform in 2023: It’s time for the civil rights community to embrace independent voters

    Jeremy Gruber

    Congress’ fix to presidential votes lights the way for broader election reform

    Kevin Johnson

    Democrats and Republicans want the status quo, but we need to move Forward

    Christine Todd Whitman

    Reform in 2023: Building a beacon of hope in Boston

    Henry Santana
    Jerren Chang
    latest News

    Becoming the (healthy) fungus among us

    Debilyn Molineaux
    23h

    Podcast: God squad: Let friendship redeem the republic

    Our Staff
    23h

    Facebookopoly

    Seth David Radwell
    08 February

    Does partisanship impact happiness?

    Lynn Schmidt
    07 February

    Return copyright to its roots: Compensate human creators

    Samantha Close
    07 February

    It’s the institutional design, stupid! With a parliamentary system, America could avoid gridlock and instability

    Milind Thakar
    06 February
    Videos

    Video: America's civic education gap: What can business do?

    Our Staff

    Video: What does it mean to be Black?

    Our Staff

    Video: The dignity index

    Our Staff

    Video: The Supreme Court and originalism

    Our Staff

    Video: How the baby boom changed American politics

    Our Staff

    Video: What the speakership election tells us about the 118th Congress webinar

    Our Staff
    Podcasts

    Podcast: God squad: Let friendship redeem the republic

    Our Staff
    23h

    Podcast: Why Democrats fail with rural voters

    Our Staff
    06 February

    Podcast: Anti-racism: The pro-human approach

    Our Staff
    03 February

    Podcast: 2024 Senate: Democrats have a lot of defending to do

    Our Staff
    02 February
    Recommended
    Becoming the (healthy) fungus among us

    Becoming the (healthy) fungus among us

    Big Picture
    Podcast: God squad: Let friendship redeem the republic

    Podcast: God squad: Let friendship redeem the republic

    Podcasts
    Facebookopoly

    Facebookopoly

    Big Picture
    Does partisanship impact happiness?

    Does partisanship impact happiness?

    Big Picture
    Return copyright to its roots: Compensate human creators

    Return copyright to its roots: Compensate human creators

    Business & Democracy
    Video: America's civic education gap: What can business do?

    Video: America's civic education gap: What can business do?