Dan Baer, Erik Brown
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Elections Are Necessary, Their Integrity Imperative, Even Amid a Pandemic
Voting is not the same as going to a pub or a party or even a political rally; it is not a form of recreation, it is an essential task to the preservation of our democracy. And like other essential tasks, it must continue.
Source: Denver Post
As the response to coronavirus belatedly but increasingly spreads across the country, Americans are having to make choices about what is essential and what activities are better postponed or canceled.
One feature of democracies is that they have regular elections. Once the rules and timing of elections are set, it is reasonable to be skeptical about changes because any change is likely to impact the number of votes cast or the number of votes cast for particular candidates, whether the change is intended to do so or not. There must be a high threshold for altering the schedule and conduct of elections because the integrity and confidence in the electoral process is part of the legitimacy of the government that it produces...
About the Author
Senior Vice President; Director, Europe Program
Dan Baer is senior vice president and director of the Europe Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Under President Obama, he was U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and he also served deputy assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.
- Unstrategic Ambiguity: Trump’s Erratic Approach Leaves Europe GuessingArticle
- NATO’s Northeast Countries Have a Template for Europe’s New Security RealityCommentary
Dan Baer, Sophia Besch
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Europe
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In Ukraine, Gaza, and Iran, AI warfare has come to dominate, with barely any oversight or accountability. Europe must lead the charge on the responsible use of new military technologies.
Raluca Csernatoni
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Montenegro and Albania are frontrunners for EU enlargement in the Western Balkans, but they can’t just sit back and wait. To meet their 2030 accession ambitions, they must make a strong positive case.
Dimitar Bechev, Iliriana Gjoni
- Taking the Pulse: Can NATO Survive the Iran War?Commentary
Donald Trump has repeatedly bashed NATO and European allies, threatening to annex Canada and Greenland and deploring their lack of enthusiasm for his war of choice in Iran. Is this latest round of abuse the final straw?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- On NATO, Trump Should Embrace France Instead of Bashing ItCommentary
Donald Trump’s repudiation of NATO goes against the Make America Great Again vision of a U.S.-centered foreign policy. If the goal is to preserve the alliance by boosting Europe’s commitments, leaning into France’s vision is the most America First way forward.
Rym Momtaz