• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Dan Baer"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "",
  "programs": [],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "North America",
    "United States"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Democracy"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media

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.

Link Copied
By Dan Baer
Published on Mar 16, 2020

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...

Read Full Text

This article was originally published in the Denver Post.

About the Author

Dan Baer

Interim President

Dan Baer is the interim president of 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.

    Recent Work

  • Article
    Mission over Model: What Might AI Mean for an Organization Like Carnegie?

      Dan Baer

  • Report
    Europe from Scratch: Visions for a New European Order
      • Erik Jones
      • +9

      Richard Youngs, Erik Jones, Dan Baer, …

Dan Baer
Interim President
Dan Baer
Political ReformDemocracyNorth AmericaUnited States

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 Endowment for International Peace

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Russia’s Rubber-Stamp Duma Elections Are Exposing Schisms in Putin's Regime

    In the discussions made possible by the State Duma election campaign, one question is being asked more and more loudly. “What next?”

      Andrey Pertsev

  • Two people in blue PPE standing over large metal rolls
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Inside the Global Race to Erode a Battery Manufacturing Monopoly

    Over the past decade, China has moved from marginal player to major producer of all things batteries. The United States, Europe, and others are aiming to balance the market.

      Milo McBride

  • Aerial View of a Geothermal Energy Plant in the Imperial Valley of California near the Salton Sea
    Paper
    A Geothermal and Nuclear Strategy for the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation

    The DFC should focus on advanced, low-carbon energy sources, prioritizing areas where the United States has comparative advantages.

      • Noah J. Gordon

      Noah Gordon, Liana Schmitter-Emerson

  • Lee and Lula walking
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Why Korea’s President Skipped Washington for Silicon Valley and Brasília

    Lee’s tour shows how Seoul is reorganizing its diplomacy away from Pyongyang and toward industrial networks and the geography of the compute economy.

      Darcie Draudt-Véjares

  • An AS3 interceptor part of the Merops, an AI-powered anti-drone system is pictured during a NATO live-fire demonstration of a counter-UAS system on November 18, 2025 in Nowa Deba, Poland.
    Paper
    Confronting the Barriers to AI Diffusion in the U.S. Military

    The Pentagon is calling for a rapid AI transformation. Autonomous drones offer a case study in the eight bottlenecks the U.S. military must navigate to realize that vision.

      Jake Steckler

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.