Strengthening Trust and Resiliency in the United States

Summary

In 2024, The Carter Center committed to expand key initiatives to strengthen and protect democracy in the United States, impacting more than 35 million people by the end of 2028. In the face of democratic backslide and the emergence of new threats to American democracy, there is an urgent need for new tools to strengthen elections, build trust in democracy, counter misinformation/disinformation, and reduce political and identity-based violence. Through increased nonpartisan election observation efforts, voter election education programs, digital literacy trainings for citizens, monitoring and evaluation of mis- and disinformation threats, and enhanced cross-partisan Democracy Resilience Networks that engage local leaders as advocates for peaceful political engagement, this commitment will strengthen interventions that reinforce free and fair elections – particularly in the target states of Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Montana, and New Mexico.

Approach

The Carter Center will undertake several key initiatives to advance democracy support:
Nonpartisan observation: The Carter Center piloted nonpartisan observation in Arizona, Michigan, and Georgia in 2022 and plans to support state-based nonpartisan observation initiatives in 2024 in Montana and New Mexico.

Principles for Trusted Elections: Borrowing from international best practices, The Carter Center promotes underlying concepts for a peaceful, secure, and honest elections, respecting safe and fair oversight and respecting fair outcomes.

Election Education: Trust in elections is bolstered when citizens understand not only how to register and vote, but also the multiple safeguards in place to ensure elections are accessible and secure.
Digital Information Training (DIGIT) : The Carter Center created a training curriculum to help citizens navigate the current information ecosystem.

Assessing Mis- and Disinformation: The Digital Threats team is working to assess the degree to which mis- and disinformation affects political discourse. This work uses multiple tools and approaches to capture and analyze content distributed on multiple social media platforms and legacy media and alert election administrators of false information narratives emerging in their states.

Democracy Resilience Networks: The Center works in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, and Wisconsin to build cross-partisan networks of civic leaders, influencers, and citizens from across the political spectrum to serve as community advocates for peaceful political engagement. They elevate trusted local voices to share information on how elections work, constructively address misinformation, and push back against potential violence. They play an important role in disseminating the Principles for Trusted Elections and election education materials. Based on extensive polling, they created and disseminated localized social media messaging featuring pro-democracy and anti-violence themes. These groups include faith leaders, such as those working with the DRNs in Georgia and Arizona.

Action Plan

Nonpartisan observation: The Carter Center is supporting locally led civic movements in the states of New Mexico and Montana to train and deploy nonpartisan election observers for the 2024 election cycle to provide comprehensive, systematic data and evidence about the conduct of elections and the quality of the process. In Montana, this work builds off a successful pilot project to observe the June 2024 primary election in Missoula County. Observation for November 2024 is anticipated to begin in advance of election day in both states and will focus on the testing of election equipment, early voting (where applicable) , election day, certification of results, and post-election procedures. Data collected and analyzed will form the basis of public reports and statements on the administration of elections and will include findings and recommendations that will be shared with key stakeholders including media, the public, and election officials to build public understanding of elections.

Democracy Resilience Networks: Targeted communities have cross-partisan community structures capable of preventing or responding to political/identity-based violence at a local or state level; Citizens with increased trust (where warranted) in U.S. elections because they better understand the process and the existing safeguards therein; Improved election processes as a result of external verification and validation; Communities are more resilient to mis- and disinformation; Increased support for peaceful political engagement and democratic norms; Public acceptance of electoral results once they go through appropriate reviews; and Community networks that can identify and develop solutions to local issues driving political violence, such as polarization, extremism, racial injustice, or community–government relations.

Background

The U.S. is at a historic juncture. Concerns about democratic backsliding and political violence are growing daily as partisan identities, divisions, and discourse harden and become increasingly zero-sum. Significant structural transformations are happening rapidly, including changing demographics, closed media ecosystems, and growing economic inequality, all contributing to declining trust in institutions including American democracy itself. Drawing on international experience, The Carter Center is pursuing an integrated and iterative slate of activities in the United States designed to strengthen elections, build trust in democracy, counter misinformation/disinformation, and reduce political and identity-based violence.

Progress Update

Partnership Opportunities

The Carter Center is seeking financial contributions from like-minded collaborators that are nonpartisan and have a long-term perspective to strengthening trust and building resiliency in U.S. democracy., The Carter Center supports its commitment through a range of resources and services prioritized by partners including, but not limited to: Topic Expertise; Implementation; Facilitation; Advisory Services; Media Support; Knowledge Share; and Learning.