Political experts to discuss 2024 campaign season at Baker Institute, Carter Center event

HOUSTON – (April 24, 2023) – Former President Jimmy Carter’s legacy of promoting free and fair elections at home and abroad will be discussed at a May 1 event hosted by Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and The Carter Center.

The discussion featuring former Ireland President Mary Robinson, Carter biographer Jonathan Alter, CBS newsman Major Garrett and David Carroll of The Carter Center will recount President Carter’s dedication to democracy and the way public officials are voted into office.

During the daylong collaboration between the Baker Institute and The Carter Center, experts on both sides of the aisle will look ahead to the 2024 presidential election.

Since the 2020 election, several states, including Texas and Georgia, have made controversial changes to their election laws that could impact voter turnout. In the meantime, Democrats and Republicans have voiced concerns about voter suppression or the accuracy of the vote count, resulting in a rise in distrust of the process.

This event is the third annual collaboration between the Baker Institute’s Presidential Elections Program and The Carter Center.

What: Baker Institute event: “What to Know About the U.S. Elections Heading into 2024.”

Who:

• Opening remarks:
  • David Satterfield, Baker Institute director and the Janice and Robert McNair Chair in Public Policy, and Paige Alexander, CEO of The Carter Center.
• Session 1 — Effects of Election Law Changes on Voter Turnout in Georgia and Texas:
  • Alexandra Suich Bass, senior correspondent for politics, technology and society for The Economist; David Becker, executive director and founder of the Center for Election Innovation and Research; Mark Jones, Baker Institute fellow in political science; and Brad Raffensberger, Georgia Secretary of State.
• Lunchtime discussion — “A Legacy of President Jimmy Carter: Free and Fair Elections Around the World”:
  • David Carroll, director of the democracy program at The Carter Center; Major Garrett, chief White House correspondent at CBS News; Jonathan Alter, journalist and author of “His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, A Life”; Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland.
• Session 2 — The Poisonous Politics of Election Denial:
  • Daron Shaw, University Distinguished Teaching Professor and Frank C. Erwin Jr. Chair of State Politics at the University of Texas at Austin; Ben Ginsberg, election attorney and Volker Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution; Barry Jackson, strategic political adviser and former White House aide and House speaker chief of staff; Annise Parker, former mayor of Houston, president and CEO of LGBTQ+ Victory Institute.

When: Monday, May 1, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. The presentation begins at 10 a.m.

Where: Rice’s James A. Baker III Hall. The event is free, but registration is required. Click here for in-personregistration and here for the livestream.