Free, Fair and Healthy Elections in 2020

Scholar-Authored Articles

I’m a Democracy Expert. I Never Thought We’d Be So Close to a Breakdown — Larry Diamond (The New York Times, 11/1/20).

The Right’s Disinformation Machine Is Getting Ready for Trump to Lose — Renee DiResta (The Atlantic, 10/20/20).

The Stakes of the Coming Election — Francis Fukuyama (American Purpose, 10/13/20). 

Most Voters Confident their Vote will be Counted, Poll Finds. But Partisans Disagree on Election Threats — Nathaniel Persily (The Washington Post, 10/7/20).

Americans Increasingly Believe Violence is Justified if the Other Side Wins — Larry Diamond (Politico, 10/1/20).

With Six Weeks to the Election, Six Ways to Protect It — Nathaniel Persily (The New York Times, 9/20/20).

‘It’s 8 P.M. on Election Day.’ Experts Share Their Nightmare Scenarios — Renée DiResta, Christopher Painter, and Alex Stamos (The New York Times, 9/9/20).

The Terrifying Inadequacy of American Election Law — Larry Diamond (The Atlantic, 9/8/20).

How Might the Sleeper Agents From “The Americans” Interfere in the Election? — Herbert Lin (Lawfare, 8/4/20).

Ensuring Electoral Integrity — Stephen Stedman (The American Interest, 7/10/20). 

The Looming Threat to Voting in Person — Nathaniel Persily (The Atlantic, 6/27/20).

The Danger of Electoral Violence in the United States — Stephen Stedman (The American Interest, 6/19/20).

It’s Not Too Late to Save the 2020 Election — Nathaniel Persily (The Wall Street Journal, 6/12/20).

Spies, Lies, and Algorithms — Amy Zegart (Foreign Affairs, 5/15/20). 

We Need to Start Preparing for the November Election Now — Michael McFaul (The Washington Post, 4/15/20).

Scholars in the Media

Twitter, Facebook Suspend Some Accounts as U.S. Election Misinformation Spreads Online — Alex Stamos (Reuters, 11/3/20).

Are We Having a Healthy Election? — Nathaniel Persily (Lawfare, 11/3/20). 

Voters and Lawmakers Bracing for Election Night Uncertainty — Nathaniel Persily (NBC News, 11/2/20). 

Early Voting Tally Across U.S. Reaches 70% of 2016 Total Turnout — Nathaniel Persily (U.S. News & World Report, 11/2/20). 

Disinformation Investigators: Stanford Students Sleuth for False, Misleading Reports On How to Vote — Alex Stamos (Stanford News, 11/2/20).

Trump Can Declare Whatever He Wants, But It Doesn’t Make It So — Nathaniel Persily (The Washington Post, 11/2/20).

Election Integrity Expert: Poll Workers are 'Unsung Heroes' — Nathaniel Persily (NBC News, 11/1/20). 

If 2020 is like 2000, Trump Believes He’s Got the Votes — Nathaniel Persily (The Associated Press, 10/31/20).

The Fight Against Election Day Falsehoods — Renee DiResta (Slate, 10/30/20).

Four More Years? A Biden Landslide? What Could Happen on Election Day? — Nathaniel Persily (Sky News, 10/30/20).

Most Important 2020 Election Misinformation Threat Is Not Coming from Overseas — Alex Stamos, (CNBC, 10/30/20).

Expert Warns Reporters Against Predicting Election Winners — Nathaniel Persily (Inquirer.Net, 10/29/20).

Top Security Experts On Potential Election Scenarios We Could See Play Out in 2020 — Christopher Painter (Boston 25 News, 10/29/20).

No Matter Who Wins the U.S. Election, Relations With China Are at a Crossroads — Oriana Skylar Mastro (TIME, 10/28/20).

How Far Might Trump Go? — Larry Diamond (The New York Times, 10/28/20).

Ahead of the U.S. Election, Online Misinformation Is Becoming Harder to Detect — Shelby Grossman (World Politics Review, 10/28/20).

As Supreme Court Weighs Election Cases, a New Life for Bush v. Gore — Nathaniel Persily (The New York Times. 10/28/20).

U.S. Election: The Taiwan-Sized Challenge Facing the Next U.S. President — Oriana Skylar Mastro (BBC News, 10/28/20).

When Will We Know the Results of the 2020 U.S. Election? It Could Get Complicated — Nathaniel Persily (Australian Broadcasting Company, 10/28/20).

Conservative News Sites Fuel Voter Fraud Misinformation — Stephen Stedman (The New York Times, 10/25/20).

No Matter Who Wins the U.S. Election, the World's 'Fake News' Problem is Here to Stay — Marietje Schaake (CNN, 10/25/20). 

How is the 2020 Election Different from 2016? — Nathaniel Persily (The Wall Street Journal, 10/24/20). 

The End of Democracy? If Trump Loses, Trumpism Still Wins — Francis Fukuyama (The Sydney Morning Herald, 10/23/20).

Would a Trump or Biden Victory be Better for Brexit? — Brett McGurk (The Daily Express, 10/22/20). 

Europe Wonders if It Can Rely on U.S. Again, Whoever Wins — Francis Fukuyama (The New York Times, 10/22/20).

'A Litigation Arms Race.' Why the 2020 Election Could Come Down to the Courts — Nathaniel Persily (TIME, 10/22/20).

How to Find Good Information on Election Night — Nathaniel Persily (Poynter, 10/21/20). 

Efforts to Undermine the Election are Too Big for Facebook and Twitter to Cope With — Renee DiResta (MIT Technology Review, 10/21/20).

Be Patient, Election Chiefs Say as States Gear Up for Long Ballot Count — Nathaniel Persily (Courthouse News Service, 10/20/20). 

As Election Day Nears, Some States are Still Determining Voting Rules — Nathaniel Persily (PBS News Hour, 10/20/20).

Federal Appeals Courts Emerge as Crucial for Trump in Voting Cases — Nathaniel Persily (The New York Times, 10/17/20).

On Election Coverage, CBS is Falling for the Same Trap it Did Four Years Ago — Michael McFaul (Media Matters for America, 10/17/20).

Can Big Tech Make Sure that 2020 is Not 2016? — Alex Stamos, (The New York Times, 10/15/20).

How to Avert a U.S. Election-Night Disaster — Nathaniel Persily (TVO, 10/14/20).

80 Million Americans May Vote By Mail in this Election. Here's How Most States Verify their Identities — Nathaniel Persily (NBC News, 10/14/20).

Trump Reportedly Wants to Ink Nuclear Deal with Russia Before Election — Rose Gottemoeller (New York Post, 10/12/20).

A 'Twitterized Bush v Gore 2.0'? It's Possible, Election Experts Say — Nathaniel Persily (ABC News, 10/11/20).
 
Twitter Will Turn Off Some Features to Fight Election Misinformation — Nathaniel Persily (The New York Times, 10/9/20).

Impact on Presidential Race if Trump Skips Second Debate — Nathaniel Persily (NBC Bay Area, 10/9/20).

Virginia Democrats Face Choice Between Idealism and Revenge in Vote on Gerrymandering — Nathaniel Persily (The Washington Post, 10/5/20).

Here’s How to Vote in this Topsy-Turvy, Upside Down Presidential Election — Nathaniel Persily (New York Daily News, 10/3/20). 

What We Will Know on Election Night — Nathaniel Persily (Slate, 10/1/20). 

‘Worst Presidential Debate in History’: Foreigners Recoil at Trump and Biden’s Prime-Time Brawl — Marietje Schaake (Politico, 9/30/20).

Trump Says China Wants Him to Lose the U.S. Presidential Election. The Truth Is More Complex — Oriana Skylar Mastro (TIME, 9/29/20). 

Stanford Project Applies Human-Centered Design to In-Person Voting — Nathaniel Persily (Stanford News, 9/28/20).

Trump has Stacked the Federal Bench, but he's Not Winning Many Election Court Battles — Nathaniel Persily (CNN, 9/27/20). 

'Naked Ballots,' Explained: In Pennsylvania, New Court Ruling Complicates Mail-In Voting — Nathaniel Persily (NBC News, 9/27/20). 

Brett McGurk: 'Very Important' to get Mark Esper 'On the Record' about Military Use Around Election — Brett McGurk (MSNBC, 9/25/20).

Presidential Hopefuls Gear Up for Costly Post-Election Legal Battles, as Trump Faces Cash Crunch — Nathaniel Persily (ABC News, 9/24/20). 

Facebook Issues Warning about Russian 'Hack-and-Leak' Operations Ahead of the 2020 Election — Alex Stamos (Business Insider, 9/24/20).

Stanford Law Professor: 'We're sort of Walking in Unprecedented Constitutional Territory'  — Nathaniel Persily (NBC, 9/24/20).

How the Supreme Court Could Affect Voting Rules on Election Day  — Nathaniel Persily (The New York Times, 9/21/20). 

Voting 2020: What to Know About Mail-In Ballots, Ovals and Election Night Results — Nathaniel Persily (The Buffalo News, 9/21/20).

In the Most Litigated Election Ever, Early Democratic Wins but Few Clear Signals — Nathaniel Persily (The New York Times, 9/18/20). 

Judge Orders Expanded Mail-In Voting in Louisiana for Presidential Election — Nathaniel Persily (FOX 8, 9/16/20).

Hackers Can’t Pick the Next President, Just Erode Trust in the Vote, Experts Say — Nathaniel Persily (AL.com, 9/16/20).

With Anxiety over Voting by Mail, We Need a New Strategy — Nathaniel Persily (The Washington Post, 9/14/20).

What To Expect When You’re Electing — Renée DiResta (WNYC, 9/11/20).

Stanford Scholars Find No Partisan Advantage of Mail-in, Absentee Voting but Other Challenges Lie Ahead — Nathaniel Persily (Stanford News, 9/9/20).

Facebook is Paying People to Stop Using it and Instagram Until the U.S. Election — Alex Stamos (Gizmodo, 9/8/20). 

Mail-In Voting has No Partisan Advantage, Stanford Researchers Say — Nathaniel Persily (Palo Alto Weekly, 9/8/20).

Facebook Won’t Stop Facebook from Spreading Lies about the Election — Alex Stamos (Vox, 9/3/20). 

What Do the Doomsday Clock and the Presidential Election Have in Common? — Herbert Lin (WNPR, 8/21/20).

Facebook Braces Itself for Trump to Cast Doubt on Election Results — Alex Stamos (The New York Times, 8/21/20).

Biden Supporters More Likely Than Trump’s to Vote by Mail, Poll Shows — Nathaniel Persily (The Wall Street Journal, 8/17/20).

Navigating 2020's Turbulent Election Season — Nathaniel Persily (KCBS Radio, 8/6/20). 

The Slow-Motion 2020 Election Disaster States are Scrambling to Prevent, Explained — Nathaniel Persily (Vox, 7/31/20).

The U.S. Election is in 100 Days: What are the Biggest Threats to It? — Nathaniel Persily (The Guardian, 7/26/20).

Media Contact: Ari Chasnoff, Associate Director for Communications