Resilient Democracies

The Ford School invites the U-M community -- students, faculty, and staff -- for an election debrief, analysis, and discussion with faculty experts Javed Ali, J. Alex Halderman, Rusty Hills, Vincent Hutchings, Barbara L. McQuade and Mara Ostfeld.  

On the day after the elections, the Ford School, in conjunction with SAC and UGC, will host a lunch buffet for the Ford School community to get together, eat, and relax after a long election season. 

Join Women and Gender in Public Policy and the Health Policy Student Association for an open discussion on reproductive rights and access to care as we approach the 2024 election. 

The Ford School is proud to co-sponsor an event with Wallace House Presents, featuring New York Times columnists Bret Stephens and Lydia Polgreen, alongside ABC News’s María Elena Salinas, in conversation with Stephen Henderson of Detroit PBS.  

This panel will discuss a diverse range of priorities and voting patterns of Asian American & Pacific Islander voters and communities.

As part of the Rackham Graduate School's Gupta Professional Ethics Series, the Ford School is co-sponsoring this event that will look at the use and abuse of online technologies and the dangers of misinformation.

Dive into the key forces shaping the 2024 election and explore reforms that could strengthen democratic engagement for the future.

Join the Spectrum Center for a lunch and learn with Naomi Goldberg (MPP '08), executive director of the Movement Advancement Project. Explore the political landscape and current state of LGBTQIA2S+ civil rights, understand the stakes for queer and trans people in the upcoming election, and learn about safety at the polls. Empower yourself with knowledge, connect with others, and enjoy lunch (on us!) as you look ahead to making your own informed decisions.

A panel looking at the diverse range of voices, priorities, and voting patterns of Latinx voters and communities.

In a time of profound division, embracing diverse perspectives becomes a catalyst for meaningful change. How do we transcend boundaries to cultivate an environment committed to fostering honest, caring, and courageous conversations?

Please join us for a special film screening and post-film conversation on the 2024 documentary War Game. 

Join Jonathan Van Ness for a live recording of his "Getting Curious" podcast, themed on Getting Out the Vote, which will feature U-M scholars and students. 

The White House is arguably the most important single organization in U.S. democracy. Why, then, is it often disorganized, inefficient, and scandal-prone? What can be done to make it more effective?  

Have a question for our panel? Submit your question at: https://myumi.ch/4rPZ4Two high-profile advocates from opposite ends of the political spectrum seek ways to connect and communicate about the most important issues facing the country. 

The Ford School community will have access to tickets of the UMS production of Fight Night, an interactive drama experience that gives a new perspective about the democratic process. An exclusive discussion with the show's director and cast members will follow the performance.  On the brink of a presidential election that people on both sides have called the most consequential in history, Belgium’s extraordinary Ontroerend Goed offers a fun and thought-provoking, examination of free will and politics that puts electronic voting devices — and the candidates’ fates — directly into the hands of audience members.

Join us for an inside look at how the FBI is tackling the evolving threats to U.S. elections, from cyberattacks to terrorism. Deputy Director Abbate will discuss the FBI's latest strategies and hard-earned lessons in defending democracy.

Registration required. Photo ID required for entry. At the Ford Library, state and county election officials from six battleground states will convene for a first-of-its-kind forum on safeguards in the election process. The “Ballots and Battlegrounds” town hall will be an excellent opportunity in this historic election year to learn directly from election officials as they gather together. Secretaries, chief election officials, and county leaders will go through each stage of the election process and describe in detail the systems’ safeguards.

An examination of single-payer healthcare policy 

On the 50th anniversary of Gerald R. Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon, a re-assessment of the relevance of that action in today's political landscape. After being vilified, and then lionized as a great act of patriotism, in this era of seeming impunity, what is the significance of that unique, historical pardon? 

A day-long "Conference on Electoral Mechanics, Processes, and Expectations for Fair and Credible Elections" presented by the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, the Ford School of Public Policy, the Carter Center, and More Perfect.

In recent years, the process for securing elections has been called into question. So how do elections really work? What systems are in place to ensure open, fair voting for all?

Presidential historian, acclaimed author and president of Duquesne University, Ken Gormley, will discuss President Ford’s controversial pardon of Richard M. Nixon in 1974, 50 years ago.

Join the Ford School's Center for Racial Justice for a panelist discussion about the current immigration policy landscape and the implications for the upcoming election.

Mike Ford, Steve Ford, and Carla Hills speak on how an American president can make a positive difference in our world as the clock rolls past some of the most monumental moments in American history.

The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum presents A President Resigns: 50 Years Later, a virtual panel discussion on the resignation.