In the aftermath of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, the battle between the red and blue divide rages louder than ever. Beyond the issues that will drive voters to the polls, there’s the issue of voting itself. From absentee ballot fraud to voter-identification laws, every side seems to take a polar view. “We need to move beyond these voting wars by creating a neutral body to run federal elections and to ensure that all eligible voters, and only eligible voters, can cast a vote that will be accurately counted on Election Day,” wrote Rick Hasen in a recent New York Times Op-Ed piece. Hasen, a professor of law and political science at the University of California, Irvine, will join a range of panelists at ALOUD on Thursday, September 20th to discuss if our country is capable of “moving beyond” party divides.
Click here to make your free reservation to listen in on all sides of the debate as these political experts consider how we go about reaching a national truce and if that is even a good thing.
Panelists include:
Richard L. Hasen is Chancellor’s Professor of Law and Political Science, University of California, Irvine School of Law. He was founding co-editor of the peer-reviewed Election Law Journal and is a frequently quoted expert in the press on election laws. He is the author of the just-published book, The Voting Wars: From Florida 2000 to the Next Election Meltdown.
Connie Rice has received more than fifty major awards for her leadership and unorthodox approaches to challenging brutality and reversing the raw deal for kids struggling to survive in the thin soil of poverty. She is a graduate of Harvard-Radcliffe Colleges and New York University School of Law. At her organization, Advancement Project, she continues her crusade for basic rights with her Urban Peace team after the 2007 release of their seminal report on gang violence in Los Angeles—A Call To Action.
Leslie Berestein Rojas is the lead reporter for KPCC’s immigration blog, Multi-American, on which she reports on immigration and its influence – cultural, political and otherwise – on an evolving nation and region. She formerly covered immigration from the US-Mexico border for the San Diego Union-Tribune. In addition, Ms. Berestein Rojas has reported from throughout the Americas and has written for the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register, Time, People and People en Español.
Nicole Stygar made her political debut as a Deputy Field Director for the California Republican Party in 2006. She has since travelled all over the country working on campaigns for the RNC, NRCC, and as a Regional Government Affairs Representative for ACCCE (Clean Coal Initiative). She currently serves as the Secretary for California Young Republican Federation and Executive Director of Orange County Young Republicans.
Marty Kaplan holds the Norman Lear Chair in Entertainment, Media and Society at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, where he was associate dean for ten years and is the founding director of the school’s Norman Lear Center. He has been a featured blogger on The Huffington Post since its inception, and his commentary appears frequently on radio, TV and in print.