Political Experts to Discuss 2024 Campaign Season at Baker Institute, Carter Center Event

HOUSTON – 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;
  Brad Raffensperger, 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. CDT. The presentation and livestream begins at 10 a.m. CDT (11 a.m. EDT).

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

To schedule an interview or for more information, contact Avery Franklin, media relations specialist at Rice, at averyrf@rice.edu or 713-348-6327

Related materials:

Follow the Baker Institute via Twitter @BakerInstitute.

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

Contact:
Jeff Falk
713-348-6775
jfalk@rice.edu

Maria Cartaya
404-200-2553
maria.cartaya@cartercenter.org

Avery Franklin
713-348-6327
averyrf@rice.edu

The Baker Institute for Public Policy provides meaningful policy analysis on the most critical challenges facing Texas, the U.S. and the world. It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy research organization based at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1993, the institute is ranked the No. 1 university-affiliated think tank in the world and the No. 1 energy think tank in the world. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog.

The Carter Center
Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope.

A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.