Home Peace Programs Democracy Program U.S. Elections

Advancing Transparency, Building Trust

Public confidence in the electoral process is critical to ensuring that voters participate in elections and accept the results. From our experience observing 126 elections in 40 countries, including the U.S., we know that public information and transparency — the ability of citizens to "see into" and understand the legal and administrative mechanics of an election — are key to bolstering trust.

Since 2020, The Carter Center has supported elections in the U.S. by providing objective information about the election process and promoting electoral transparency. The Center also encourages support for democratic norms by building cross-partisan grassroots networks of civic and business leaders.

Our efforts expanded in 2024. We worked to strengthen trust in the U.S. electoral process by providing information to voters, assessing on-the-ground implementation of national, state and local election procedures, promoting nonpartisan citizen observation, and deterring possible electoral violence.

Principles for Trusted Elections

A crowd of people wave American flags against a dramatic sky.

In partnership with organizations like the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, The Carter Center is advancing cross-partisan, commonsense electoral norms to restore trust in elections. These norms promote core principles such as: integrity, nonviolence, security, oversight, and the peaceful transfer of power. Learn more »

Expert Q&A

Carter Center Democracy Program Director David Carroll discusses the Center's decision to get involved in U.S. elections »

Photo of David Carroll with three observers, all in Carter Center branded blue t-shirts.

U.S. Democracy Resilience Networks

The Carter Center’s Conflict Resolution Program has built cross-partisan networks whose members are united around a shared interest in combating polarization, strengthening democracy, and preventing political violence. The networks — in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, and Wisconsin — are led by bipartisan teams of prominent local leaders that engage with concerned citizens across the political spectrum.

Message Dissemination and Election Education: Through these resilience networks, The Carter Center elevates trusted local voices to share information on how elections work, constructively address misinformation, and reduce tensions on issues that could lead to violence. In the run-up to the November 2022 elections, the Center created social media messaging cards featuring pro-democracy and anti-violence themes, tailoring the messages based on custom research, and shared them with Democracy Resilience Network members for use in their communities. In Arizona, Florida, and North Carolina, the networks also organized public events designed to share information about electoral processes. These typically took the form of town hall meetings, creating a platform for local election administrators and others to explain the mechanics of elections in their states.

Faith Forward Network: The Center also has created the Faith Forward Network, a multifaith, nonpartisan network of spiritual leaders who are united by concerns for our increasingly divided country and the impact those divisions have on communities, families, and democracy. The network highlights common faith values and their links to democratic norms and nonviolence and provides resources for faith leaders to use within their own spheres of influence to address polarization.

More information on the work of these state networks can be found here:

Arizona