Danielle Allen
Professor of Public Policy, James Bryant Conant University Professor
Democratic Reform
At the Ash Center, we’re working to generate new ideas to reform our democratic institutions for the 21st century.
Related Programs
Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, Reimagining Democracy Program
Many of our most basic democratic institutions, from the Electoral College to Congress itself, were born in the eighteenth century when American democracy and America looked markedly different than today. At the Ash Center, we’re working to modernize and reform these institutions for a healthy 21st-century democracy.
As political polarization continues to test the strength of even our most bedrock political institutions, the Ash Center brings together scholars, practitioners, and policymakers from across the country to discuss how to protect and modernize our democracy.
Through working groups and convenings, case studies, and research projects, the Ash Center is working to identify reforms both large and small that will help strengthen the future of American democracy for generations to come.
Meet the Experts
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner
Associate Professor of Public Policy
Archon Fung
Director, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation;
Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government
Larry Lessig
Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership
Stephen Richer
Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy, February - November 2025
Jane Mansbridge
Adams Professor of Political Leadership and Democratic Values Emerita
Tarek Masoud
Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Governance
Liz McKenna
Assistant Professor of Public Policy
Pippa Norris
Paul F. McGuire Lecturer in Comparative Politics
Ariel Procaccia
Alfred and Rebecca Lin Professor of Computer Science
Benjamin Schneer
Associate Professor of Public Policy
David Weil
Visiting Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School
Daniel Ziblatt
Eaton Professor of the Science of Government
The Latest News, Research, and Resources
Policy Brief
Understanding the Role of Local Election Officials: How Local Autonomy Shapes U.S. Election Administration
Feature
Rocking the vote from the ER to the Peach State
Two Kennedy School student research projects chart path forward on voter engagement.
Video
100 Days of Biden Administration: What’s Next for Immigration, Health Policy, and Economic Justice
Video
Voting Rights and Democracy Reform in the States and on the Hill
The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation convened advocates from the states and Capitol Hill to discuss what is at stake and the strategies being used in the fight for voting rights and democracy reform.
Video
Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century
The Ash Center and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) hosted a discussion of Our Common Purpose, a report issued by the Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship.
Commentary
Voting Rights Battle Enters a New Round
On March 1, the Georgia House of Representatives passed H.B.531, a sweeping elections bill that critics and voting rights advocates were quick to note increases restrictions on absentee voting and curtails weekend early voting hours.
Video
Citizen Ballot Initiatives: A New Tool for Election Reform
Feature
Myanmar After the Coup
During a recent Ash Center event, experts discussed how the people of Myanmar have responded to recent events and what potential remains for a democratic future in the country.
Video
Moving Forward or Moving Backward: Election Legislation in the States
Q+A
Tarek Masoud Reflects on the Arab Spring Ten Years Later
As the world looks back on the events that convulsed much of the Middle East a decade ago during what became known as the Arab Spring, the Ash Center sat down with Tarek Masoud, Professor of Public Policy and Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman Professor of International Relations, to discuss the prospects for democracy in the region today.
Video
Georgia on Our Minds: Voter Engagement and Voter Protection in the Senate Runoffs
Video
Looking Forward: The Paths and Prospects for Democracy Reform
Video
Will This Election Pick the Next President: Election Break Down and What to Do About It
In this discussion, the speakers explored what election breakdown could look like: A President refusing to concede, a state legislature disregarding the popular vote, a tie-breaker by a Supreme Court some view as illegitimate, Congress deciding the election according to “contingent election” provisions, or something else altogether?
Video
Queer the Vote: Mobilizing the LGBTQ Community Ahead of the 2020 Elections
The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation hosted a conversation to discuss the priorities of LGBTQ voters and how they are being mobilized to get out and vote in November 2020.
Video
Navigating the Rapids: Swing State Secretaries and the 2020 Elections
The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation brought together a bipartisan group of secretaries from the key swing states of Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.