Podcast
GOP lawyer Ben Ginsberg has launched a new initiative, the Bipartisan American Election Project, with former Obama White House counsel Bob Bauer to oppose efforts by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress to impose new rules on election administration.
For more than two centuries, the U.S. Constitution and legal precedent have held that elections, even for federal officeholders, are the administrative domain of state and local governments. But now President Trump and much of the Republican Congress are pushing a federal bill mandating proof-of-citizenship requirements and other restrictions, which critics say would make it harder for millions of eligible voters to cast a ballot.
Enter longtime GOP lawyer Ben Ginsberg and the Bipartisan American Election Project. Ginsberg and former Obama White House counsel Bob Bauer have launched the initiative to fight the proposed changes and to defend the professional, nonpartisan conduct of elections by state and local officials. Ginsberg, who has collaborated with Bauer since they co-chaired the 2013 Presidential Commission on Election Administration, joins Terms of Engagement hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to discuss election integrity as America approaches the 2026 midterms.
Coming soon!
Ben Ginsberg is the Volker Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution and a nationally known political law advocate representing participants in the political process. His clients have included political parties, political campaigns, candidates, legislators, governors, political action committees, individuals, and four of the past six Republican presidential nominees, most recently Mitt Romney. He served as co-chair of the bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Administration, which produced a much-lauded report on best practices for state and local officials to make U.S. elections run better. His academic background includes being a lecturer in law at Stanford Law School, an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, and a fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics.
Archon Fung is the Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Director of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. His research explores policies, practices, and institutional designs that deepen the quality of democratic governance with a focus on public participation, deliberation, and transparency. He has authored five books, four edited collections, and over fifty articles appearing in professional journals. He received two S.B.s — in philosophy and physics — and his Ph.D. in political science from MIT.
Stephen Richer is the former elected Maricopa County Recorder, responsible for voter registration, early voting administration, and public recordings in Maricopa County, Arizona, the fourth largest county in the United States. Prior to being an elected official, Stephen worked at several public policy think tanks and as a business transactions attorney. Stephen received his J.D. and M.A. from The University of Chicago and his B.A. from Tulane University.
Stephen has been broadly recognized for his work in elections and American Democracy. In 2021, the Arizona Republic named Stephen “Arizonan of the Year.” In 2022, the Maricopa Bar Association awarded Stephen “Public Law Attorney of the Year.” In 2023, Stephen won “Leader of the Year” from the Arizona Capitol Times. And in 2024, Time Magazine named Stephen a “Defender of Democracy.”
The views expressed on this show are those of the hosts alone and do not necessarily represent the positions of the Ash Center or its affiliates.
Coming soon!
Commentary
As we commemorate 100 years of Black History Month, it is worth remembering that progress was not driven by headlines alone. Beyond the monuments and courtrooms, everyday people took risks to demand dignity and fairness. Among them was my great uncle, whose pursuit of a promotion became a catalyst for change.
Podcast
Professor Eitan Hersh, the inaugural director for Tufts University’s new Center for Expanding Viewpoints in Higher Education, wants create a new campus atmosphere of “robust intellectual life, where norms of curiosity and goodwill reign.”
Podcast
Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center director and former TIME editor Nancy Gibbs joins co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to discuss the impacts of billionaire media consolidation and pressure from the Trump administration on the flow of information vital to democracy.
Additional Resource
Podcast
Professor Eitan Hersh, the inaugural director for Tufts University’s new Center for Expanding Viewpoints in Higher Education, wants create a new campus atmosphere of “robust intellectual life, where norms of curiosity and goodwill reign.”
Podcast
Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center director and former TIME editor Nancy Gibbs joins co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to discuss the impacts of billionaire media consolidation and pressure from the Trump administration on the flow of information vital to democracy.
