Civics 101 Can American elections be "nationalized"? What does that mean?
Mar 31, 2026
Sarah Cooper, Associate Director for Democracy at the Carter Center, oversees nonpartisan election observation and administration advice. She explains who runs U.S. elections and why they are decentralized. Short takes cover what nationalizing voting would mean constitutionally, whether a president can unilaterally change rules, and how observers monitor the full election cycle.
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19th Century Reforms Reduced Turnout And Targeted Voters
- Hosts recount 19th-century election chaos like vote buying and secret ballots to show reforms cut turnout and disenfranchised many groups.
- Example: adoption of the Australian (secret) ballot required literacy and enabled poll taxes and literacy tests that suppressed voters.
Election Observation Is A Full Cycle Activity
- The Carter Center observes elections end-to-end to identify improvements and track implementation of recommendations.
- Observation covers equipment testing, voting, tabulation, audits, and certification rather than only Election Day.
Non-Citizen Voting Is Extremely Rare
- Claims of widespread non-citizen voting are unsupported and, where found, are rare accidental registrations.
- Example: Iowa found ~277 potential non-citizen registrants (~0.01%) and 35 cast ballots in 2024, referred for investigation.