Speaker Series:
Dr. Lia Merivaki and Dr. Mara Suttmann-Lea
Tuesday, August 27, 2024 at 3:00PM ET
Join us for a crucial and timely discussion on the role of (mis)information within the election ecosystem, featuring leading experts in election science and voter engagement, Dr. Thessalia (Lia) Merivaki and Dr. Mara Suttmann-Lea. Drawing from their extensive research, our experts will delve into the challenges election officials face in ensuring that voters have access to reliable information within an increasingly complex election administration landscape. The discussion will also consider how the introduction of new voting laws and reforms across various states impacts these education efforts and voter engagement more broadly.
With the 2024 elections quickly approaching and public trust in the electoral process continuing to diminish, this discussion will underscore the importance of trust-building campaigns and outline the necessary steps to strengthen confidence in American democracy. This event is essential for anyone concerned about the future of voter engagement and the health of democratic processes in the U.S. Don’t miss out on this important conversation as we explore the strategies and challenges crucial to ensuring informed and empowered voters in the upcoming election.
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Guest Expert:
Dr. Thessalia (Lia) Merivaki is an Associate Teaching Professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy and an Associate Research Professors at the Massive Data Institute.
Dr. Merivaki's research interests lie in the intersection of election science, voter behavior, and political communication. She is working with academics, federal and state agencies, election officials, and pro-democracy stakeholders to understand how accurate - and false - information flows in the election information ecosystem, and how trust-building communication campaigns can help build trust in the integrity of elections. Since 2020, Dr. Merivaki has been co-directing the Election Officials' Communication Tracker, a massive data collection and analysis initiative that tracks all state and local election officials' communication efforts on social media. This work has received funding by the MIT Election Data Science Lab (2022 cycle) and Public Agenda (2024 cycle).
Guest Expert:
Dr. Mara Suttmann-Lea is associate professor of American politics at Connecticut College specializing in elections. Their work is driven by an interest in strengthening access to and confidence in American democracy, and ensuring all those who wish to participate in the democratic process have the correct information needed to do so. Suttmann-Lea’s research and teaching interweave assessments of how the intermediaries of democracy — election officials and political actors — shape the impact of voting laws on the public’s engagement in elections. They are a leading scholar of research on voter education, and their findings have been used to support the work of American election officials. Their research has been funded by the Social Science Research Council, the M.I.T. Election Data and Science Lab, and the United States Election Assistance Commission, and has been featured in a range of scholarly and public-facing outlets. They are also the founder of the podcast What Voting Means to Me, which features interviews with people from different walks of life about their experiences living in a democracy, and conversations with scholars and election officials about what can be done to improve the health of American democracy.
Moderator:
Dr. Whitney Hua is the Director of Applied Data and Research at The Center for Election Science (CES). She earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Southern California, specializing in research methods, political attitudes and behavior, election science, and political communication. Dr. Hua has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles, chapters in edited volumes, and policy reports, with her work featured in journals such as the Journal of Politics, PS: Political Science & Politics, Constitutional Political Economy, Journal of Race, Ethnicity, & Politics, Politics, Groups, & Identities, Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, and Politics & Gender. Her research has received funding from the Dirksen Congressional Center and garnered awards, including the American Political Science Association's Best Conference Paper in Information Technology & Politics and the Southern Political Science Association's Malcolm Jewell Award for Best Graduate Student Paper in 2021. At CES, Dr. Hua leads high-impact research initiatives aimed at developing data-driven and actionable solutions to improve the electoral system and voting process, most recently spearheading the launch of CES's Vote Split Elections Data Project and the biennial America (Mis)Represented Elections Report.
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