Trustworthy Elections (Local)

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Trust is a critical component of building and maintaining healthy families, communities, institutions and countries. What happens when it starts to dwindle or is lost entirely? Trust is built over time. It can be challenged by people with different views or backgrounds as well as events that call into question the intent of our institutions and media. Increasingly, concerns about access to voting and election integrity have led to a questioning of election results. This conversation is designed to encourage reflection on key disconnects we are currently experiencing. What happens when we don’t trust our elections? How can we move forward to build local trust?

• What impact does trust or the lack of trust have on you? How does it impact your behavior?
  
• When in your life have you intentionally built trust? How might it be applicable to building trust in our local voting practices and elections?
  
• Is there a difference in the trust you have for local elections and processes compared to other districts, state elections, or national elections? Why or why not?
  
• How do you define trust in elections and how have you experienced it over time? What could inspire more trust in local election practices for you?
  
• When you think about our voting practices, what would you like to see this community do moving forward? What could you do?
  

In 2026 we celebrate our 250th anniversary as a nation and participate in an election come November. Now is a the time to build a sense of local pride that bubbles up to national pride in our election practices. Read about how we might achieve this.
 
In 2024 Braver Angels released a report based on hundreds of cross partisan conversations. The takeaway was: Voting should be easy. Cheating should be hard. If you're curious about voting equipment and processes near you, check out Verified Voting.

The information above is an excerpt from the conversation guide. You’ll need to download the complete guide to host your conversation.