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Voting

In Focus

Voting

Harvard experts look at the state of voting in the 21st century, and how participation is shaped by education, technology, and other historical forces.

Last updated: November 2024
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How AI is affecting elections

As millions of people head to the polls this year, there’s a noteworthy new development: emerging AI technologies, which have the potential to generate misinformation and disinformation at a rapid pace, across the globe.

Explore how AI may impact our elections

Does every vote matter?
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Why every vote matters

Harvard experts explain how casting a ballot could influence your community in thousands of ways, and affect millions.

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How polls become more accurate

Why do U.S. election polls seem to have such a mixed track record? Experts examine how the polling field has tried to make adjustments amid shifts in the nation’s political dynamics.

Learn more about shifts in polling

We’re in the communities. We’re not just doing voter registration and education.”

Jaynie Parrish

As the founder and director of Arizona Native Vote, Jaynie is working to effect change for Arizona tribes through democratic and civic participation.

Jaynie Parrish sitting on a truck in the desert
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A history of voting

While the arc of governments seems to bend toward democracy, that doesn’t mean that they are permanent or inevitable. Ancient Athens, one of the world’s first democracies, lost their representation due to war. Thousands of years later, Greece fought and won a war for representation.


Today, in Venezuela and Georgia, protestors and free speech advocates are pushing against anti-democratic measures.

Learn more about the rise and fall of democracies

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How higher ed can make democracy better

A Kennedy School panel of specialists on public policy and civic engagement says it takes a combination of knowledge and skills.

Learn more from the Harvard Gazette

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When media loses our confidence

Harvard Kennedy School alumni discuss how a lack of confidence in the mass media could affect not only the 2024 election cycle, but our democracy at large.

Learn more from the Harvard Kennedy School