June 11, 2021
Join NIF Forums and a Webinar During National Week of Conversation

The National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI), one of the hosting partners for the National Week of Conversation (NWOC), is presenting a webinar, and a series of online forums (see the schedule below) to help people participate in deliberative conversations about the important issue of voting.

Learn more about how to participate in the June 12-13 America Talks event that will kick off the National Week of Conversation.
Join a forum with others from around the country

How should we encourage and safeguard voting?

Links to register are below and on the NIF website calendar of events.

Mon., June 14, 7pm - 9pm ET (Registration FULL. Please email cga@nifi.org to be placed on the waiting list.)
Online forum on voting
Platform: Common Ground for Action (CGA) + WebEx

Tues., June 15, 4pm - 5:30pm ET
Online forum on voting
Platform: Zoom

Wed., June 16, 7pm - 9pm ET
Online forum on voting
Platform: Common Ground for Action (CGA)

Fri., June 18, 2pm - 3:30pm ET
Online forum on voting
Platform: Zoom

Sat., June 19, 12pm - 2:00pm ET
Online forum on voting
Platform: Common Ground for Action (CGA)
Join a webinar
Convening and moderating forums on voting
June 17, 1-2 p.m. ET

Join us to learn about organizing and leading an impactful discussion as part of the National Issues Forums initiative on what might be done to both encourage and safeguard voting. You will learn about the nonpartisan, public framework for in-person and online deliberative discussions as well as a range of complimentary discussion materials to support your work.

A new discussion guide, titled Elections: How Should We Encourage and Safeguard Voting? is available as a free pdf download.

Many Americans are concerned about the US election system although we don’t always agree on the main problem or how best to fix it. Is it too hard to vote? Is the system too easy to manipulate? Do we have rules that make voting fair and accessible to all? Are we doing enough to ensure accuracy and credibility?

In thinking about different approaches, we will consider these questions:

  • Would having uniform national standards for voting, instead of having state and local officials continue to set the rules, give us more confidence?
  • Do ID requirements for voting, in order to help maintain the system's integrity, merely discourage voters by placing hurdles in their way?
  • Would Americans see the voting system as more legitimate if the Electoral College were eliminated in favor of a national popular vote?
  • Could some of the changes proposed here have unintended consequences? Could they fix some problems but cause new ones we haven't anticipated?

Click here to read more and to download the discussion guide.
We hope you will join us!

Please help us spread the word about the NIF offerings during NWOC by forwarding this message to people in your network and posting information on social media using the hashtags #NIForums and #ListenFirst.
About Deliberation in National Issues Forums
National Issues Forums issue guides are designed to stimulate public deliberation, which is a way of making decisions together that is different from discussion or debate. The purpose of deliberative forums is to inform collective action. As citizens, we have to make decisions together before we can act together, whether with other citizens or through legislative bodies. Acting together is essential for addressing problems that can't be solved by one group of people or one institution. These problems have more than one cause and therefore have to be met by a number of mutually reinforcing initiatives with broad public participation. 

About the National Issues Forums Institute

The National Issues Forums Institute's mission is to promote the use of public deliberation in schools, colleges, civic organizations, and religious institutions in the United States. The institute's board members are volunteers drawn from leaders in government, colleges and universities, libraries, civic organizations, the media, and medicine. For more information visit www.nifi.org.