Finding Common Ground on Election Reform

Join former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile and former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele as they come together for a free online talk exploring ways to find common ground on election reform.

Free and fair elections are at the cornerstone of our democracy, yet many Americans feel disenfranchised about their ability to cast a ballot. Rising polarization in Congress has left voting rights legislation at a standstill. Brazile and Steele explore how we address these issues and find a path forward in a special conversation guided by former CBS News Correspondent and author, Jacqueline Adams.

This free online event is co-presented through the 92nd Street Y’s Newmark Civic Life Series of pro-democracy talks and lectures, an initiative of the Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact.

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Featured Panelists:

Donna Brazile, FORMER CHAIR OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE

Donna Brazile is an ABC News Contributor, veteran political strategist, an adjunct professor in the Women and Gender Studies Department at Georgetown University, and the King Endowed Chair in Public Policy at Howard University. She previously served as interim Chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and of the DNC’s Voting Rights Institute. She managed the Gore campaign in 2000 and has lectured at more than 237 colleges and universities on diversity, equity and inclusion; women in leadership; and restoring civility in American politics. Ms. Brazile is a USA Today contributor, a guest columnist for The Hill and the author of several books, including the NYT bestseller “Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White House.”

Michael Steele, FORMER CHAIR OF THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE

When he was elected Lt. Governor of Maryland in 2003, Michael Steele made history as the first African American elected to statewide office; and again with his subsequent chairmanship of the Republican National Committee in 2009. Under his leadership, the RNC broke fundraising records and won 63 House seats. His ability as a communicator and commentator is showcased through his current role as a political analyst for MSNBC and as host of The Michael Steele Podcast. An author and frequent contributor to major media outlets, Mr. Steele is a graduate of Georgetown Law Center, an Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow in Public Leadership, a University of Chicago Institute of Politics Fellow, and a Senior Fellow at Brown University’s Institute for International and Public Affairs.

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Event Moderator:

Jacqueline Adams, FORMER CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENT & AUTHOR

Jacqueline Adams launched a second career as a communications strategist after more than two decades as an Emmy Award-winning CBS News correspondent. Ms. Adams covered the groundbreaking campaigns of Jesse Jackson for President and Geraldine Ferraro for Vice President before spending five years as a White House correspondent during the Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations. Through her firm, J Adams: Strategic Communications, LLC, she now counsels both corporate and nonprofit clients. Ms. Adams is the author of “A Blessing: Women of Color Teaming Up to Lead, Empower and Thrive.” ​​She serves on the Board of Directors of the Harvard Business School Club of New York and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

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Event Presented By: Common Ground Committee

Common Ground Committee (CGC) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)3 citizen-led organization dedicated to fostering more progress and less division in politics. Since its founding in 2009, CGC has held 14 public forums featuring panelists who have reached over 200 points of consensus. Panelists have included such notable pairings as John Kerry and Condoleezza Rice, David Petraeus and Susan Rice, Michael Steele and Donna Brazile, and Larry Kudlow and Barney Frank, exploring issues ranging from race and income inequality to foreign policy. CGC produces the “Let’s Find Common Ground” podcast series, which has had over 100 thousand downloads. CGC also created the Common Ground Scorecard, a voting tool that scores politicians and candidates for public office on their likelihood to find common ground with the opposite party. Free of political agenda and financial influence, CGC has a singular focus on bringing light, not heat, to public discourse.

Event Co-Presented By:

The 92nd Street Y, New York is a world-class cultural and community center where people all over the world connect through culture, arts, entertainment and conversation. For over 140 years, we have harnessed the power of arts and ideas to enrich, enlighten and change lives, and the power of community to repair the world. As a proudly Jewish organization, we enthusiastically welcome and reach out to people of all ages, races, faiths and backgrounds while embracing Jewish values like learning and self-improvement, the importance of family, the joy of life, and giving back to our wonderfully diverse and growing community, both locally and around the world.