Restoring Trust in Our Elections

We are working with community leaders to bolster public faith in the American election system and its officials.

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Engage the Community

Actively involve committed community leaders - or Pillars – from across the political spectrum.
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Evaluate the Election System

Engage with local and state election officials in dialogues about the accuracy and integrity of local election processes.
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Understand the Safeguards

Provide community leaders with information and data about the safeguards within election systems designed to provide accurate vote counts to fortify public confidence.
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Trust the Process

Through full engagement with election officials, encourage community confidence in the local jurisdiction’s election procedures and the election officials who conducted the election.
Public confidence in our elections is essential to our system of government and the peaceful transfer of power. Yet that confidence has been undermined by unprecedented political and other stresses on our voting systems.

Pillars of the Community seeks to bolster faith in elections by hosting conversations between a group of politically diverse community leaders and election officials about the ongoing work at the state and local levels to deliver an election this year that meets voter expectations of reliability and security. These conversations will enable Pillars to gain a firsthand understanding of the electoral process and share their assessment with the public.

The goal of this process is transparency and dialogue about the preparations for upcoming elections, which will promote voter trust and confidence — regardless of the election’s results.

About Our Co-Chairs

Leadership

Pillars of the Community Co-Chairs Bob Bauer and Ben Ginsberg are nationally recognized experts on elections and election administration. They have been on opposite sides of many of the nation’s most contentious election disputes over the last four decades. Through those years of experience, Bauer and Ginsberg have built relationships with both Republican and Democratic election officials across the country and gained substantive expertise in election processes. They have seen firsthand what it takes to engender voters’ confidence and how important that is.

Together, they served as co-chairs of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration in 2013-2014, through which they were introduced to election officials and systems around the country. Pillars of the Community is an extension of that bipartisan work, and Bauer and Ginsberg continue to believe in the success of building trust, starting at the community level.

Photo of Ben Ginsberg, Co-Chair

Ben Ginsberg, Co-Chair

Ben Ginsberg served as national counsel to the 2000 and 2004 Bush presidential campaigns, as well as the 2008 and 2012 Romney for President campaigns. He was a partner at Jones Day from 2014 to 2020 and, before that, at Patton Boggs for 23 years. He is the Volker Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution. In 2013, he served as co-chair of the bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Administration.
Photo of Bob Bauer, Co-Chair

Bob Bauer, Co-Chair

Bob Bauer served as White House Counsel to President Obama from 2009 to 2011 and was counsel to both Obama campaigns. Bauer is professor of practice and distinguished scholar in residence at the New York University School of Law and co-director of NYU Law’s Legislative and Regulatory Process Clinic. In 2013, the President named him to be co-chair of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration. In 2021, President Biden named him to be co-chair of the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States.

Program Updates

Pillars Update

Opinion: Vote with confidence, Maricopa County elections are secure

Jon Altmann, a Navy veteran, high school history teacher and one of our Arizona Pillars, recently authored an op-ed in the Phoenix and Daily Independent. See a full copy…
October 9, 2026
Pillars Update

KJZZ’s “The Show” Interview with Ben Ginsberg

Tune in here to listen: MARK BRODIE: Good morning. It’s The Show on KJZZ 91.5. I’m Mark Brodie. LAUREN GILGER: And I’m Lauren Gilger. Coming up, why an Indigenous wellness expert…
September 29, 2026
Pillars Updates

Opinion: Don’t let mistake distract from successful Aug. 11 election

Timothy Ehlinger and John Ringheimer, two Wisconsin Pillars, recently published an op-ed in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to affirm their confidence in the…
September 14, 2026
Pillars Updates

Opinion: What I saw inside the Durham County Board of Elections

Dan Gurley, a North Carolina Pillar and longtime Republican strategist, published an article in the North State Journal to…
September 4, 2026
Pillars Updates

Opinion: The election story no one is telling

Andy Johnston, senior vice president of strategic initiatives at the Grand Rapids chamber and a Michigan Pillar, writes in Bridge Michigan…
August 28, 2026
Pillars Updates

Opinion: Building Relationships to Empower Trusted Messengers

Jane Andersen, the Arizona State Director of Mormon Women for Ethical Government (MWEG) and an Arizona Pillar, published an article in…
August 23, 2026