Strengthening
our Democracy
A healthy, functioning democracy supports effective policymaking.
We work to strengthen and build trust in our democracy, fostering the conditions that support constructive and forward looking fiscal and economic policymaking. Our grants and programs support secure, accurate and transparent elections, a fact-based information environment, and collaborative policymaking.
Highlights from our Grantees and Partners
Election Trust Initiative
The Peterson Foundation has partnered with the Klarman Family Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to establish the Election Trust Initiative. This nonpartisan grant-making organization works to strengthen election administration, guided by the principle that America’s election systems must be secure, transparent, accurate, and convenient. The initiative supports the broad community of election administrators, researchers, policymakers, and organizations working to illuminate challenges, highlight successes, and bring evidence-based solutions to scale.
Bipartisan Reforms to the Electoral Count Act
In 2022, the Peterson Foundation made grants to two nonpartisan organizations, Issue One and Protect Democracy, to support education on the importance of bipartisan reforms to the Electoral Count Act, the law that governs how Congress certifies presidential elections. The grants supported efforts to raise awareness among policymakers, media and other stakeholders on the need for bipartisan, targeted reforms to clarify and modernize the arcane law to ensure an orderly transfer of power. In December 2022, after significant bipartisan, bicameral cooperation, Congress passed a set of critical reforms to the Electoral Count Act as part of an omnibus appropriations package. President Biden signed the bipartisan legislation into law on December 29, 2022.
Further Reading
Electoral Count Act
Learn more about the ECA, which governs the process of casting and counting Electoral College votes for president and vice president.
Faces of Democracy: How Our Elections Work and the Challenges Ahead
Current and former election officials share valuable insights into what makes our elections free and fair and the challenges facing election administrators.
Election Administration at State and Local Levels
Learn about the history of election administration structures and an overview of election administration at the state and local levels.