News & Politics

An Election Redesign to Restore Trust in US Democracy | Tiana Epps-Johnson | TED

Election infrastructure in the United States is crumbling, says technologist Tiana Epps-Johnson, and, even worse, election officials are increasingly being attacked simply for doing their jobs. How can the country rebuild trust in its local and national elections? Epps-Johnson describes how the US Alliance for Election Excellence, a nonpartisan collaborative of election officials, technologists, designers…

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Election infrastructure in the United States is crumbling, says technologist Tiana Epps-Johnson, and, even worse, election officials are increasingly being attacked simply for doing their jobs. How can the country rebuild trust in its local and national elections? Epps-Johnson describes how the US Alliance for Election Excellence, a nonpartisan collaborative of election officials, technologists, designers and other experts, is working across all 50 states to improve the performance of systems serving 240 million voters, ensuring everyone has access to a fair, trustworthy and modern democratic process.

This ambitious plan is a part of the Audacious Project, TED’s initiative to inspire and fund global change. Watch all the talks from this year’s cohort at

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62 Comments

  1. Hayd

    May 6, 2022 at 3:49 pm

    Maybe allow the ministry of truth to manage the election process.
    Then they can ensure it is free of Russian misinformation.

  2. Sandra Martinez [Desert Pines HS]

    May 6, 2022 at 4:14 pm

    Is it possible that the politics involving counting pennies may be very different (less important) than the politics involve in counting voting ballots?

  3. Killacamfoo O.G.

    May 6, 2022 at 4:30 pm

    we know what happened.

  4. Home Wall

    May 6, 2022 at 4:33 pm

    Distributed voting makes it harder for systemic fraud.

  5. Artem Chikrin

    May 6, 2022 at 4:37 pm

    What did she actually propose? Wasted life on this vid

  6. 818 BOY

    May 6, 2022 at 4:41 pm

    Democracy is a joke, never existed, only for people funding candidates!!!🤔✌👹

  7. NoExitLoveNow

    May 6, 2022 at 4:45 pm

    Get rid of the electoral college and the Senate and elect the congress directly with pencil and paper ballots.

  8. Mrs Deborah

    May 6, 2022 at 5:13 pm

    Stocks are crashing bitcoin investment right now will be at every wise individual’s list. In three two months you’ll be ecstatic with the decision you made today.

    • Elliot Peter

      May 6, 2022 at 5:57 pm

      @Jonathan Mason Contect him

    • Mr Jose

      May 6, 2022 at 6:00 pm

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    • Jonathan Mark

      May 6, 2022 at 6:03 pm

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    • Josebeast Mr

      May 6, 2022 at 6:08 pm

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    • Mark

      May 6, 2022 at 6:11 pm

      Until I was convinced and gave it a try honestly I don’t regret the move I made because I invested in a big way

  9. Tilde

    May 6, 2022 at 5:44 pm

    The government investigated itself and found the most contested election was the most secure. Lies to counter lies. Three things that can make elections better:
    1) Mail in voting by default like we have here in Oregon, to increase accessibility
    2) State voter ID of some kind to reduce (allegations of) voter fraud
    3) Open source poll software so we don’t have to take the governments word that it’s safe and secure
    Bonus: Attach the election stuff to the post office

  10. Jimmy Licari

    May 6, 2022 at 6:19 pm

    That’s all I hear is “democracy” “threat to democracy” stop this nonsense! We don’t live in a democracy, and we’re fortunate to not live in a society with mob rule (which in it’s essence is true democracy). We live in a constitutional republic 🙄. This is a deliberate and sly twisting of word’s to confuse and mislead the American people into thinking something that it’s not. So please do not fall for it my friends. Do your own due diligence, question everything and everyone. Be a independent critical thinker. Do not feed into the divide and conquer tactics and agenda of left/right, team coke or team Pepsi, Democrat or Republican, bloods vs cribs. Get out of that divisiveness mindset. Defend, even your political so called “enemy” when their individual rights and civil liberties are violated. Both major parties are corrupt, rob and steal from the American people through taxation (which is theft for the record) and constantly use tragedies and current events to errode your constitutionally protected rights.

  11. Kyra R.J.

    May 6, 2022 at 6:40 pm

    Am I missing something? Or did she really just take 8 minutes to say we have a problem and not provide any specific solutions to fix said problem?

    • Twuan Dixon

      May 6, 2022 at 11:46 pm

      Ted talks died like 5/6 years ago and it’s mostly hyper left crap now instead of apolitical like it should be.

  12. Henry Weaver

    May 6, 2022 at 6:48 pm

    Who??? Are these people who claim to be sooooo clever. Yawnnnn.

  13. Daniel Foster

    May 6, 2022 at 7:03 pm

    I am currently designing antigravity ( actually gravity sheilded vehicles) for the consumers. Where is yore stifled commensurate aspirations when the kill- gory of a so culled elite is nonwithstanding ?

  14. Lane RAA

    May 6, 2022 at 7:07 pm

    The US is not a democracy, it is a republic, nothing to restore. Originally only wealthy land owners were allowed to vote.

  15. Rob Berger

    May 6, 2022 at 7:25 pm

    I heard so many distracting comments on what the actual problem is.

  16. Greg Gary

    May 6, 2022 at 7:37 pm

    I can’t even think where to begin, but…

    Citizens United slapped a gigantic “For Sale” sign on U.S. democracy & not surprisingly it continues to be purchased at every opportunity.. Politicians of both stripes seem loath to get rid of the bidders lest they lose their own seat at the trough. It doesn’t seem to actually matter who gets elected, the problem is systemic. Yay for better voting systems but, to what end?

    Seems to me the only real solution now is for the citizenry to literally buy democracy back – outbid the corporations that fund the lobbyists that slop the trough.

    Sadly, with the serious divides in the electorate finding enough cohesive crowd-sourcing effort to make that happen seems a remote possibility. How convenient for the “Big [insert special interest name]” spenders.

    It’s ironic to me that this talk seems to have been in Vancouver, Canada, a country where so far at least, despite some increasingly extreme right political positions, the election systems are generally well respected, accurate and even relatively speedy with results. With some loud but mostly irrelevant exceptions, Canadians in general don’t yet seem to be of the option that their personal “freedoms” Trump their responsibility to the society that provides those freedoms.

    How one fixes *that in America I have no idea but I seriously doubt it will be through bucking up electoral officials & systems.

  17. benshivd

    May 6, 2022 at 7:43 pm

    Now do a Republic. The US is NOT a democracy so none of this is relevant. This is rehashing the left’s BIG LIE. Normalizing what was done in past elections and leading up to the COUP of Nov 2020. The “insurrection wasnt J6 it was Nov2020

  18. American Patriot

    May 6, 2022 at 8:00 pm

    You lost me at “Most Secure Election Ever”.

  19. kcorsnosbig

    May 6, 2022 at 8:15 pm

    System not broke …!!!
    No one is held accountable to the spirit and conspepts of the Liberty of all….

  20. kcorsnosbig

    May 6, 2022 at 8:15 pm

    System not broke …!!!
    No one is held accountable to the spirit and concepts of the Liberty of all….

  21. Justin McGonigle

    May 6, 2022 at 8:39 pm

    Make it so the Dems can’t cheat, simple really….lol

  22. Tom Perkin

    May 6, 2022 at 8:48 pm

    nothing says militant lesbian more than doctor Martin boots and tights…

  23. Robert Pajor

    May 6, 2022 at 9:22 pm

    Safe election? When I went voting last time no one asked me to show my ID or checked my identity. How is this safe?

  24. Lisa Love Ministry

    May 6, 2022 at 11:23 pm

    💝 John 3:16-21

  25. wiggledy toes

    May 6, 2022 at 11:54 pm

    I agree, Biden stole the election

  26. Step One

    May 7, 2022 at 12:27 am

    The United States of America is not a democracy. Fact (source: US Constitution, article 4, section 4) Nowhere in the US Constitution will you find the word, ‘democracy’. I honestly believe those of you on the ‘left’ are unstable characters. You want to abolish the ‘electoral college’? You don’t even know where it came from! The Founding Fathers used the bible to frame the US Constitution in 1789. In my opinion Tiana Epps-Johnson is being disingenuous (misleading with her opinion) by merely questioning the Election infrastructure. I don’t believe in open borders, and I value our Military personnel who protect and guard us all against those who would harm us for the very freedoms we take for granted apparently. Outsourcing election software (Dominion Software)? Why? We in the United States have the most creative minds developing software that will revolutionize the industrial era as you know it. Those of you on the left, want to outsource creativity in this great country. Why? Any Freemasons in the house?

  27. Piece Meats

    May 7, 2022 at 3:11 am

    It’s fine the way it is….
    …….
    Except no “Domination apparatuses” connected totheinternet….. only paper ballots… and id to vote…. and no drop boxes…. and no plumbing problems….. and no suitcases…… and no mail-in…… and no ZuvkerBucks…. and let people who aren’t D’s watch……
    …….
    ok maybe we do need changes….

  28. Eli Ellington

    May 7, 2022 at 4:22 am

    How about we all go off grid, stop paying taxes, and live sovereign from the system. Obviously governments fail their people its time to go back to decentralized tribes/communities not centralized tyrranny.

  29. Rk Deshdeepak

    May 7, 2022 at 4:22 am

    These discussions hardly ever ponder that democracy might be the problem.

  30. Ernesto Dialogo

    May 7, 2022 at 4:25 am

    I’like a forever?

  31. Simon Says

    May 7, 2022 at 5:02 am

    Great…now we just need people worth voting for!

  32. 🇬█ 𝔎𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑚 𝔎alisari│

    May 7, 2022 at 5:17 am

    “In the END we must REMEMBER that no amount of rules or their enforcement will defeat those who STRUGGLE with *JUSTICE* ⚖️ on their side.”

    By # 🌍Nelson Mandela✓

    at the 50th anniversary of the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade),

    🌍Geneva, Switzerland,

    🌍19 May 1998.

    Thank you.
    And good health always!.

    Thank you very much.

    Thank you.

  33. 🇬█ 𝔎𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑚 𝔎alisari│

    May 7, 2022 at 5:17 am

    *TED* ✓

    ❞Freedom can never be taken for granted.

    Each generation must safeguard it and extend it.

    Your parents and elders sacrificed much so that you should have freedom without suffering what they did. 🗽

    Use this precious right to ensure that the *darkness* ⚫ of the past never returns.❞‏

    By. # 🌍Nelson Mandela ✓

    Thank you.
    And may God bless us all.
    🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

    ###
    .

  34. 🇬█ 𝔎𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑚 𝔎alisari│

    May 7, 2022 at 5:18 am

    I have a new content for you 🙏, *TED* ✓ | and yes, for yourself 🤗
    🤔
    😀😀
    .

  35. keenarnia

    May 7, 2022 at 7:20 am

    Yeah I’m tired of waking up to completely different results of a presidential election the following morning with millions of votes found overnight when they somehow stopped counting.

  36. Justin Griffin

    May 7, 2022 at 11:14 am

    The whole congress is bought and paid for by evil lobby groups and corporations, shes selling hopium. All that’s left is prayer.

  37. Winston O'Boogie

    May 7, 2022 at 12:53 pm

    The system of representatives doesn’t work. Get rid of them and implement DIRECT DEMOCRACY.

  38. RuyLopezQB6

    May 7, 2022 at 2:27 pm

    First we need governments that act on behalf of the people, not on behalf of big tech, big pharma, energy and military. Until we have that, it doesn’t matter who you elect, because every decision they make is based on keep the public obedient, while making the 1% richer. That’s why there is zero trust.

  39. Emmanuel John

    May 7, 2022 at 4:20 pm

    Hello
    Anyone need help with their assignment?

    • Emmanuel John

      May 7, 2022 at 4:21 pm

      Ask for my contact or website😊

  40. John Doe

    May 7, 2022 at 6:14 pm

    Democracy died with the Citizens United ruling by a corrupt Supreme Court. Stop patronizing us with meaningless noise that doesn’t fundamentally address the root problem and only addresses the symptoms.

  41. Internet Jesus

    May 7, 2022 at 8:45 pm

    Ha!

  42. Gerard Hundman

    May 7, 2022 at 10:38 pm

    First off, you can’t make a paranoid person trust whatever he or she is paranoid about. Epps-Johnson is right that it’s completely rediculous that in America 2022 there’s still no state of the art 99 percent secure voting technology in place. It’s a matter of political will. Some factions don’t want a near perfect voting system, because it doesn’t suit their goal. Wink, wink. Say no more….
    Also, assholes who send death threats or any other unwanted threats to election officials should be hunted down (ask Elon Musk for help) and face a minimum of five years in jail for every threat they’ve made. Also, a mayor point of attention has to be voter suppression. Together with state of the art voting technology there has to be also technology for identification and means to have ones vote cast, in person or through the support of a third person or a secure voting app. Accessibility is a must. If this is a mission impossible America isn’t the country it claims to be.

  43. yo dan

    May 8, 2022 at 1:07 am

    Greatttt

  44. Gold Crusader

    May 8, 2022 at 1:40 am

    She didn’t post any answers to the problem, all she did was to tell us that the election system was broke, went on and on to give examples about it, like the county using 1900s tech held with ducktape, then she does a 180 and tells us that 2020 was the most secure and best election ever, then she throws feelings and talks about crying with her friend the election official!!?!?!?!! WHAT THE HECK! Where is your solutions to the problem, you self defined election specialist! I call this a fail! She is a fail! This whole video is a fail! TedEd is so disappointing! Used to be that TedEd brought people with foresight and solutions to problems, now all we get is this one sided bias views! 😒

  45. shuki1

    May 8, 2022 at 8:32 am

    The need for total transparency and oversight. There should be no reason to hide counting or keep it 50 ft away behind a barrier from preapproved representatives from both parties. And there is no embarrassment from learning from other western countries who never have election integrity issues. Oh, and I like that there is no central election system since that would lead to even more doubt and possibility for mayhem on a wider scale.

  46. TB Customs

    May 8, 2022 at 8:40 am

    Most secure election ? Nobody even checked my ID last time i voted. This last election was a joke and most people know it.

  47. We The Gods

    May 8, 2022 at 6:32 pm

    The solution to everything is simple abolish the government’s build one that is up to date

  48. We The Gods

    May 8, 2022 at 6:33 pm

    Just like everything else in life our we need a government that evolves with us

  49. We The Gods

    May 8, 2022 at 6:35 pm

    We made the Constitution to show government’s our rights but I guess they never read it they clearly ignored it

  50. Josef Koupý

    May 8, 2022 at 7:53 pm

    At first I thought it’ll be about the redefinig the number of electors according to number of people living in the state. Well.. the US is screwed.. it’s a long long time since it has been an example for other countries, talking about democracy overall

  51. World Observer

    May 9, 2022 at 12:20 am

    Restore it? Too late.

  52. Irreligious ExMuslim

    May 9, 2022 at 6:56 am

    I Love democracy
    I love secularism 💁‍♂️

  53. existncDOTcom

    May 9, 2022 at 3:45 pm

    “I think that there are lots of questions about its legitimacy,” HillaryClinton said of the 2016 election of Donald Trump.

  54. HAZIEL

    May 9, 2022 at 4:17 pm

    No political Ideology will ever save the world.

  55. Xenosaurian

    May 9, 2022 at 5:07 pm

    What we need is for those guilty of election fraud, such as in the 2020 presidential election, to be held accountable and election integrity be restored through audits such as those ongoing.

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