Hopkins Votes

Upcoming Events

An informed voter is an engaged voter. Throughout October and beyond, Johns Hopkins will host a series of virtual discussions on topics central to democracy and the 2020 election, including voter suppression, election security, race and identity, and disinformation.

Many of the events are part SNF Agora Conversations: Election 2020, a six-week series of webcasts that will examine specific current threats to American democracy and also look at the path forward, considering youth voter engagement, a pushing back against rising populism, and social movements that are building bridges across historic divides.

Calendar of events

Nov 3
Center for Social Concern Civic Sessions: Civic Engagement After Election Day
11pm – 12am UTC
Online
Student participants will consider the next steps in their civic journey following the 2020 election.
Nov 10
Election 2020 and its Meaning for Our Democracy
5 – 6:30pm UTC
Campus: Online, Details:
One week after the U.S. presidential election, SNF Agora Institute and Hopkins@Home invite Johns Hopkins students, faculty, staff, and alumni to join a conversation with Johns Hopkins experts about what happened in the election and why, and how our community and our country might move forward together to realize the promise of democracy.

Past events

Hopkins Votes logo
Feb 14, 2020
Hopkins Votes Absentee Ballot Party
4 – 9:30pm UTC
Great Hall, Levering Hall Levering Hall
Homewood Campus
3400 North Charles Street
Baltimore , Maryland 21218
The Center for Social Concern is hosting an Absentee Ballot Party for Hopkins Votes just in time for Super Tuesday. All are welcome at this event whether you are eligible to vote or not.
Feb 19, 2020
Voter Registration with Johns Hopkins Black Faculty & Staff Association
5 – 7pm UTC
Northeast Market, 2101 E Monument Street, Baltimore MD 21205, East Baltimore Campus East Baltimore Campus
700 N. Wolfe Street
Baltimore , Maryland 21205
Join the Johns Hopkins Black Faculty & Staff Association to register to vote before our upcoming elections.
Census 2020 identifier
Feb 24, 2020
What You Need to Know about Census 2020
11pm – 12am UTC
Glass Pavilion, Levering Hall Levering Hall
Homewood Campus
3400 North Charles Street
Baltimore , Maryland 21218
Barbara Mikulski, longtime U.S. senator from Maryland and Homewood Professor of public policy at Johns Hopkins University, will offer keynote remarks at an event about the U.S. census and its critical importance to democracy in America and in Baltimore
Colleen Barry and Brendan Nyhan
March 20, 2020
SNF Agora Conversations: COVID-19 and the Politics of Information
4 – 4:45pm UTC
This conversation will explore the politics of the information environment around COVID-19, including what social science tells us about how public health communications work; what governments, media, and platforms can do to counter misinformation; and how COVID-19 compares to other public health issues, such as gun violence or vaccines.
Composite image
March 27, 2020
One Pandemic, a World of Responses
4:30 – 5:15pm UTC
Online Online
Baltimore , Maryland
A conversation about various responses to COVID-19 around the world and what lessons governments can learn as they think about preparing for future challenges
April 28, 2020
The Vote: A Screening and Discussion on Women’s Suffrage
10 – 11:30pm UTC
Online
Join American Experience producers and experts from the new documentary The Vote for an exclusive clip screening followed by a panel discussion on the passage of the 19th Amendment.
Illustration of coronavirus
May 29, 2020
Listening to Rural and Urban Voices
4 – 4:45pm UTC
Online Online
Baltimore , Maryland
This discussion, presented as part of the “SNF Agora Conversations: The Politics and Policy of COVID-19” series, explores innovative ways of listening to the public and what these approaches have taught us about the way the rural/urban divide is playing out during the pandemic
June 12, 2020
Anger, Injustice, and a Crisis of Democracy
4 – 4:45pm UTC
Campus: Online, Details:
In a moment when legacies of structural racism are tearing us apart, how do we begin to see each other’s pain as our own? Join SNF Agora Conversations in trying to make sense of the current crisis and exploring pathways forward.
July 10, 2020
SNF Agora Conversations: Protest, Activism, and Organizing
4 – 4:45pm UTC
Online
The SNF Agora Institute and SAIS host an event reflecting on how citizens can use protest, activism, and organizing to effectively—and safely—make their voices heard, hold leaders accountable, and make real change happen
July 14, 2020
The Long Journey to Women’s Suffrage
4 – 5pm UTC
Online
Dorothea Wolfson, the program director for the MA in Governmental Studies, will address the philosophic and cultural obstacles that prolonged women’s battle to win the vote in light of the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment.
Aug 5, 2020
Value the Vote: Johns Hopkins University’s Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commemoration Visionary Philanthropy: Mary Elizabeth Garrett, Women’s Education, and the 19th Amendment
11pm – 12am UTC
Online
Author Kathleen Waters Sander and curator Natalie Elder will discuss the role that Baltimore’s Gilded Age philanthropist Mary Elizabeth Garrett played in the fight to pass the 19th amendment as part of the Hopkins at Home Women’s Suffrage Series.
Aug 12, 2020
Value the Vote: Johns Hopkins University’s Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commemoration Picturing a Movement: Women’s Suffrage Through the Lens of Maps and Ephemera
11pm – 12am UTC
Online
Heidi Herr, the outreach librarian for Special Collections at Johns Hopkins University, will interview several students, including Ivy Xun, Laurel Poolman, and Nandini Dey, about their experiences researching the Women’s Suffrage Movement and share examples of their work as part of the Hopkins at Home Women’s Suffrage Series.
Aug 18, 2020
Impossible-Or Imperative? The Shifting Landscape: Reopening and the Politics of Education
5 – 6pm UTC
Online
Johns Hopkins education experts discuss what we can learn about the shifting landscape of the politics of education by examining how different states and the federal government have approached remote learning and reopening schools amidst the pandemic.
Aug 19, 2020
Value the Vote: Johns Hopkins University’s Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commemoration: The Woman’s Hour: An Interview with Elaine Weiss
11pm – 12am UTC
Online
Elaine Weiss, a Baltimore-based journalist and author of The Woman’s Hour, will discuss the nail-biting climax of one of the greatest political battles in American history — the ratification of the constitutional amendment that granted women the right to vote — with her husband, Julian Krolik, Johns Hopkins professor of physics and astronomy, as part of the Hopkins at Home Women’s Suffrage Series.
Aug 26, 2020
Value the Vote: Johns Hopkins University’s Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commemoration: Democracy, Inclusion, and the Path to Empowerment
11pm – 12am UTC
Online
Martha S. Jones, the Society of Black Alumni presidential professor and a professor of history at Johns Hopkins, will discuss her forthcoming book, Vanguard, a history of African American women’s pursuit of political power — and how it transformed America, with Johns Hopkins President Ronald J. Daniels.
Sept 12, 2020
SNF Agora Training: Facts or Fakes?
5 – 6:15pm UTC
Online
Former New York Times reporter Scott Shane will go over recent case studies in online disinformation, using real images and video clips, and discuss how to separate truth from fabrication.
Sept 17, 2020
“SAIS Review” Issue 40.1 Launch: Panel on 2020 Diplomacy
3:30 – 4:30pm UTC
Online
Join contributors to the SAIS Review‘s 40.1 issue, Ex Amicitia Pax, in a discussion of the uses and limitations of diplomacy amidst a global pandemic and numerous social movements. The issue and event explore themes of diplomacy, from how power plays a role in international negotiations to reflections on various multilateral institutions.
Sept 17, 2020
Remember, Reflect, Recommit: Celebrating Women’s Suffrage (Day 1)
4 – 4:45pm UTC
Online
For Day 1 of the SNF Agora Institute’s virtual conference entitled “Remember, Reflect, Recommit: Celebrating Women’s Suffrage,” Martha Jones, professor of history, and SNF Agora Director Hahrie Han discuss the many ways women past and present have used their voices to profoundly influence our democracy.
Sept 18, 2020
Remember, Reflect, Recommit: Celebrating Women’s Suffrage (Day 2)
4 – 6:45pm UTC
Online
For Day 2 of the SNF Agora Institute’s virtual conference entitled “Remember, Reflect, Recommit: Celebrating Women’s Suffrage,” panelists will discuss “Women Working Across the Aisle.”
Sept 19, 2020
Remember, Reflect, Recommit: Remember, Reflect, Recommit (Day 3)
2:30 – 6pm UTC
Online
Day 3 of the SNF Agora Institute’s virtual conference entitled “Remember, Reflect, Recommit: Celebrating Women’s Suffrage” will explore the multiple ways women have—historically and today—used voting, legislating, and other forms of civic engagement to shape our democracy.
Sept 22, 2020
Voter Tuesday: Open Zoom Office Hours
4 – 6pm UTC
Online
Voter Tuesday office hours give you an easy way to get registered and ready or ask the questions you have about casting your ballot.
Sept 22, 2020
The 2020 Election and the Future of American Democracy: Russian Election Interference
11pm – 12am UTC
Online
Scott Shane, former New York Times reporter and visiting scholar at the SNF Agora Institute, will discuss previous and current issues with Russian election Interference as part of the International Studies Leadership Council fall speaker series entitled “The 2020 Election and the Future of American Democracy.”
Sept 23, 2020
Twilight of Democracy: A Conversation with Author and Professor Anne Applebaum
3 – 4pm UTC
Online
Dean Eliot A. Cohen and Anne Applebaum, a senior fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and Pulitzer-winning historian of Soviet atrocities, will discuss Applebaum’s new book, Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism.
Sept 25, 2020
Four Threats to American Democracy
4 – 4:45pm UTC
Online
As part of the SNF Agora’s webcast series “SNF Agora Conversations: Election 2020,” Suzanne Mettler and Robert C. Lieberman will map out five times in U.S. history that our democracy was in serious crisis and identify four characteristics of democratic disruption.
Sept 26, 2020
SNF Agora Training: Presidential Debates Past & Present
5 – 6:30pm UTC
Online
Participants will analyze different debates and techniques used by presidential candidates and learn what to look for during the first debate on Sept. 29.
Oct 2, 2020
Trump vs. Biden vs. Media and Manipulation
4 – 4:45pm UTC
Webcast
A month before election day, political journalists are struggling to cover a campaign with more than the usual share of falsehood, exaggeration, and vitriol. How can voters sort fact from fiction and make an informed choice?
Oct 6, 2020
Cultivating Youth Activism
3 – 8pm UTC
Online
This two-day virtual Cultivating Youth Activism conference will connect youth activists with civics practitioners and scholars from around the world in order to discuss the best practices of youth advocacy and challenges facing democracy in the current moment.
Oct 6, 2020
Beyond the Booth: Politics as a Public Good
4 – 5pm UTC
Online
Join Sen. Barbara Mikulski, representing Maryland, and Lester Spence, professor of political science at Johns Hopkins, as they dip into ideas of politics as a tool for creating change.
Leigh Chapman, Nathan Connolly, and Jerry Gonzalez

Image caption: From left to right: Leigh Chapman, Nathan Connolly, and Jerry Gonzalez

Oct 6, 2020
R.A.C.E. Matters Series: Racial Inequity, Voter Suppression, and Democracy
11pm – 12:30am UTC
Online
The first session of the R.A.C.E. Matters Series will have a panel discussing voter rights and the implications of voter suppression on black and brown communities across the country.
Oct 7, 2020
Cultivating Youth Activism
2 – 7pm UTC
Online
This two-day virtual Cultivating Youth Activism conference will connect youth activists with civics practitioners and scholars from around the world in order to discuss the best practices of youth advocacy and challenges facing democracy in the current moment.
Oct 8, 2020
Town Hall on Political Campaign Activity Guidelines
3:30 – 4:45pm UTC
Online
Join members of the university’s Offices of Federal Strategy, Government and Community Affairs, and General Counsel for practical guidance to ensure compliance with university policy and federal requirements as we also uphold our commitment to the free and open expression of ideas.
SNF Agora Institute Election 2020 series
Oct 9, 2020
SNF Agora Conversations: Election 2020: Populism’s Second Term
4 – 4:45pm UTC
Online
As part of the SNF Agora Conversations: Election 2020 series, Yascha Mounk, senior fellow at the SNF Agora Institute, will discuss why many populists manage to win a second term and why President Donald Trump’s fate might be different.
Check illustration
Oct 10, 2020
Your Health Matters, Let’s Vote
3:30 – 5:30pm UTC
Northeast Market, 2101 E. Monument St., Baltimore
The Hopkins Diaspora partners with the National Association of Health Services Executives and Black Girls Vote to help register community members to vote at Northeast Market in Baltimore.
Oct 13, 2020
Hopkins at Home: Security of Electronic Voting
4 – 5pm UTC
Campus: Online, Details: Watch live here on 10/13: https://www.jhu.edu/hopkinsathome/
Avi Rubin, a professor of computer science, will lead a discussion describing how electronic voting in the U.S. began, the problems with security in e-voting, as well as trade-offs of various other approaches to voting.
Oct 13, 2020
Election 2020: Presidential Campaigns and the Politics of U.S. Foreign Policy
8:30 – 10pm UTC
Online
Kori Schake, Randy Scheunemann, and Mark Lippert will discuss the implications of the 2020 election on U.S. foreign policy and the politics of foreign policy for the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies Kissinger Center.
SNF Agora Institute Election 2020 series
Oct 16, 2020
SNF Agora Conversations: Election 2020: Securing the Vote
4 – 4:45pm UTC
Online
As part of the SNF Agora Conversations: Election 2020 series, Henry Farrell, professor of international affairs at the School of Advanced International Studies, will discuss how political scientists and information security specialists can help us understand—and mitigate—the likely failures of large-scale voting systems operating under unexpected circumstances in a context of increased fear over manipulation.
Oct 20, 2020
The Russia Attack: 2016 and the Future of Election Security
11pm – 12am UTC
Online
IDEAL JHU launches its new Protecting Democracy Symposium with a panel on “The Russia Attack: 2016 and the Future of Election Security.”
Oct 21, 2020
Maryland Voter Education Webinar
11pm – 12am UTC
Online
Voters in Maryland: Come join Alpha Kappa Psi and Women in Business to learn how to get your vote counted and your voices heard.
Election 2020 conversation series
Oct 23, 2020
SNF Agora Conversations: Election 2020: Young People and the 2020 Election
4 – 4:45pm UTC
Online
Scott Warren, currently a visiting fellow at the SNF Agora and also CEO of Generation Citizen, is one of the panelists discussing “Young People and the 2020 Election” as part of the SNF Agora Conversations: Election 2020 series.
Oct 26, 2020
Rebuilding U.S. Democracy Together
1 – 2pm UTC
Online
Eliot A. Cohen, Hahrie Han, and Henry Farrell will have an across-the-aisle discussion of the fundamental questions facing our political parties and, more importantly, where we might find the opportunities for common ground that will be crucial to our ability to move forward as a nation.
Election 2020 conversation series
Oct 30, 2020
SNF Agora Conversations: Election 2020: Race, Polarization, and Life After the Election
4 – 4:45pm UTC
Online
As part of the SNF Agora Conversations: Election 2020 series, Ashley Quarcoo, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, will discuss how we can talk about race, identity, and polarization in a way that doesn’t imagine that one election—or one elected leader—can heal all wounds.