This primary election season, recognize that secure elections require public trust

(Getty Images) A major presidential candidate convicted of 34 felonies . over candidate debates. between moderate and extreme wings of the party.

and at state and national party conventions. It must be primary election season in America. In many states, voters will soon be casting ballots to nominate candidates for office, and some have already done so.

As voters, election officials and policymakers fulfill their civic duty in the coming months, this principle should drive how we discuss elections: The secure and fair elections that are a foundation of American self-government require high levels of trust and confidence from the public. With the 2024 presidential race being a reprise of the 2020 election, this election year seems bound to raise many important questions about voting and election policy. In addition, how they nominate candidates for office to run in the general election.

All will consider in some fashion how to maintain the best balance of convenience, security and trustworthiness in voting. What should be top of mind for all of us the proper way to respond to attacks on the integrity of election outcomes from losing candidates or their campaigns, and how best to support election officials who face undue criticism and even personal threats against their lives. Sutherland Institute, where I work, recently began a yearlong exploration of these questions at the : an event co-sponsored by the Gary Herbert Institute of Public Policy at Utah Valley University and the.