A new season of Mistaken Identity is here with a special focus on election security, voting systems, and their impact on democracy. We have a range of guests coming to explain the ins and outs of election observing, online voting, and the current state of election security both in the United States and throughout the world. (Yes, that’s a big topic—and one that has surprising parallels to other forms of identity and security.)

In this episode, Dr. Susan Hyde, a Professor of Political Science from UC Berkeley, explains how Election Observers act as “auditors” of Election Security. She discusses some of her own experiences observing in Afghanistan, Albania, Indonesia, Liberia, Nicaragua, Pakistan and Venezuela. We then explore the role that Observers have played in the rise (and subsequent regression) in democracy throughout the world—including in the U.S. Finally, we outline the challenges that online voting may present to Election Observation.