
Welcome
The Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University is proud to contribute research expertise and fresh ideas to news reporters and the public in the run-up to the 2024 election. Browse this page to explore policy ideas from our world-class faculty related to the hotly-contested 2024 U.S. presidential race.
2024 Election Podcast Series
Sanford's Policy 360 podcast will be releasing new episodes all throughout the fall as part of our ongoing series of policy-focused conversations related to the 2024 election. Episodes thus far:
- Election 2024: Lying in Politics
- Election 2024: HBCUs and the Fight for American Democracy
- Election 2024: Racial Wealth Inequality and Policy
- Election 2024: Expanding the Child Tax Credit
Professor Gunther Peck and alumna Hannah McKnight
This Thing We Call Democracy
As part of Trinity College’s new podcast “Duets,” professor Gunther Peck and alumna Hannah McKnight discuss gardening, democracy and their research on how to help student voters overcome electoral barriers that disenfranchise many.

Is Democracy Important to Us?
"We are at a very powerful moment in terms of our identity. We are at a moment of identity crisis as a society where we have to ask ourselves, is democracy important to us? And are we willing to go to the mat for it, in a way that everyone will have to give something up in order to create something stronger and more resilient? It’s looking beyond one particular election cycle to think through how we’re showing up for democracy."
- Professor Deondra Rose, featured in Duke Magazine
Featured Podcast
Ways & Means Podcast
Missing Votes
In this episode of Sanford's award-winning Ways & Means podcast – as we head into the 2024 elections – why lots of North Carolina college students’ votes did not count in the last election, or the time before that, or the time before that. Why those votes weren’t counted, and how to prevent it from happening again.
More Podcasts
Policy 360
Throughout the fall, Sanford's highly regarded Policy 360 podcast will include conversations with Duke researchers and special guests with a focus on the 2024 elections.
Ways & Means
What makes a great leader during a deeply divided time? We look at the story of Nelson Mandela and some of the surprising strategies that made his leadership work. Features the work of professor Bruce Jentleson.
Distinguished Lectures
Sept. 4, Sanford Distinguished Lecture
Liz Cheney
Liz Cheney served as the U.S. representative for Wyoming's at-large congressional district from 2017 to 2023. She chaired the House Republican Conference, the third-highest position in the House Republican leadership, from 2019 to 2021, and served as the Vice Chair of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. She is the author of the newly released memoir, Oath and Honor. Read a recap of her visit.
Oct. 29, Rubenstein Distinguished Lecture
David Brooks
David Brooks is a bestselling author, op-ed columnist at the New York Times, and recurring commentator on PBS NewsHour. He has a gift for bringing readers and audiences alike face to face with the spirit of our times with humor, insight, and quiet passion. He is a keen observer of the American way of life and a savvy analyst of present-day politics and foreign affairs whose columns are among the most read in the nation.
Latest Media Coverage
Opinion and Editorial
Many Sanford professors are also op-ed columnists - journalists for national publications, or prolific bloggers. Explore some of their work.
Recent Stories
Duke Votes
Duke Votes is a non-partisan, student-led organization that aims to register, educate, and mobilize the Duke community to vote. They offer a variety of programs, including voter registration drives and voter education opportunities. You can visit their site to learn how to register and vote in North Carolina or in your home state.