Date
How secure are our elections, and how do we know?
With the November midterm elections approaching, join University of Michigan experts and election-security leaders for a timely, nonpartisan discussion about the systems, technologies, and safeguards that protect elections and help verify results.
Moderated by U-M Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer Ravi Pendse, the panel will feature J. Alex Halderman, the Bredt Family Professor of Engineering and an election-cybersecurity researcher; Walter Mebane, professor of political science and statistics and an expert in election forensics; and Mara Ostfeld, research associate professor of public policy and an expert in survey research and public opinion. Together, they will examine cybersecurity threats to election infrastructure, voting technology and verification, the role of audits and evidence in evaluating results, and the challenge of maintaining public confidence in a rapidly changing information environment.
Designed for a broad audience, the conversation will consider how experts identify genuine risks, evaluate claims, strengthen election resilience, and support transparency and trust.
The moderated panel will be followed by an audience question-and-answer period.
The event is open to U-M students, faculty, and staff. Seating is limited to 120 people, and an RSVP is required. Refreshments will be provided.
Location
University Hall, Alexander G. Ruthven Building
University of Michigan Central Campus
1109 Geddes Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Speakers
Walter Richard Mebane, Jr. is a University of Michigan professor of political science and statistics and an expert on detecting electoral fraud. He is a research professor with the Center for Political Studies.
Dr. Mara Cecilia Ostfeld is the research director at the Center for Racial Justice and a research associate professor at the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. She also serves as a faculty lead of the Detroit Metro Area Communities Study—an ongoing, representative survey of Detroit households that captures residents’ expectations, perceptions, priorities, and aspirations.
Ravi Pendse, Ph.D., is vice president for information technology and chief information officer at the University of Michigan, where he serves as an executive officer and provides university-wide leadership and strategic direction for technology. He is a clinical professor of engineering practice in electrical engineering and computer science. Dr. Pendse also serves as U-M’s first-ever Special Advisor to the President for India.
Dr. Pendse has helped lead higher education’s response to generative AI. Under his leadership, Michigan became the first university in the world to provide a custom suite of generative AI tools broadly to its faculty, staff, and students, built around principles of privacy, equity, accessibility, and responsible use. He co-sponsored U-M’s first Generative AI Advisory Committee in 2023 and the university’s 2026 AI in Education Working Group, helping shape an approach that explores how AI can strengthen teaching and learning while preserving critical thinking and human judgment.
A longtime professor, researcher, teacher, and student advisor, Dr. Pendse has secured more than $21 million in external research funding, earned several teaching awards, and published numerous scholarly articles with students. He advocates for human-centered AI based on a simple principle: technology should enhance human potential, not replace it.