As political violence and distrust in American elections raise concerns about the future of democracy, former U.S. Representatives Charlie Dent, Republican, and Conor Lamb, Democrat, are joining forces to restore public confidence in the electoral process.
On Monday, the two joined in a discussion titled “Resilience in American Democracy” in Packard Lab about political violence, voter integrity and their new co-lead bipartisan network, Pennsylvania Alliance for Civic Trust (PACT), supported by The Carter Center, which focuses on strengthening civic trust, reducing polarization and working across party lines.
The event was moderated by Lehigh political professor Christopher Borick and featured opening remarks from University President Joseph J. Helble.
Dent, M ‘93, served seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Pennsylvania’s 15th Congressional District, now the 7th district. He previously served in the Pennsylvania House and Senate and now serves as the executive director and vice president of the Aspen Institute Congressional Program.
He said he wants the initiative Pennsylvania Alliance for Civic Trust to reassure voters about the reliability of the electoral process.
Dent said Pennsylvania is the latest state to make a Pennsylvania-specific network, in addition to states such as Michigan, Florida, Georgia, Arizona and more.
Lamb said geographically, Pennsylvania is at the center of competitiveness.
“If you’re thinking about election-related violence, it’s reasonable to think it might occur in some of the most contested areas, so it puts us right where we want to go,” Lamb said.
He said in the beginning, it was taken for granted that Americans were against political violence. He said now there’s evidence that there’s a rising number of people who find it acceptable.
Lamb said Pennsylvania Alliance for Civic Trust aims to empower individuals to speak out when they see behavior that doesn’t align with democratic values and make it clear those actions are unacceptable.
“We’re trying to help people have confidence in the election system,” Dent said.
Lamb, a former Democratic U.S. representative, was first elected to Congress in a special election in 2018 and later served two terms representing Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District. Before entering Congress, he served as a prosecutor for the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He also completed the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School program before being commissioned as a judge advocate, serving on active duty and in the reserves from 2009 to 2017 and leaving with the rank of major.
Lamb earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from The University of Pennsylvania and now works as an attorney at Kline & Specter, a Pennsylvania-based law firm.
He said concerns around political violence were among the reasons he decided to become involved with Pennsylvania Alliance for Civic Trust.
Lamb said a growing number of people under 30 believe violence against political opponents can sometimes be justified, something he said was far less common when he was growing up.
He said he was serving in Congress during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capital attack, and reflected on the lasting mark it had on him.
“Are we becoming a country where this is OK?” Lamb asked.
He said Pennsylvania Alliance for Civic Trust aims to reinforce the idea that violence is unacceptable, even if there are people who want to accustom others to the idea violence is appropriate.
When Borick asked the representatives why they chose to dedicate their time to Pennsylvania Alliance for Civic Trust, Lamb pointed out how he wants his three children to grow up in a country where political disagreements are resolved through discussion rather than violence.
“I want them to think of the United States as being a place where the best argument wins, where it’s not just might makes right, but where we live according to some higher ideals and purposes,” Lamb said.
Dent shared similar concerns. He said he believes American democracy is struggling and hopes his involvement in the Pennsylvania Alliance for Civic Trust can strengthen that. He said he hopes to leave the country in a better place for future generations, as the United States has historically been an example of democracy for other nations.
“It needs to be better, and it can be better,” Dent said.
Beyond concerns regarding political violence, Dent and Lamb emphasized the importance of trusting the voting process.
Dent said his experiences with election officials across Pennsylvania have shown him most officials are focused on accurately counting votes and has found local election officials do it knowing it’s a low paying job, but want to help the American democracy. However, he said he does worry about people running for election boards who have predetermined outcomes in mind.
He recalled an election where he and his campaign manager noticed a discrepancy in votes in Northampton County, where his opponent received 300 votes and he only received 45. Dent said he later discovered a reporting error, which counted 300 votes instead of 30.
Dent said the mistake was corrected before the election results were recorded. He emphasized results on election night aren’t the official results. The votes have to be verified before the county certifies the election.
Although the representatives shared a bipartisanship to election integrity, they expressed different perspectives on voter identification requirements during the audience’s Q&A session.
Benjamin Katz, ‘28, a finance and accounting major, asked if more states should adopt photo identification when voting to strengthen public trust in elections.
Dent said he’s always supported voter ID requirements, arguing identification is already necessary in day-to-day life such as cashing a check or getting on an airplane. He also said there are ways to get state-issued identification cards for citizens who don’t have driver’s licenses. However, he said he doesn’t support the Save America Act.
“Your driver’s license doesn’t prove citizenship,” Dent said. “Your passport does, but a lot of people don’t have passports.”
Dent said people have conflated the issues related to Voter ID with proof of citizenship, which he said are two different matters.
He said the responsibility of verifying citizenship shouldn’t only fall on local election workers.
“If they really wanted to enforce citizenship, they could do that on the back end between the IRS and Social Security Administration,” Dent said. “They could verify citizenship to everybody rather than putting the burden on the guy at the voting precinct here in South Bethlehem.”
Lamb, on the other hand, emphasized voting is a constitutional right. He said identification requirements should have strong justification and shouldn’t make the right to vote unnecessarily difficult.
“There are a lot of people in this country for whom the $30, $50, $75 fee to get that ID from the state is a lot to ask,” Lamb said. “There’s a lot of people who don’t have a car to go to the driver’s license center. Those people are Americans too. They have constitutional rights too.”
Despite their opposing views on voter identification requirements, Dent and Lamb emphasized the importance of bipartisanship. Through the Pennsylvania Alliance for Civic Trust the former representatives hope to demonstrate political differences don’t need to stand in the way of a civil American democracy.
“The beauty of at least a bipartisan conversation and dialogue is, I found that when laws get enacted that have strong bipartisan support, they tend to be much more durable and sustainable.
Joan Ramage Macdonald, a professor in Lehigh’s Department of Earth and Environmental Science, said the event provided an opportunity for students and faculty to hear from political leaders with experience from both political parties.
“No matter how old you are, students and postgraduates and adults, being part of a democracy and having an opportunity to shape the community that you’re in is just a wonderful opportunity.”
Lamb emphasized the importance of student participation in elections. He said young voters have a responsibility to make their voices heard, even if that means waiting on line to cast their ballots.
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