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Carol Moon Goldberg, president of the League of Women Voters of California, kicked off the series with a discussion of voting rights. Ms. Goldberg answered the question "What is the most important concrete step each of us can take to protect our democracy?" by asking people to be involved, be the model for an engaged and active citizen, be engaged. League members often take for granted that everyone knows what to do, but that's not necessarily true. Reach out to other organizations who consist of underrepresented groups and see if there's a way to work together because we are a majority minority state, but the majority of the people who vote in our state are white people over the age of 65. Reach out to young people - this is their future.

Rob Richie, president and CEO of FairVote, spoke about the election reforms of Ranked Choice Voting and the Fair Representation Act. Mr. Richie answered the question "What is the most important concrete step each of us can take to protect our democracy?" by asking that people stay engaged and continue to pay attention. For those interested in creating change, as few as 5-10 people can make a change to a better, more fair electoral system. Advocating for proportional ranked choice voting can be a groundswell of change and the League of Women Voters is in a position to help with this. You can do something great for your local community and be part of the national conversation and contribute to national change that can be so beneficial for our country.

Berkeley Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky spoke on election law and the Supreme Court. Mr. Chemerinsky answered the question "What is the most important concrete step each of us can take to protect our democracy?" by urging people to vote, to get other people to vote, to work hard to make sure that voting is as easy and as safe as possible. Be part of organizations that are challenging laws that are restrictive of voting. Work hard to get congress to adopt new voting rights legislation. This is nonpartisan work to ensure the people get out to vote and that their votes are counted fairly.

Dr. Fiona Hill, Senior Fellow on Foreign Policy and Russia expert at the Brookings Institution, and former U.S. intelligence officer, spoke on topics including the economic forces leading up to the election of populist leaders, the Russian influence on American democracy, and the War on Ukraine. Dr. Hill answered the question "What is the most important concrete step each of us can take to protect our democracy?" by encouraging us to be actively engaged, to make sure people have the opportunity to vote, and to engage with our representatives. Many people don't feel represented and some representatives think the only people they represent are the people who voted for them. That's not the essence of our democracy. Each of us can hold our representatives to account at the Federal, state and local level. It doesn't matter how you choose to vote; the act of ensuring people are able to vote matters.

Richard Hasen, Professor of Law and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine and Co-Director of the Fair Elections and Free Speech Center, spoke about how disinformation undermines fair elections and what can be done about it. Professor Hasen answered the question "What is the most important concrete step each of us can take to protect our democracy?" by recommending that we remain vigilant and not take democracy for granted. He said that we need to hold election officials accountable to make sure they are holding free, fair and transparent elections. He also challenged us to avoid spreading disinformation; "if something looks too good to be true, it probably is and you should think twice before hitting the share button."