Imagine trying to run a fair and trusted election in one of the most watched corners of American politics. That’s the daily reality for election officials in Maricopa County, Arizona—the fourth-largest county in the country, sitting squarely inside a crucial swing state. Every ballot, every machine, every decision gets magnified under a national spotlight, and with that attention comes a relentless flood of rumors, conspiracy theories, and outright falsehoods. Arizona State University’s Mechanics of Democracy Laboratory, or MODL, was created in 2024 to help election leaders and communities navigate this pressure-cooker environment. It’s a deliberately nonpartisan, inclusive initiative that focuses on improving the resilience and transparency of U.S. elections, not by picking sides but by equipping people with expertise, technology, and practical tools. The lab is directed by Bill Gates, a professor in ASU’s School of Public Affairs who knows the front lines of election administration firsthand—he served on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in 2016 and again in 2020. Gates has seen how misinformation has evolved into something faster, sharper, and more dangerous in the age of artificial intelligence. “We saw the misinformation before, but it’s spreading quicker,” he says. “So the challenge of misinformation has multiplied because of AI.” MODL was founded precisely to meet that multiplied challenge with a combination of academic rigor, technological innovation, and genuine community partnership. The work is urgent, but the vision is hopeful: instead of treating elections as battlegrounds, MODL treats them as living systems that can be strengthened, studied, and modernized so that every eligible voter can trust the process.
At the heart of this effort is a groundbreaking program called the AI + Elections Clinic, launched in March 2025 as part of MODL. The clinic is described on its website as a first-of-its-kind approach, and it aims to explore how artificial intelligence can be used practically and responsibly in election systems. That doesn’t just mean fancy algorithms or futuristic gadgets—it means, first and foremost, helping the people who actually run elections understand what AI can and cannot do. The clinic trains election officials on AI technologies, giving them the confidence to use these tools in their daily work while also staying alert to the risks. At the same time, the clinic conducts research into how AI can help build elections that are more secure, efficient, and trustworthy. For Bill Gates, the promise of AI is real, but so is the danger. He points to the way AI has supercharged misinformation, making it easier than ever to create convincing fake videos, fake articles, and fake claims that spread like wildfire before anyone can fact-check them. But he also sees AI as a potential shield, not just a sword. “AI can help you with this, too,” Gates says. “Anticipate what the misinformation is going to be, and then pre-bunk it.” That idea—pre-bunking, or getting truthful, accurate information out before false narratives take hold—is one of the most exciting strategies emerging from the clinic. Instead of spending all their energy chasing and debunking lies after they’ve already gone viral, election officials can use AI tools to spot patterns and predict what falsehoods might appear next. Then they can get ahead of the story, not by silencing anyone, but by making the truth easier to find and harder to ignore.
One of the most striking things about MODL is the energy and enthusiasm that surrounds it, especially among students and faculty at ASU. Allison Lester, the director of curriculum development for the AI + Elections Clinic, says the university’s culture of innovation has been essential to the initiative’s early success. “There’s this electricity to make and innovate and collaborate and improve communities in our world,” Lester says. “We just have so much that we invest and do in the communities, and that is the intention and the purpose of a good university, to really bridge the university with the community.” That bridge is not a one-way street. MODL students aren’t just learning in a classroom and then being tested on theory; they’re working directly with election officials across Arizona to understand real problems and create real solutions. They’re learning to think critically about technology, politics, and human behavior all at once. And perhaps most importantly, they’re being encouraged to voice their worries about AI—their hesitations, their ethical concerns, their fears about privacy and manipulation—rather than cheerleading every new tool without question. Lester explains that this openness is intentional and necessary. “They’re actually deeply aware and care about their community, about society, about the environment and they have concerns that are important to raise,” she says. “Democracy is inviting voices and disagreements and challenging one another.” That kind of environment doesn’t happen by accident. It takes a space where students feel safe to ask hard questions, where election officials feel heard, and where the goal isn’t to push a particular political agenda but to protect the shared foundation of democratic life.
One of the most exciting ways MODL brings that spirit to life is through its student initiatives, which include fellowships and year-round hackathons. These hackathons are not your ordinary classroom projects. They are intense, sometimes all-day events where students gather in groups and dive headfirst into the messy, complicated challenges facing real election officials. Imagine walking into a room filled with laptops, whiteboards, sticky notes, and the low hum of focused conversation. Teams of students huddle together, sifting through data, brainstorming ideas, and building prototypes. They talk to election officials from across the state who bring their actual problems, not hypothetical ones—issues like long lines at polling places, confusing ballot language, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and the overwhelming spread of misinformation. The students use AI tools to craft solutions that are not only creative but practical and realistic enough to be implemented in the real world. At the end of the day, each team presents its work to a panel of expert judges. That panel includes election officials, ASU faculty members, and past MODL participants who know exactly what makes a solution workable. The top teams can even win a cash prize, but for many students, the real reward is the chance to make a tangible difference in something as foundational as American democracy. Last Tuesday, MODL hosted one of these hackathons, this one focused on the challenges expected in the upcoming midterm elections. For the students involved, it was a chance to move from the abstract world of academic debate into the hands-on, high-stakes reality of election administration—and to do it alongside people who face those challenges every day.
The winning team at that recent hackathon was made up of four students, including Cordero Holmes and Beka Namachanja. Holmes is a graduate student studying public administration and criminology and criminal justice, and he came into the hackathon with a deep interest in how the election cycle actually works. He said the experience was a valuable way to build on what he already knew by collaborating with peers from different backgrounds and disciplines. Namachanja, a junior studying neuroscience, brought a different perspective to the table—one shaped by an interest in how human brains process information, trust, and fear. For her, participating in the hackathon was an opportunity to stay current on the inner workings of the election field and to see how technology can be used responsibly. “At the end of the day, AI is a tool, a companion; it’s not a replacement feature,” Namachanja said. “And that’s kind of what we were able to engage it as.” That sentiment captures the philosophy at the heart of MODL: AI should never be treated as a magic button that can solve democracy’s problems by itself. It’s a partner, a helper, a way of processing information and spotting patterns that human beings might miss. But the humans are still the ones making decisions, exercising judgment, and taking responsibility. The hackathon gave Holmes, Namachanja, and their teammates the chance to practice that balance—to use AI as a powerful tool without letting it take over. It also gave them a sense of hope, because young people at ASU are not just spectators to the future of democracy. They are actively helping to build it, one idea at a time.
In the end, MODL is more than just a research lab or a series of events. It’s a statement of belief: that democracy is worth the effort, that modern problems need modern solutions, and that ordinary people—students, election officials, professors, and community members—can work together to make the system stronger. Bill Gates and his colleagues understand that trust in elections doesn’t come from thin air. It has to be earned, and in an age of AI-generated disinformation, that means being smarter, more transparent, and more prepared than ever before. It means training election officials to understand the technology that can help them, researching new ways to protect the integrity of the vote, and inviting students to bring their fresh eyes and ambitious ideas to the table. The work unfolding at ASU is not about winning a particular election or advancing a particular party. It’s about making sure that when people cast their ballots, they can believe in the process—and that when false claims inevitably spread, the truth has a fighting chance. As Lester reminds us, democracy is not a quiet, comfortable thing. It’s a noisy, sometimes messy conversation that depends on inviting voices, embracing disagreements, and challenging one another to do better. MODL is creating a space for exactly that kind of conversation, fueled by curiosity, technology, and a deeply human commitment to the common good. The challenges are real, and the stakes are enormous, but the energy at ASU suggests something important: the next chapter of American democracy might not be written solely by politicians and pundits, but by a diverse community of problem-solvers who refuse to give up on the idea that elections can be secure, transparent, and trusted by all.