photo by: Patrick Semansky/AP

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger attends the National Association of Secretaries of State winter meeting, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, in Washington.

Georgia’s secretary of state, who became a key defender of election integrity in the last presidential elections, will be a headline speaker at the Dole Institute of Politics on KU’s West Campus next month.

The institute also has announced that two former leaders of the U.S. Senate will be coming to Lawrence to participate in an event that promotes the need for more bipartisanship in American politics.

Here’s a look at several free, upcoming events at the Dole Institute, 2350 Petefish Drive:

• Common Ground for Trusted Elections, 4 p.m. April 19: Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and New Mexico’s Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver will be featured in a moderated discussion at the institute. Both Raffensperger and Oliver have been leaders in expressing the need for candidates, parties and citizens to more broadly promote election integrity and confidence in the voting system. Raffensperger became a national focal point in the effort when President Donald Trump in the aftermath of the 2020 election unsuccessfully pressured Raffensperger in a recorded phone call to change some of the election results in Georgia.

• The 2023 Dole Lecture, 7 p.m. April 25: Former Sens. Trent Lott and Tom Daschle will deliver the annual Dole Lecture and discuss their involvement in the Bipartisan Policy Center, which former Sen. Bob Dole — namesake of the institute — helped found with Daschle. Both Daschle and Lott served as majority and minority leaders in the U.S. Senate at various times during their tenures, which stretched over multiple terms in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.

• Bipartisanship in Action discussion group, 4 p.m. April 12: State Reps. Tory Marie Blew, R-Great Bend, and Rep. Rui Xu, D-Westwood, will participate in a moderated discussion about how younger legislators can improve bipartisanship. Both Blew and Xu are members of the Kansas Future Caucus, which works on issues facing Gen Z, millennials and future generations.

• Korean War history, 3 p.m. April 6: Lou DiMarco, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, will discuss the U.S. amphibious invasion in the Korean War. The history event is part of the institute’s Fort Leavenworth Lecture Series that emphasizes military history.