Person

Matthew Weil

Occupation:

Director, Bipartisan Policy Center Elections Project

Nationality:

American

Location:

Washington, D.C

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Matthew Weil is an election administration policy advocate who directs the elections project at the left-of-center Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC). He first joined the BPC in 2013 and had previously worked for the Treasury Department, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, and the center-right American Enterprise Institute. Weil has been an active commentator regarding many trending topics regarding election administration and security such as voting machines, mail-in, ballots, and early voting. He also currently sits on the National Task Force on Election Crises alongside many other left-of-center election policy advocates. 1 2

Background

Matthew Weil attended the University of Pennsylvania for his undergraduate studies and later in his career earned a master’s degree in government analytics from Johns Hopkins University. Early in his career, Weil worked for the American Enterprise Institute, a center-right think tank that often also employs scholars who are left-leaning. While at AEI, Weil was a research assistant to Norman Ornstein and John Fortier, two center-left academics. 3

After his stint at AEI, Weil worked for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, a federal agency, for nearly four years where he managed or assisted with the development of several federal research studies including the biennial Election Administration and Voting Survey and helped draft regulations for the National Voter Registration Act. 3

Weil then worked as a media affairs specialist at the Treasury Department, where he prepared Treasury officials and Obama administration appointees to interact with Congress and the media. 3

Bipartisan Policy Center

In 2013, Weil joined the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) and worked for the left-leaning think tank’s democracy project before becoming the director of the BPC’s elections project in 2019. The elections project at BPC that is directed by Weil both focuses on ostensibly nonpartisan election administration policies and security procedures. It also promotes many left-of-center policies concerning election administration such as expanded early and mail-in voting and automatic voter registration. Another focus area of the BPC elections project centers on boosting federal funding for elections. One suggestion it has offered is to reallocate funds from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund to fund election administration. 4 5 3

Weil also formed the BPC’s 2022 framework for election reform, which attempted to outline a framework for a potential bipartisan federal election legislation after Democratic-led legislation stalled in Congress. The framework calls for more frequent maintenance of voter rolls, an earlier universal deadline to accept mail ballots, and automatic voter registration, among other proposals. 4

Weil has frequently been cited by left-of-center fact checker PolitiFact in describing a “cascade of falsehoods” by former President Donald Trump about voting by mail as well as about why Trump was “wrong that a winner has to be announced on election night.” 6

In March 2022, Weil released a statement condemning Republican-led states and particularly Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) for wanting to fund law enforcement oversight of elections. 7

National Task Force on Election Crises

Matthew Weil has sat on the National Task Force on Election Crises, an organization that promotes left-of-center election administration policies and is also comprised of representatives from left-of-center groups including the Democracy Fund, Common Cause, and the Center for Tech and Civic Life. 1 8

References

  1. “Members.” National Task Force on Election Crises.” Accessed May 5, 2022. https://www.electiontaskforce.org/members
  2. “Matthew Weil.” Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed May 5, 2022. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/person/matthew-weil/
  3. “Matthew Weil.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed May 5, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-weil/
  4. “Prioritizing Achievable Election Reform.” January 20, 2022. Accessed May 5, 2022. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/report/achievable-election-reform/
  5. “Elections.” Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed May 5, 2022. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/policy-area/elections/
  6. “Matthew Weil.” Elections SOS. Accessed May 5, 2022. https://electionsos.com/coach/matthew-weil/
  7. “BPC’s Matthew Weil Condemns Push for ‘Election Police.’” Bipartisan Policy Center. March 18, 2022. Accessed May 5, 2022. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/press-release/bpcs-matthew-weil-condemns-push-for-election-police/
  8. “About.” National Task Force on Election Crises.” Accessed May 5, 2022. https://www.electiontaskforce.org/about
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