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Across the volatile landscape of American politics today, perhaps few issues remain more polarizing than voting reform. For this Debating Public Policy Series event, the UNC Program for Public Discourse hosts an agonistic dialogue on the topic Monday, November 8, at 8:00 p.m. on Zoom. The dialogue features UNC Political Science Professor Jason Roberts and Republican strategist and UNC alumnus Douglas Heye '94, who will share their competing perspectives on the contentious issue. The dialogue is moderated by Rick Su, Professor of Law at UNC.

As always, we also invite audience questions to help round out what promises to be a robust discussion.

Jason Roberts is a Professor in the UNC Department of Political Science specializing in American political institutions, with an emphasis on the U.S. Congress. He earned his B.S. in Political Science from the University of North Alabama (1998), his M.A. in Political Science from Purdue University (2000), and his Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis (2005). Before joining the faculty at UNC, Professor Roberts was an assistant professor of Political Science and Law at the University of Minnesota. His research interests include parties and procedures in the U.S. Congress and congressional elections. Professor Roberts’ work has appeared in numerous journals, including the American Journal on Political Science and Legislative Studies Quarterly. He is currently working on a project that explores the role of ballot type on the competitiveness of congressional elections in the United States.

Douglas Heye is a former Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics and has served in leading communications positions in the House of Representatives, the United States Senate, the Republican National Committee, and the George W. Bush Administration. Heye also previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, garnering bi-partisan praise for his team-building, communications, and strategic planning abilities. He has written for a number of publications, including U.S. News & World Report, POLITICO, The Hill, and Capitol File magazine. Heye graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1994.

Rick Su is a Professor of Law at the UNC-CH School of Law, where he teaches and writes in the areas of local government law, immigration, and federalism. His research focuses on the intersection between cities and immigration. His work has appeared in the Columbia Law Review, the William & Mary Law Review, the Emory Law Journal, and the North Carolina Law Review. Professor Su received his B.A. from Dartmouth College in 2001 and his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2004. After graduating from law school, he clerked for The Honorable Stephen Reinhardt on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and worked in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Before joining the Carolina Law faculty in 2019, Professor Su taught at the University at Buffalo School of Law and was a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School in 2015 and Washington University in St. Louis School of Law in 2018.