Everything you need to know about the US election – explained by the Bertelsmann Foundation North America

Sometimes looking at your neighbours is not enough. Sometimes you must look across the Atlantic to discover something meaningful. The BFNA has compiled everything you need to know about (American) democracy on its website. It has set up an "Election Hub" for the US elections. Using a wide range of multimedia resources, this platform provides important insights to the US Elections, the key themes, and the transition process after the election.

Hitting the Ground Running  is an analysis of the designated presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ entry to the election campaign. In his blog contribution, Marshal Reid describes her brilliant start, the record-breaking donations from Harris’ supporters and the tactic she wants to use to defeat Donald Trump in November. 

Samuel George, expert at the Bertelsmann Foundation, reflects on Joe Biden’s successes – there are many of them. In a video blog titled "Kamala Harris - The Dem's New Hope", he explains why Biden still had to step down as presidential candidate and what chances Kamala Harris, the incumbent vice president has to beat Donald Trump in the election race. He says, "she is the adrenaline shot, when the Democrats needed it most".

Beyond the Ballot is a podcast in which Bertelsmann Foundation experts and their partners discuss a wide range of topics relating to the election. In the sixth episode Courtney Flynn Martino discusses Election Security with Justin Levitt, Law Professor at Loyola Marymount University and former policy advisor in the white house.

The successful podcast "How To Fix Democracy" has already been running for five years. The current series is all about 100 years of American Democracy. Themes include immigration policy, democracy during the Cold War, the Economic Crisis in the 1920s and the development of the Republican Party.

Say it with a graphic: what moves young people in the USA who are allowed to vote in November? 53 percent of the young people are worried about inflation and rising cost of living, a further 28 percent are concerned that their salary does not cover their standard of living. 26 percent wish there were stricter laws governing gun violence.

Transponder is the name of the magazine, which the BFNA publishes biannually. Naturally the current issue focuses on the election. Kenneth Martin, who participated in the first election, describes how he felt on the night of the election, describing how at first, he felt unsettled, then worried, then shocked and finally defeated. It was the 2016 election, the election when Donald Trump won, completely surprising most of us. Martin's report is a special kind of election appeal that has lost none of its urgency even after Joe Biden's withdrawal from the candidacy.

The issue also covers the election in Mexico and the threat posed to voters by the mafia. The look back honours the activists who campaigned for women's right to vote in the last century. And finally, we also take a look at the Federal Republic of Germany and look at the protests against the AfD, which were joined by hundreds of thousands of people in an impressive way in the spring.

What Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu’s reports in a half-hour video is moving. In his home country Uganda, he is famous as a musician under the name Bobi Wine. He gives an impressive account of how he became a politician and the leader of the largest opposition party. His brother and many of his friends were killed because they took to the streets to protest those in power. Even more were abducted and have disappeared. Despite this, the opposition refuses to be intimidated and fights for free elections and a free country - and Bobi Wine is right in the thick of it.