William Gates

PI Program Manager

since 2025

School of Public Affairs

I’m a professor of practice at Arizona State University and the director of the Mechanics of Democracy Laboratory. Before coming to ASU, I served as an elected official in Maricopa County and helped certify some of the most contested elections in recent history. Defending the rule of law, the integrity of our election system, and the public servants who run it wasn’t always politically convenient—but it was necessary.

At ASU, I founded the Mechanics of Democracy Laboratory to turn that experience into scholarship, teaching, and public service. The Lab supports election officials who have been targeted by harassment and disinformation and trains the next generation of election administrators through hands-on fellowship programs grounded in transparency, integrity, and public trust.

My current work focuses on AI and elections. We launched the AI and Elections Clinic in March 2025 to explore how artificial intelligence might strengthen election administration while remaining aligned with democratic values. Guided by ASU’s commitment to Principled Innovation, I work with students and election officials to ask hard questions about ethics, accountability, and equity—and to develop human-centered uses of AI that help voters better understand how elections work and why they matter.