Michael McNulty

Michael McNulty is the Policy Director at Issue One. In this role, he leads Issue One’s election protection efforts, drives money-in-politics reform, and oversees technology reform policy work. He manages Issue One’s policy team, which advances bipartisan policy solutions by providing expert analysis, building strategic relationships, and supporting advocacy and legislative efforts through research and policy development.

Michael brings more than 20 years of experience leading and advising on election integrity and democratic reform initiatives in over 30 countries, including some of the world’s most challenging political environments. Before joining Issue One, Michael served as a senior elections advisor in the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where he led the development of technical publications and tools to support democratic elections, spearheaded global democracy initiatives, and shaped election-related programs and policy responses across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Eurasia, and Latin America.

Previously, at the National Democratic Institute (NDI), Michael led election integrity programs around the world, providing training and guidance to civil society, election officials, and political actors to monitor elections, reform political finance, administer elections effectively, expand voter participation, and advocate for democratic reforms.

Michael has authored numerous election-related publications and has led training workshops on a wide range of electoral topics. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies and English from The Ohio State University.