Hundreds of people showed up to learn more and talk about some of the threats to democracy and core issues that can impact the elections.

The Atlantic kicked off a national panel discussion tour at the University of Nevada, Reno.

It's a two-day event that invites fellow journalists and community members to sit down with their writing staff and have open and honest conversations about rising issues regarding the upcoming election.

Hundreds of people showed up to learn more and talk about some of the threats to democracy and core issues that can impact the elections.

The event started with Nevada's Secretary of State, Francisco Aguilar, sitting down for an interview with former talk show host and founder of The Nevada Independent, Jon Ralston.

Some things they touched on included concerns on how AI could impact the election, the structure of their security, and how they're keeping the public aware.

"What are you doing proactively to educate the public during this election season?" Ralston asked on stage. 

"It's doing events like this, it's being present in the community when the media is not around and having conversations around our system and what we're doing," Aguilar responded.

After their interview wrapped up, the staff writers were welcomed to the stage and continue the conversation of several other political issues.

"We thought it was a good time to get around to battle ground states to have brought up conversations about some of the things that will be impacting the election, thinking about higher education, thinking about political polarization, and as well as some of the policies, abortion and immigration," said Adam Harris, staff writer for The Atlantic.

"There are political consultants who believe that Trump is talking so harshly about immigration because it's the only issue that they have found works to bring back white women alienated from the Republican party on abortion," said Ron Brownstein, senior editor for The Atlantic in one of the discussions.

With so many people finding political discussions intimidating, the tour aims to create a more welcoming environment for all ages to get a better understanding and feel more encouraged to use their voice and vote for who they believe in.

"I know we tell people all the time that politics is awful and that people in public office don't deserve our respect, we undermine faith and confidence in institutions, but at the end of the day we get the government we deserve and if we check out then we get a government that doesn't serve us and serve our interests and make our country or our communities better," said Evan Smith, contributor for The Atlantic.

"Conversations like these is to remind voters of all ages what's at stake in the democratic process and reigniting the desire to be involved in one's own country," said Elaina Plott Calabro, staff writer for The Atlantic.

The panel discussion will continue tomorrow afternoon discussing more topics and there will even be a sit-down interview with the University's President, Brian Sandoval.