On the Ballot

On this episode: Did you know elections can sometimes get a "do-over"? From voter mistakes and administrative errors to natural disasters and electoral fraud, redo elections can happen for all kinds of reasons and work differently around the country. Ballotpedia’s Doug Kronaizl walks us through recent examples in Georgia, Indiana, and California, breaking down the legal and logistical challenges involved. Learn what triggers a redo election, how candidates adjust their strategies, and why these unique elections might be a sign that the system is working as intended.Sign up for our Newsletters:https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at ontheballot@ballotpedia.org or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia.*On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode: In some analyses, 2024 was called the year of the challenger, with a variety of global elections seeing prominent leaders, incumbents, or establishment figures lose. Here at  Ballotpedia, we talk often about state legislative elections, which shape governance at the most fundamental level. And in 2024, state legislative elections saw much of what we have seen over the past few decades - the year of the incumbent, with more than 90% of incumbents winning re-election. In 2024, we saw —303 in total across 44 states. This was the fewest incumbent defeats in any even year since 2016 — but, it also happened to be the second consecutive election cycle where more incumbents were defeated in primaries than in general elections.  So what does this say about the shifting dynamics within parties? And how do these losses impact legislative control and policy-making in key states? Read our analysis: https://ballotpedia.org/Incumbents_defeated_in_state_legislative_elections,_2024  Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at ontheballot@ballotpedia.org or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode:There are only two gubernatorial offices on the ballot in 2025, in New Jersey and Virginia.  The incumbents in both races—Phil Murphy (D) in New Jersey and Glenn Youngkin (R) in Virginia—are term-limited, meaning that both states will have new Governors at the end of the year.  We’re still a long way out from those elections, but since they’re the only two on the calendar for 2025, we wanted to offer an early glimpse into the marquee candidates, the issues that’ll drive their campaigns, what the stakes are for each major party in both states, and how national politics might factor into who winds up having an edge.  Our guests include: Brandon Jarvis of the Virginia Scope Politico’s Matthew Friedman, who writes their NJ playbook Check out our overview of the this year’s races in VA and NJ: https://ballotpedia.org/Gubernatorial_elections,_2025  Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at ontheballot@ballotpedia.org or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode: Not every law or amendment makes it to the ballot overnight. In Virginia, proposed constitutional amendments must pass through two legislative sessions—with an election in-between—before voters have their say. This year, lawmakers are considering measures on abortion rights, same-sex marriage, and restoring voting rights for individuals with felony convictions, but their fate might depend on what happens in the next election. Hear us break down Virginia’s amendment process, explore similar systems in states like Pennsylvania and Nevada, and explain how legislative action today shapes the choices voters will see in future elections.  Learn more about how this process works in VA: https://news.ballotpedia.org/2025/01/27/virginias-two-session-rule-for-constitutional-amendment-house-of-delegates-election-could-affect-the-future-of-proposed-amendments-on-abortion-marriage-and-voting/  Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at ontheballot@ballotpedia.org or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

Dr. Elaine Kamarck, the founding director at the Brookings Institution and key leader of the Clinton-era National Performance Review, revisits the push to make government more efficient. She discusses the parallels between her work in the '90s and the current efforts surrounding the Department of Government Efficiency. The conversation highlights the complexities of federal budget management, the symbolic hurdles of reform, and the critical need for strategic communication and cooperation among government employees to achieve meaningful change.

On this episode: The budget reconciliation process occurs if Congress passes a budget resolution for the fiscal year that gives reconciliation instructions. It’s used to override the filibuster and expedite the approval of a package of legislation in Congress that changes spending, revenues, or the debt limit — making it an ideal tool for the Trump administration to advance their agenda. These bills require a simple majority (51 votes) instead of the three-fifths majority (60 votes) usually needed in the Senate to bring bills to a vote and approve them.  Here’s a breakdown of how it works, where it originated, and how it’s been used in recent years in packages like 2018’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act or 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act.  Visit our portal for an in-depth look at the process: https://ballotpedia.org/Budget_reconciliation_in_U.S._Congres Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at ontheballot@ballotpedia.org or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode: Every year, state lawmakers consider thousands of bills that would change how Americans vote and how officials administer elections. Most states — 44  — have already started their legislatives sessions and are hard at work crafting legislation. Over the past 3 years, 35% of ALL election administration bills were introduced by mid-February. We thought it’d be a great time to preview what we’re looking out for this year when it comes to election-related legislation and take a break from all of the presidential and federal news that’ll unfold this week.  Read our end-of-year report from December previewing what to look out for this year: https://ballotpedia.org/State_of_Election_Administration_Legislation_2024_Year-End_Report:Looking_ahead  Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at ontheballot@ballotpedia.org or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode: When the Congressional Review Act was signed into law in 1996 by Bill Clinton, it gave Congress a way to hit pause on federal agency rules they believe have gone too far or otherwise aren’t achieving the desired effect. Here’s how it works: Congress gets a window of time to review any new rule, where both chambers have a chance to pass what’s called a ‘joint resolution of disapproval.’ Then—if the president signs off—that rule is overturned. And maybe the most interesting part of the process is that the agency whose rule has been overturned can’t issue a similar rule again in the future. The tool’s only been used to repeal 20 rules in its nearly 30 year history, most of which in the last few years — and most heavily by Donald Trump during his first term. The incoming administration sees it as a key to advancing their agenda and rolling back regulations, so we figured now would be a great time to talk a little more about its history, original intention, and the big role it might play over the next few months.  Check out our CRA page for an overview: https://ballotpedia.org/Congressional_Review_Act  Explore Biden’s use of the CRA: https://ballotpedia.org/Uses_of_the_Congressional_Review_Act_during_the_Biden_administration  How Trump used it his 1st term: https://ballotpedia.org/Uses_of_the_Congressional_Review_Act_during_the_Trump_administration  Federal changes following the CRA in ‘96: https://ballotpedia.org/Federal_agency_rules_repealed_under_the_Congressional_Review_Act Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at ontheballot@ballotpedia.org or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode: Donald Trump returns to the White House next week hoping to hit the ground running, eager to enact his agenda as quickly as possible. A primary tool in his arsenal are executive orders, which enable him to change course on policy simply with  a stroke of his pen. Estimates of the volume of executive action we can expect from Trump have been all over the place, with some claiming it could be over a hundred and others theorizing it’ll all come in one sweeping order.  You might not know that executive orders are one of three different types of executive actions (along with presidential memoranda and presidential proclamations) the president has at their disposal, each with their own purposes and levels of influence — meaning that the type of action plays a big role in whether or not it has any teeth.  Ellen Morrissey — Ballotpedia staff writer covering the presidency — joins the show to  explain the key differences between types of executive actions, dig into the history of how they’ve been used, highlight the track records of recent presidents, and weigh in on the strategy behind how an administration moves in their first 60 days in power.  Follow along with Trump’s executive actions here, which will be updated as they become available: https://ballotpedia.org/Donald_Trump%27s_executive_orders_and_actions,_2025  More on the transition process: https://ballotpedia.org/What_happens_during_Donald_Trump%27s_presidential_transition_process,_2024-  Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at ontheballot@ballotpedia.org or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode:This number might be a little hard to believe, but did you know that there are more than 500,000 elected officials in the United States? Less than 1% of them are at the federal level…which means that there are a TON of local officials being elected every year, and 2025 will be no different. Learn more about our local election work as we expand our coverage to 26 states  Learn more about the uncontested elections on our radar this year: https://ballotpedia.org/Analysis_of_uncontested_elections,_2025  Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at ontheballot@ballotpedia.org or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.