On the Ballot

On this episode: On May 21st, voters in Eugene, Oregon, will decide whether or not to replace the existing electoral system with STAR voting for Mayor and City Council Elections. If approved, the city would become the first in the world to utilize this system for electing their political leaders.  Through STAR voting, voters rate candidates for a given office on a scale of zero to five, with zero indicating no support and five indicating maximum support. The scores for all candidates are then tabulated and the top highest-scored candidates advance to an automatic runoff, at which time a voter's full vote is assigned to whichever of the two candidates he or she scored highest. The candidate whom a greater number of voters gave a higher score in the runoff is declared the winner.  KLCC reporter Nathan Wilk, who's been covering the proposal, and Ballotpedia’s Joe Greaney, join the show to share how Eugene Measure 20-349 got on the ballot, local perception of the proposal, how STAR voting works, and what the arguments for and against the election system are.  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. Learn more about the Ballot Measure here: https://ballotpedia.org/Eugene,_Oregon,_Measure_20-349,_STAR_Voting_for_Mayor_and_City_Council_Elections_Initiative_(May_2024)  Read Wilk’s reporting: https://www.klcc.org/politics-government/2024-04-23/eugene-could-adopt-star-voting-for-city-elections-how-would-this-work :  Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  *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: An interview with Sophia Voight, a political reporter for The Appleton Post-Crescent, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK in Wisconsin. We came across Sophia’s reporting about a month ago in a story she wrote just ahead of Wisconsin’s state-wide local elections on April 2nd, in which she noticed and documented something that we’ve been following closely here at Ballotpedia: Local elections, especially in rural areas, are increasingly going uncontested.  Through April of this year, Ballotpedia covered 11,945 elections in 40 states. Of that total, 8,802 (74%) were uncontested–16% more than the annual average between 2018 and 2023 (58%).  Voight joins Ballotpedia’s Doug Kronaizl to share what she’s learned in her reporting about why folks aren’t running for office, what the implications for local governance might be, and what might reverse this trend.  Learn more about the surge of uncontested elections this year: https://ballotpedia.org/Analysis_of_uncontested_elections,_2024  Read Voight’s reporting: https://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/03/28/rural-wisconsin-communities-struggle-to-attract-candidates-for-elections/73032197007/  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 weekend on Saturday, May 4th, Lubbock is looking to become the 6th city or locality in Texas to try and decriminalize the possession of a small amount of cannabis. Ordinances have passed in Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Denton, and Elgin with upwards of 70% in favor in each vote, but have yet to have meaningful implications, as Texas’s Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued to block them from going into effect.  What does all that mean for Proposition A in Lubbock? And how might preemption–where the overarching law of a state overrules a local ordinance or law–factor into its fate?  Texas Tribune Reporter Jayme Lozano joins to bring us the story on the ground, while Ballotpedia Marquee Staff Writer Joel Williams shares how preemption conflicts work when it comes to marijuana specifically.  More on Lubbock Proposition A: https://ballotpedia.org/Lubbock,_Texas,_Proposition_A,_Marijuana_Decriminalization_Initiative_(May_2024)  Read Jayme’s reporting: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/08/lubbock-texas-decriminalize-marijuana-ken-paxton/  How do Preemption Conflicts work?: https://ballotpedia.org/Preemption_conflicts_between_state_and_local_governments  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: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) just released its biennial update of the Elections Performance Index (E.P.I.) for 2022, and it brought exciting news about the state of American elections: Over the past decade, the EPI has charted the steady improvement of virtually every state in how elections are administered.  Professor Charles Stewart–director of the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, which publishes the E.P.I.–joins On the Ballot to break down the report, shed light on the states who improved the most in the past decade and those who still have room to grow, and, to lay out what this all means for the public perception of election administration. 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. Check out the E.P.I.’s latest report: https://elections-blog.mit.edu/articles/elections-performance-index-charts-decades-progress-election-administration  Learn more about Professor Stewart’s work: https://polisci.mit.edu/people/charles-stewart-iii  Use BP’S Election Admin legislation tracker: https://ballotpedia.org/About_Ballotpedia%27s_Election_Administration_Legislation_Tracker   Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  *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: The Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act–more commonly referred to by its acronym, the REINS Act–is a bill that could cause major changes to the federal rule-making process if it passes into law. If passed, it would require legislative approval of agency regulations with certain financial or economic impacts before the regulations become effective. But what’s that process look like currently, and what are the arguments for and against changing how it works? Ballotpedia Policy Staff Writer Molly Byrne joins the show for our latest breakdown of the administrative state. 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. Learn more: https://ballotpedia.org/REINS_Act Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates *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: Most public school K-12 students in the U.S. attend a school based primarily on their residential address–and that dividing line can often determine the quality of the public education available to them. These boundaries link public education to the many facets of family residential decisions, including wealth, ethnicity, social connection, employment, and status. Ballotpedia’s director of research Josh Altic joins the show to unpack the findings from our in-depth investigation, drawing from a sample of 45 school districts across 17 states.  Learn more about the research project here: https://ballotpedia.org/School_district_open_enrollment_and_attendance_zone_drawing_policies_in_a_selection_of_districts  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: For the 100th episode of On the Ballot(!!), Ballotpedia founder and CEO Leslie Graves joins our social media manager Abby Campbell for a chat about how Ballotpedia can help young prospective voters get informed and empowered in what promises to be an exciting year of elections.  Leslie and Abby discuss weeding through the abundance of news online, how to identify reliable political information, and share some stories about their first voting experiences.  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. Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  *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 special video episode: All 435 House seats are up for grabs this year, but, as is often the case, the balance of power will come down to around a dozen key races around the country. Republicans are looking to hold onto their slim 221-214 majority, as Democrats seek a net gain of 4 seats to flip the lower chamber.  Nathan Gonzales, the publisher and editor of the nonpartisan ratings outlet Inside Elections, joins producer Frank Festa to unpack the path to the House majority for both parties and run through the toss-up races that promise to be the most competitive this November.  *NOTE* This episode was recorded on March 19th, before the House news at the end of the last week. Nathan still considers the balance of power 221-214 because Inside Elections, "keep seats assigned to a party until/unless they flip in a special election."  Inside Elections House forecast (March 1st): https://insideelections.com/ratings/house  More on the this year’s House elections: https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections,_2024  Check out a recent episode of Nathan’s show, the Inside Elections Podcast: https://youtu.be/dLC_59MZMvE?si=1z2uiulm-fIBf-nl  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: The co-founder and director of the election forecasting website CNalysis joins the show to take a look ahead at some of the most competitive races he’s watching this year at every level of government. Chaz chimes in on Cnalysis’ methodology, why Alaska is his favorite state politically, and how his forecast of the presidential election has been changing over time.  Check out Cnalysis forecasts: https://cnalysis.com/  Learn more about this year’s most competitive races: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia:Battlegrounds   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: 27 states now have some form of legislation banning or restricting the private funding of election administration. Will we see that trend continue in 2024 as we inch closer to November? And how is private funding supplementing the public funding of our elections?  Learn more about these types of laws: https://ballotpedia.org/Laws_governing_the_private_funding_of_elections  About Maine Question 2: https://ballotpedia.org/Maine_Question_2,_Prohibit_Foreign_Spending_in_Elections_Initiative_(2023)  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.