On the Ballot

On this episode: Ballotpedia’s communications team takes over On the Ballot to kick off National Voter Education Week with guest Zoë Williamson-Crettini from the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition. Zoë joins Abby Campbell and Carley Allensworth to discuss how this national, nonpartisan initiative helps bridge the gap between being registered to vote and actually casting a ballot. They explore...

On this episode: Several states are moving to redraw their congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms, reviving a practice that has happened before but rarely on this scale. Texas has already acted, with Republicans pushing through a new map that could net them multiple House seats. In response, Democrats in California are advancing a ballot measure that would suspend the state’s independent co...

On this episode: Ballotpedia’s work often highlights high-profile elections, but behind the scenes, our staff and volunteers are tackling an even bigger challenge: Gathering reliable information on the country’s half a million local elected officials. CEO and founder Leslie Graves joins On the Ballot for her monthly ‘Office Hours’ series to explain what “robust information” means in this context a...

On this episode: The Supreme Court’s 2025 term opens with a docket that could reshape trade, elections, civil rights, and executive power. Among the major cases: challenges to Trump-era tariffs that test the scope of presidential authority over economic policy, a Voting Rights Act dispute from Louisiana involving claims of racial gerrymandering, and a Title IX case on whether transgender students...

On this episode: Alaska’s history with ballot measures stretches back before statehood and has produced some of the country’s most distinctive political experiments. In 1956, voters approved the “Tennessee Plan,” electing shadow representatives to lobby for statehood. In the 1970s, Alaskans twice approved relocating their capital out of Juneau—only to reject billion-dollar funding proposals that k...

On this episode: Senate Republicans pushed through a major change to how presidential nominees are confirmed, lowering the threshold to a simple majority and allowing many nominees to be approved in large groups rather than one by one. The change applies to more than 1,200 positions across the federal government, including ambassadors, U.S. attorneys, and military appointments. Supporters argue it...

On this episode: Congress faces another high-stakes deadline as the fiscal year draws to a close, and divisions over how to fund the government are coming to a head. Senate and House leaders are weighing their options as Democrats insist on health care provisions and other amendments, Republicans navigate internal disagreements, and President Trump’s influence continues to shape the standoff.   Bu...

On this episode: CA voters will decide this fall whether to approve Proposition 50, a ballot measure that would amend the state’s constitution to temporarily suspend the state’s independent redistricting commission and replace its maps with new, partisan-drawn districts. Supporters, led by Governor Gavin Newsom and Democratic allies, argue the change is needed to counter mid-decade redistricting e...

On this episode: Congress has returned from its summer recess, but the break has done little to ease the challenges on their plate. At the top of the agenda is a fast-approaching deadline to fund the government, with debates inside the Republican caucus shaping what kind of proposal might move forward. Democrats face their own set of pressures, balancing calls from within the party’s base for a to...

On this episode: Ballotpedia CEO and founder Leslie Graves joins host Norm Leahy to share insights from a yearlong “virtual listening tour” with 100 school board members across 33 states. The conversations revealed struggles that rarely make headlines, including the challenges boards face in accessing reliable data on student achievement, how political tension bleeds into their work, the difficult...

On this episode: Arizona has one of the most active ballot measure histories in the country, with nearly 500 measures decided since gaining statehood in 1912. The state has also considered more immigration-related measures than any other state, reflecting its role on the frontlines of national debates. Former Host Geoff Pallay returns for the latest installment of our Historical Ballot Measure Ser...

On this episode: The Federal Reserve has been at the center of America’s biggest economic turning points for more than a century as one of the country’s most powerful institutions. Former Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker joins host Norm Leahy to trace that story—from the banking panics that led to its creation in 1913 to JP Morgan’s role in corralling Wall Street leaders. He explains how Cong...

On this episode: Louis Jacobson, senior columnist for Sabato’s Crystal Ball, explains why the 2026 secretary of state elections could be among the most important contests of the cycle. In most states, secretaries of state oversee elections, giving them direct influence over how voting is administered and results are certified. With 26 seats on the ballot—including key battlegrounds such as Arizona...

On this episode: Texas lawmakers are considering mid-decade changes to the state’s congressional map after President Donald Trump called for them to create five additional Republican-leaning districts. In response, some Democratic legislators have left the state to block a quorum, delaying a vote. To help bring you up to speed, we this episode features two interviews:  First, Texas Tribune reporte...

On this episode: Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield secured 51% of the vote in the city's August 5th mayoral primary, significantly exceeding pre-election polling that predicted she would finish with around 35-36%. Sheffield will face Reverend Solomon Kinloch, who finished second with 17%, in November's general election. The nine-candidate field included several experienced poli...

On this episode: Seattle's August 5th mayoral primary produced unexpected results, with incumbent Bruce Harrell—endorsed by the governor and congressional delegation—currently trailing progressive organizer Katie Wilson. The city hasn't re-elected a mayor since 2005, and this tight race looks as if that pattern could continue. As mail-in ballots are counted through mid-August, the contest...

On this episode: The second installment of our new series Office Hours , featuring founder and CEO Leslie Graves in wide-ranging conversations about how and why Ballotpedia does its work, ranging from editorial decisions and coverage philosophy to broader questions about civic engagement. Each episode builds on themes from Leslie’s Pathfinder column for PBS/WNET’s Preserving Democracy initiative ....

On this episode: Explore Michigan's fascinating 140-year ballot measure history with our very own Ryan Byrne. From its origins as the first state east of the Mississippi to adopt direct democracy, Michigan has seen voters reject income tax proposals six times over 50 years and nearly opt out of daylight saving time by just 490 votes. The state became the first in the Midwest to legalize mariju...

On this episode: Nebraska is the only state with a unicameral, nonpartisan legislature—and it's creating some fascinating political dynamics. Former state Senator Laura Ebke joins us to break down how nonpartisan voter registration is skyrocketing while Democratic registration plummets, with nonpartisans potentially outnumbering Democrats in the next election cycle. She explains why people tem...

On this episode: Split ticket voting—where voters cast ballots for candidates from different political parties—has declined dramatically since peaking in the 1980s, according to new analysis of over 100 years of election data. Mixed party outcomes, where states elect different parties for president and down-ballot races, reached historic highs in 1972 and 1984 when Nixon and Reagan won 49 states r...

On this episode: Indiana recently became the fifth state to require partisan school board elections, changing from the nonpartisan format used by over 90% of school boards nationwide. Under the new law, candidates must run with party labels, joining four other states that mandate partisan elections while 41 states continue to require nonpartisan races. The policy change reflects ongoing discussion...

On this episode: The Washington DC Council faces an unprecedented situation as Ward 8 holds a special election on July 15th following the expulsion of Trayon White, the first council member ever removed from office in the district's history. White, who was charged with federal bribery in August after allegedly being caught on video accepting cash envelopes in exchange for steering city contrac...

On this episode: The Supreme Court’s recent term produced decisions affecting nationwide injunctions, healthcare access, and parental rights. Zachary Shemtob, Executive Editor of SCOTUSblog, outlines rulings that barred universal injunctions in Trump v. CASA, upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors in United States v. Skrmetti, and opened the door for parents to exclude children...

On this episode: To mark our 200th episode, Ballotpedia Founder and CEO Leslie Graves joins Host Norm Leahy for the debut of our new monthly series Office Hours. Leslie outlines her ambitious vision to cover all 520,000 elected offices in the U.S. by 2034, explains the mission behind Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey, and makes the case for why voters deserve “robust information” at every...

On this episode: In this installment of our monthly ballot measure series, Geoff Pallay and Victoria Rose trace the history of North Carolina’s statewide ballot measures—from 19th-century amendments on slavery and segregation to recent court battles over voter ID laws. They explore why the state has never adopted a citizen initiative process, how its high legislative referral pass rate compares to...