Download our free guide on 5 ways to take action!Why do local and state elections matter, and how can voters be sure that their voices are being represented in the lawmaking process? We open the third season of Democracy Decoded with an overview of democracy at the state and local level, and how we can ensure that all citizens can have their voices heard.In this episode Simone talks with Jawharrah Bahar about her experience losing and then regaining her freedom  to vote, and how that inspired her work with the advocacy group Free Hearts. CLC’s senior vice president Paul Smith explains how and why state and local governments are stepping in directly to protect the right to cast a ballot. Simone also speaks with the Arizona State Director for the organization All Voting is Local, Alex Gulotta. Alex talks about the fight for state and local voting policies that protect the freedom to vote of Black, brown, Native American, and other historically disenfranchised communities.Host and Guests:Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at CLC, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016.Jawharrah Bahar is Director of Outreach at Free Hearts, an organization led by formerly incarcerated women that provides support, education, and advocacy in organizing families impacted by incarceration. In her role she has contributed to legislation, spoken at community events, participated in local advocacy campaigns, and raised community awareness through social media videos. Jawharrah is also a licensed esthetician and owner of Lashing Artistry.Paul Smith is Senior Vice President at Campaign Legal Center. He has four decades of experience litigating a wide range of cases. He has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court 21 times and secured numerous victories, including Lawrence v. Texas, the landmark gay rights case. In addition, Paul has argued several voting rights cases at the Supreme Court, including Vieth v. Jubelirer and Gill v. Whitford, involving partisan gerrymandering, LULAC v. Perry, involving the legality of Texas’s mid-decade redrawing of congressional districts and Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, involving the constitutionality of a voter identification law. Paul previously served as a partner in the law firm of Jenner & Block, where he was chair of the firm's Appellate and Supreme Court Practice and co-chair of the firm's Election Law and Redistricting Practice. Alex Gulotta is All Voting is Local’s Arizona State Director. He brings more than 30 years of experience as a poverty law advocate and more than 20 years as a nonprofit executive director. Alex practiced as a legal aid lawyer before becoming the executive director of the Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC). After that, he joined Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal) as executive director. Under his tenure, BayLegal significantly increased its impact litigation and policy advocacy through the implementation of an impact support structure designed to enable every advocate in the program to participate in high-end impact advocacy.Links:Voting Must Be AccessibleWhy the U.S. Needs Equitable Access to In-Person VotingI’m Unable to Vote Because I Have a Record, But I’m Not Going to Allow My Past to Be Held Against MeMidterm Ballot Initiatives Strengthening the Freedom to Vote Win BigAdditional InformationThe Democracy Group listener surveyDemocracy Decoded PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

Download our free guide on 5 ways to take action!In this episode, Grace Panetta, a political reporter at The 19th, joins Kyle Kondik, Carah Ong Whaley and Kylie Holzman to discuss several key issues for the 2024 election, including media coverage of women candidates, voter turnout, dramatic shifts in election law landscape, and ongoing threats to democracy posed by election denialism. Also, in this episode, Kyle discusses his new analysis on Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball about how the most populous counties versus the least populous counties have voted in presidential elections from 1996-2020. In 1996, Bill Clinton won both the most (by 15.7 percentage points) and least populous counties (1.8 point margin). That means the difference between the two was 13.9 points. By 2020, the gap between the most vs. least populous counties was 39.2 points. Links in this episodeHow the Other Half Votes: The United States, Part Two by Kyle KondikThe 19th articles by Grace PanettaNikki Haley’s Time for Choosing by Tim AlbertaThe Red Ripple: The 2022 Midterm Elections and What They Mean for 2024Additional InformationThe Democracy Group listener surveyPolitics is Everything PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

Until recently most of us outside of state government didn’t know much about the role of Secretary of State, the state’s top election official. We simply didn’t think about it. But since 2020, election laws and procedures have been in the spotlight – and election officials have come under attack. In this episode of Let’s Find Common Ground, we meet Democrat Steve Hobbs, Secretary of State for Washington, and Republican Michael Adams, Secretary of State for Kentucky. Kentucky is a vote-in-person state, while Washington has voting by mail and at the dropbox. But no matter how people vote, suspicion of the entire process is rife. In recent years both men have encountered election deniers and faced threats to themselves and their staff.“These abuses, even if they’re not full-fledged threats of violence - it adds up,” says Michael Adams, “and it begins to really lay some strain on our election process.Hear what each of our guests is doing to protect democracy in his state, why being part of the Electronic Registration Information System (ERIC) is important to them, and how volunteers play a vital role in free and fair elections. Additional InformationThe Democracy Group listener surveyLet's Find Common Ground PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

We're back from summer break and diving into the 2024 election season, Donald Trump's indictments, the spread of election deniers, and more. We also welcome Michael Berkman back from sabbatical and discuss the significance of "Democracy 2024" as the backdrop for the first Republican presidential debate on August 23.For our listeners who teach American politics, we've put together a list of episodes designed to be a companion to your courses. Check it out at democracyworkspodcast.com/syllabus.Referenced in this episode: Votebeat piece by Jessica Huseman on Trump indictmentsAdditional InformationThe Democracy Group listener surveyDemocracy Works PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

Evan McMullin joins The Great Battlefield podcast to share his experience as a CIA Officer, running against Trump as an Independent in the 2016 election and how Stand Up Republic is fighting to defend the ideals that our country was founded on.Additional InformationThe Democracy Group listener surveyThe Great Battlefield PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group