On the Ballot

Ballotpedia
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Politics
  • Weekly

On the Ballot with Ballotpedia connects people to politics by providing neutral, nonpartisan, and reliable information on our government, how it works, and where it’s headed. This year, we're hoping to learn more about what our audience and what topics you want us to tackle. Complete a brief 5 minute survey to review the show and share some feedback: https://forms.gle/zPxYSog5civyvEKX6 Stream On the Ballot wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have any questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to send it to us at ontheballot@ballotpedia.org or on Twitter.

  1. 1d ago

    Money in Politics, Explained: OpenSecrets’ Hilary Braseth on Super PACs, Dark Money, and Where Campaign Cash Goes

    On this episode: The black box of money in politics. They discuss how OpenSecrets got its start as a 1,500-page book in the post-Watergate era, how two 2010 court decisions gave rise to super PACs and dark money, what’s driving the rising cost of elections, the growing role of mega donors and industries like crypto and AI, why spending on state and local races and ballot measures deserves more attention, and where campaign finance could be headed next. On the Ballot’s Midterm Mania is here to help you know your ballot up and down before you vote on November 3rd. Tune in for conversations with election analysts, journalists, and Ballotpedia’s brightest on policy, the people, and everything in between. Subscribe to stay ahead of the headlines!  Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Show Intro & Meet Hilary Braseth 06:52 - From Watergate to Citizens United 11:39 - What’s Driving Record Spending 14:47 - Mega Donors and New Industries 16:52 - Money in State and Local Races 21:17 - The Future of Fundraising and Regulation Show Notes: Hilary Braseth is the executive director of OpenSecrets, the nonpartisan, nonprofit research group that tracks money in U.S. politics. She took the helm in December 2023, succeeding longtime executive director Sheila Krumholz. She came to OpenSecrets from the world of emerging tech and social change, including several years at the design firm IDEO and a Public Service Fellowship at Harvard Kennedy School. Look up who’s funding the candidates and committees on your ballot: https://www.opensecrets.org Explore all of 2026’s statewide ballot measures: https://ballotpedia.org/2026_ballot_measures More from Ballotpedia:   Sign up for Civic Blueprints, a substack by Ballotpedia Founder and CEO Leslie Graves: ⁠https://civicblueprints.substack.com/  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.

  2. 2d ago

    Forecaster Chaz Nuttycombe on 6,000+ State Legislative Races, Trifectas to Watch, and Trust in Polling

    On this episode: A look at the state of the states. They discuss the national mood shaping thousands of state legislative races, which chambers and trifectas could change hands, what State Navigate’s polling in states like Georgia and Vermont is showing, why shifts in who turns out can make comparisons to past elections tricky, the rise of fake polls and what it means for trust in polling, and an early look at Virginia’s 2027 General Assembly elections. On the Ballot’s Midterm Mania is here to help you know your ballot up and down before you vote on November 3rd. Tune in for conversations with election analysts, journalists, and Ballotpedia’s brightest on policy, the people, and everything in between. Subscribe to stay ahead of the headlines! Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Show Intro & Welcome Back Chaz Nuttycombe 05:57 - Forecasting 6,000+ State Legislative Seats 12:37 - What State Navigate’s Polling Shows 19:20 - Who’s Turning Out This Year 28:31 - Fake Polls, AI, and Trust in Polling 35:58 - Virginia’s 2027 Elections and the Trifectas to Watch Show Notes: Chaz Nuttycombe is the executive director of State Navigate, a Richmond-based nonprofit forecasting and data organization focused on state legislatures and state politics. He started the project as CNalysis while studying at Virginia Tech, and it later became State Navigate, which began polling in 2025 and now forecasts every state legislative seat on the ballot. State Navigate and Ballotpedia share a data exchange partnership. Explore State Navigate’s forecasts and polling: https://statenavigate.com Read Ballotpedia’s State Legislative Competitiveness Report: https://ballotpedia.org/Annual_State_Legislative_Competitiveness_Report:_Vol._16,_2026 More from Ballotpedia:   Sign up for Civic Blueprints, a substack by Ballotpedia Founder and CEO Leslie Graves: ⁠https://civicblueprints.substack.com/  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.

  3. 3d ago

    Federal Reserve Actions in Election Years: From Nixon to Now with Former Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker

    On this episode: How the Fed weighs the timing of its moves, how past chairs from William McChesney Martin to Alan Greenspan navigated their relationships with presidents and Congress, what happened when the Fed raised rates ahead of the 1978 and 2022 midterms, what Fed independence looks like in practice, and the long-term challenge of bringing inflation back to the Fed’s 2% target. On the Ballot’s Midterm Mania is here to help you know your ballot up and down before you vote on November 3rd. Tune in for conversations with election analysts, journalists, and Ballotpedia’s brightest on policy, the people, and everything in between. Subscribe to stay ahead of the headlines! Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Show Intro & Welcome Back Jeffrey Lacker 06:33 - How Past Fed Chairs Worked With Washington 10:50 - Rate Decisions Before the 1978 and 2022 Midterms 14:46 - What Fed Independence Looks Like in Practice 19:02 - How Much Should the Fed Talk? 23:15 - The Questions Facing the Fed in 2027 Show Notes: Jeffrey Lacker served as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond from 2004 to 2017 and is now a senior affiliated scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Read Jeff’s recent writings on monetary policy and the Fed: https://www.jeffreylacker.org/recent-writings  Listen to Jeff on Macro Musings discussing a new Fed-Treasury accord: https://www.mercatus.org/macro-musings/jeffrey-lacker-what-new-fed-treasury-accord-might-look  More from Ballotpedia:   Sign up for Civic Blueprints, a substack by Ballotpedia Founder and CEO Leslie Graves: ⁠https://civicblueprints.substack.com/  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.

  4. Oct 23

    2026 Ballot Measures and Down-Ballot Races to Watch, with Ballotpedia’s Lara Bonatesta and Victoria Rose

    On this episode: Ballotpedia’s Lara Bonatesta from our events team and Victoria Rose from our ballot measures team join Host Norm Leahy to cover what’s further down the ballot this November. They break down the trends behind this year’s 164 statewide ballot measures, from voter ID and the initiative process to California’s proposed ‘billionaires tax,’ why so many seats are open this year, the secretary of state and attorney general races that help shape how elections are run, how data centers have become an issue at every level of the ballot, and the races and measures they’ll be watching on election night. On the Ballot’s Midterm Mania is here to help you know your ballot up and down before you vote on November 3rd. Tune in for conversations with election analysts, journalists, and Ballotpedia’s brightest on policy, the people, and everything in between. Subscribe to stay ahead of the headlines! Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Show Intro & Meet Lara Bonatesta and Victoria Rose 06:00 - Open Seats, Redistricting, and Record Retirements 14:05 - Secretaries of State, AGs, and Other Down-Ballot Races 19:30 - Data Centers Up and Down the Ballot 26:08 - The Races and Measures to Watch on Election Night 32:39 - First Returns: Florida, Virginia, and the LA Mayor’s Race Show Notes: Lara Bonatesta is a staff writer on Ballotpedia’s events team, where she covers congressional, state executive, and mayoral elections. Victoria Rose is the lead writer on Ballotpedia’s ballot measures team, where she covers statewide ballot measure trends. Explore all of 2026’s statewide ballot measures: https://ballotpedia.org/2026_ballot_measures Read Ballotpedia’s State Executive Competitiveness Report: https://ballotpedia.org/Annual_State_Executive_Competitiveness_Report,_2026 See everything on your ballot with Ballotpedia’s Sample Ballot Lookup: https://ballotpedia.org/Sample_Ballot_Lookup Find registration deadlines, early voting dates, and more in Ballotpedia’s 2026 Voter Toolkit: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia%27s_Voter_Toolkit  More from Ballotpedia:   Sign up for Civic Blueprints, a substack by Ballotpedia Founder and CEO Leslie Graves: ⁠https://civicblueprints.substack.com/  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.

  5. Oct 21

    Covering 116,000 Candidates with Ballotpedia’s Doug Kronaizl

    On this episode: Ballotpedia Managing Editor Doug Kronaizl joins Host Norm Leahy to go behind the scenes of Ballotpedia’s local election coverage, which spans about 55,000 elections and 116,000 candidates in 2026, a record for Ballotpedia. They discuss how the team tracks down candidate lists county by county, why some elections are run by law firms or neighbors with a landline, the unusual offices they’ve found along the way, from landowner elections to votes counted in dollars, and the plan to cover every elected office in all 50 states by 2028. On the Ballot’s Midterm Mania is here to help you know your ballot up and down before you vote on November 3rd. Tune in for conversations with election analysts, journalists, and Ballotpedia’s brightest on policy, the people, and everything in between. Subscribe to stay ahead of the headlines!  Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Show Intro & Meet Doug Kronaizl 04:22 - Single-Source vs. Multi-Source States 09:34 - Calling Law Firms and Landlines 12:04 - Landowner Elections and Votes Counted in Dollars 17:28 - Endorsements and Getting to Know Local Candidates 23:08 - The Road to All 50 States Show Notes: Doug Kronaizl is a managing editor at Ballotpedia, where he leads the team gathering information on tens of thousands of local candidates every election cycle. Look up every contest on your ballot with Ballotpedia’s Sample Ballot Lookup: https://ballotpedia.org/Sample_Ballot_Lookup Learn more about Ballotpedia’s 2026 local election coverage: https://ballotpedia.org/Local_election_coverage,_2026  More from Ballotpedia:   Sign up for Civic Blueprints, a substack by Ballotpedia Founder and CEO Leslie Graves: ⁠https://civicblueprints.substack.com/  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.

  6. Oct 19

    Down-Ballot Races Explained: Leslie Graves on Closing the Local Information Gap

    On this episode: Exploring the part of the ballot where many voters run out of information: the school boards, judges, county offices and special districts that make up more than 500,000 elected offices nationwide. They discuss why so many voters leave the booth unsure about their down-ballot choices, Ballotpedia’s plan to cover every contest on every ballot by 2028, how candidate surveys and local endorsing groups help fill the gaps, and preparing to enter the busiest stretch of the year.  On the Ballot’s Midterm Mania is here to help you know your ballot up and down before you vote on November 3rd. Tune in for conversations with election analysts, journalists, and Ballotpedia’s brightest on policy, the people, and everything in between. Subscribe to stay ahead of the headlines! Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Show Intro & Meet Leslie Graves 01:18 - Here There Be Dragons: The Offices Voters Don’t Know 05:02 - Ballotpedia’s Plan to Cover Every Contest 10:00 - Candidate Surveys and Local Endorsements 13:28 - Why Local Information Is So Hard to Find 17:08 - Volunteers, AI, and the “Big Six Weeks” More from Ballotpedia:   Sign up for Civic Blueprints, a substack by Ballotpedia Founder and CEO Leslie Graves Sign up for our Newsletters 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.

  7. Oct 16

    Senate Races to Watch with Cook Political Report’s Jessica Taylor

    On this episode: Jessica Taylor, Senate and Governors Editor at The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, joins Host Norm Leahy to break down the Senate map less than three weeks before Election Day. They discuss how Cook rates races, why states like Kansas, Nebraska and South Carolina are suddenly on the radar, each party’s path to a Senate majority, the governors’ races to watch, how money and issues like affordability and data centers are shaping the final stretch, and the early results she’ll be watching on election night. On the Ballot’s Midterm Mania is here to help you know your ballot up and down before you vote on November 3rd. Tune in for conversations with election analysts, journalists, and Ballotpedia’s brightest on policy, the people, and everything in between. Subscribe to stay ahead of the headlines! Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Show Intro & Meet Jessica Taylor 03:42 - The Senate Races on the Move 07:27 - Each Party’s Path to a Senate Majority 09:41 - The Governors’ Races to Watch 14:11 - Money, Ad Rates, and the Issues Moving Voters 18:01 - Upset Specials and Election Night Bellwethers Show Notes: Jessica Taylor is the Senate and Governors Editor at The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter. Before joining Cook, she spent five years as a political reporter at NPR and was a senior analyst at The Rothenberg Political Report (now Inside Elections).  Read Jessica’s latest analysis and race ratings: https://www.cookpolitical.com/about/staff/jessica-taylor/analysis More from Ballotpedia:   Sign up for Civic Blueprints, a substack by Ballotpedia Founder and CEO Leslie Graves: ⁠https://civicblueprints.substack.com/  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.

  8. Oct 14

    Texas Tribune’s Jayme Lozano on data centers, rural voters, and the Texas races to watch

    On this episode: Jayme Lozano, who covers the South Plains and Panhandle for The Texas Tribune, joins Host Norm Leahy to talk about what’s on Texas voters’ minds heading into November, from affordability and property taxes to the data center boom reaching rural communities. They also discuss why the open race for agriculture commissioner matters more than many voters realize, how rural Texans could shape the governor’s and U.S. Senate races, the challenges facing the state’s ranchers, and the under-the-radar races she’ll be watching on election night. On the Ballot’s Midterm Mania is here to help you know your ballot up and down before you vote on November 3rd. Tune in for conversations with election analysts, journalists, and Ballotpedia’s brightest on policy, the people, and everything in between. Subscribe to stay ahead of the headlines!  Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Show Intro & Meet Jayme Lozano 02:18 - Data Centers Up and Down the Ballot 05:24 - Why the Agriculture Commissioner Race Matters 07:28 - The Governor and Senate Races and the Rural Vote 10:11 - Energy Prices, Beef, and Life for Texas Ranchers 14:16 - The 2027 Legislature and Races to Watch Show Notes: Jayme Lozano Carver is The Texas Tribune’s first Lubbock-based reporter, covering the South Plains and Panhandle through a partnership with Report for America. texastribune Follow Jayme’s reporting: https://www.texastribune.org/author/jayme-lozano-carver/ Check out The Texas Tribune’s 2026 voter guides: https://www.texastribune.org/2026-vote/ More from Ballotpedia:   Sign up for Civic Blueprints, a substack by Ballotpedia Founder and CEO Leslie Graves: ⁠https://civicblueprints.substack.com/  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.

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

On the Ballot with Ballotpedia connects people to politics by providing neutral, nonpartisan, and reliable information on our government, how it works, and where it’s headed. This year, we're hoping to learn more about what our audience and what topics you want us to tackle. Complete a brief 5 minute survey to review the show and share some feedback: https://forms.gle/zPxYSog5civyvEKX6 Stream On the Ballot wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have any questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to send it to us at ontheballot@ballotpedia.org or on Twitter.

Information

  • Creator
    Ballotpedia
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    263
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Ballotpedia
  • Show Website
    On the Ballot

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