Ballot Box Briefing
The Ballot Box Briefing is a weekly segment on Sirius XM’s The Briefing, that examines the issues and storylines at the heart of running an efficient and accurate election. Guests include election administrators, local, state, and federal officials, cybersecurity experts, legal analysts, and members of BPC’s Democracy Program.
Episodes
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Episode 15. MIT Professor Charles Stewart discussed the role and responsibilities of poll watchers and outlined key findings from the most recent “Elections Performance Index,” which assesses election administration policy and performance across all fifty states.
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Isaac Cramer joined the show to explain how providing a stipend for county election directors would be a significant step in helping to stem election official turnover and discussed an ambassador program launched this year to connect voters with trustworthy and accurate information on elections.
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Episode 13. Christopher Thomas shared observations from his 40-year career running elections in Michigan, his work with the Presidential Commission on Election Administration, and how officials can prepare for lawsuits challenging vote counts.
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Rachel Orey joined the Ballot Box Briefing to discuss findings from the first 50-state analysis of local election official turnover. In partnership with scholars at UCLA, BPC's new report finds that turnover has been steadily increasing for two decades across the country, but also underscores that the elections workforce is well-prepared to administer safe and secure elections in 2024.
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Episode 11. Matt Weil discussed the top concerns facing election officials this year, the need for reliable federal funding to help run elections, and the importance of verifiable paper ballots in ensuring accurate vote counts.
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Kim Wyman joined the Ballot Box Briefing to talk about the election security environment in 2024 and efforts underway in jurisdictions across the country to defend against threats to our voting systems.
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Author Ken Block talked about his new book “Disproven” detailing his work for the Trump campaign investigating allegations of voter fraud in the days after the 2020 presidential election.
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On the heels of Super Tuesday, BPC’s Michael Thorning joined the show to discuss the presidential primary process and how it differs from congressional primaries, as well as how political incentives are hindering bipartisanship in Congress.
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Katie Harbath is co-author of a new BPC survey exploring who voters trust for election-related information. On this week’s Ballot Box Briefing, she delves into the survey’s findings, including the prevalence of television and social media as information sources, concerns about misinformation, and Americans’ confidence in the integrity of our elections.
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In this episode, Pennsylvania’s top election official Al Schmidt talked about election security and counteracting election misinformation.