It's less than 100 days until the 2024 presidential election and the campaigns are ramping up in the Silver State. On this episode, host Ben Margiott takes you to Trump VP pick JD Vance's campaign rally in Reno, where he focused on immigration and hammered Kamala Harris for the Biden administration's border policies. Then, special guest Christ Murphy joins again to dig through the Ballot Battleground: Nevada mailbag. Ben and Chris talked about Project 2025, RFK Jr., voter ID, ballot questions, t...
Jul 31, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Less than 4 months until Election Day, a sitting U.S. President who ran for re-election has stepped aside. Joe Biden's announcement over the weekend that he would no longer run for president upended the 2024 race. What does it mean for Nevada? What do our 49 Democratic delegates do now? What is the precedent for such a race-altering event this late in the campaign? On this emergency episode of Ballot Battleground: Nevada, host Ben Margiott interviews Jon Ralston, CEO of The Nevada Independent an...
Jul 22, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Is requiring voter ID a critical safeguard that will improve voter confidence? Or an unnecessary burden that could depress turnout? Nevada voters could decide this November on a ballot measure requiring photo identification to cast a ballot. How would it work? What about people that don't have ID? Is this a solution in search of a problem? Host Ben Margiott interviews advocates on both sides of the issue - Dave Gibbs with the Repair the Vote PAC and Kerry Durmick with All Voting is Local Nevada....
Jul 17, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Should Nevada automatically recount results in close races? Or continue to make the candidates pay regardless of the margin? What about 'frivolous' recounts requested in races where the outcome will almost certainly never change? The debate over recount policy in the Silver State has reignited after multiple recounts in Washoe County after the primary. This week, host Ben Margiott interviews Deb Otis with FairVote, a nonpartisan policy group advocating for various electoral reforms. Ben and Deb ...
Jul 10, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Drag Queen Devon. Beth "Death" Smith. Veto Villain. The list of nasty and personal attacks, many of them launched by right-wing activist Robert Beadles, goes on and on. What does it do to the people who are targeted? Why are some taking this tactic, even though it's been largely unsuccessful? Where should we draw the line? In this two-part series, host Ben Margiott interviews candidates, activists and experts about the increasingly nasty political rhetoric and what can be done about it. In episo...
Jul 03, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Drag Queen Devon. Beth "Death" Smith. Veto Villain. The list of nasty and personal attacks, many of them launched by right-wing activist Robert Beadles, goes on and on. What does it do to the people who are targeted? Why are some taking this tactic, even though it's been largely unsuccessful? Where should we draw the line? In this two-part series, host Ben Margiott interviews candidates, activists and experts about the increasingly nasty political rhetoric and what can be done about it. In episo...
Jun 26, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 22
The dust has settled from the Nevada primary and the general election matchups are coming into focus. What did we learn from the messy GOP primary? What can we glean from the results of down ballot races? And what about that low turnout? Host Ben Margiott holds a reporter roundtable with the Associated Press' Gabe Stern and The Nevada Independent's Tabitha Mueller. What are the top takeaways from the June election? The group chats about Jeff Gunter refusing to endorse Sam Brown, Robert Beadles' ...
Jun 19, 2024•38 min•Season 1Ep. 21
The voters have spoken in the Nevada primaries and the matchup that could decide control of the U.S. Senate is set. It's officially Republican Sam Brown vs. Democratic incumbent Jacky Rosen in November. This week, we have a jam-packed Election Day recap - host Ben Margiott takes you out to the polls, to the registrar's office and to the big watch party in downtown Reno. Plus, why did a question we asked spark outrage on the right and prompt one candidate to label me a 'sham journalist'? And fina...
Jun 12, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 20
The 2024 primary election is in full swing with hundreds of polling places open across the Silver State for early voting. Most people though are taking advantage of the convenient mail ballot and sending it in that way. Host Ben Margiott visits one polling place in Reno and has an update on turnout so far. Plus, Washoe County registrar of voters Cari-Ann Burgess on the smooth in-person voting and how her office addressed a series of ballot errors. And Jennifer Willett with All Voting is Local jo...
Jun 05, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 19
It is week 1 of early voting in Nevada's primary election as hundreds of thousands of voters get ready to whittle down the massive list of candidates for the November general election. We break down turnout so far and explain how most Nevadans are still choosing to vote by mail. Plus, host Ben Margiott has an extended conversation with UNR political science Jeremy Gelman about the GOP primary for U.S. Senate, other races he's watching closely and Nevada's changing electorate. How have Nevada’s d...
May 29, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 18
It's a crowded field of Republican candidates in the race for U.S. Senate in Nevada - 12 candidates filed for the chance to take on incumbent Democrat Jacky Rosen in November. If you listened to episode 15, you heard from 3 of the top 4 frontrunners - the one exception being Sam Brown, who canceled his interview and never rescheduled. On this bonus episode, host Ben Margiott interviews the remaining candidates that were willing to interview with us: Bill Conrad, E.T. Hamilton, Garn Mabey, Ronda ...
May 28, 2024•55 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Primary Election Day is less than 3 weeks away in Nevada. Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar joins the show to talk when and how to vote, how to register to vote or change your party affiliation and everything else you need to know before casting your ballot. Plus, a deep-dive on how the Secretary of State's office receives and investigates complaints of voter fraud. Spoiler alert: the number of complaints represents a tiny fraction of the over 1 million votes cast in 2022 - and many are resolved ...
May 22, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 16
It's a crowded field of Republican candidates in the race for U.S. Senate in Nevada - 12 candidates filed for the chance to take on incumbent Democrat Jacky Rosen in November. This week, we start our Know Your Candidates 2024 series by introducing you to the 3 GOP candidates that, according to a recent internal poll, have the best shot at upsetting Sam Brown, the wounded warrior widely considered to be the frontrunner. (Brown initially signed up for an interview slot but canceled, citing a sched...
May 15, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 15
It's mail time at Ballot Battleground: Nevada. We put out a call for listener questions recently and received plenty. News 4-Fox 11 morning show anchor and political expert Chris Murphy joins this week to go through the mailbag with host Ben Margiott. They answered questions about a nonpartisan running in Congressional District 2, Yucca Mountain, abortion on the ballot, whether campaign signs work and much more. Submit your questions for future mailbag episodes by emailing [email protected] o...
May 01, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 14
After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, there's been a state-by-state patchwork of differing abortion laws across the country. In Nevada, abortion is protected up to 24 weeks in state law after a 1990 referendum. But advocates want to make that protection even stronger by adding abortion rights to the Nevada Constitution. It appears their ballot question to enshrine that right is headed for the November ballot. Denise Lopez, director of Nevada campaigns for Reproductive Freedom for All, joins to e...
Apr 24, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Primary season is underway - if you haven't noticed all the campaign signs and ads in every commercial break. This week, host Ben Margiott previews the GOP primary for Nevada's 2nd Congressional district, which covers most of northern Nevada. With no Democrat running in this deep red district, the winner of the seat will likely be determined in the June primary. Rep. Mark Amodei, the incumbent since 2011, and Dr. Fred Simon sit down for extended interviews about why they're running, the national...
Apr 17, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Should public money be used to help build the Oakland A's baseball team a new stadium in Las Vegas? The state's largest teachers union wants to ask voters that question in November. But like so many other proposed initiatives, it's been challenged and appealed up to the Nevada Supreme Court. This week, justices heard oral arguments about the proposed referendum. Host Ben Margiott takes listeners inside the courtroom and interviews Alexander Marks, director of strategy for the Nevada State Educat...
Apr 10, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 11
After Pres. Biden's visit to Reno last month, two top Biden cabinet members are in northern Nevada this week. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and U.S. Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su stopped by the studio for a sit-down interview with host Ben Margiott about ongoing FAFSA issues, unemployment, the Baltimore bridge collapse and more. Plus, Nevada Current deputy editor April Corbin Girnus joins to preview some of the critical statehouse elections that will determine if Democrats are ...
Apr 03, 2024•38 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Question 3, which will be on the November ballot in Nevada, would make drastic changes to our electoral system, implementing two proposed reforms — open primaries and ranked-choice voting. If it were to pass again (after already passing in 2022), it would put those changes in the Nevada Constitution. Supporters say it would upend the two-party system as we know it but opponents worry it could lead to even more confusion. Before we explore the arguments for and against, we brought in the Guinn Ce...
Mar 27, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 9
The race for the White House heats up in the battleground states, with President Joe Biden making his first visit to Nevada this election cycle. Host Ben Margiott was in the presidential motorcade and takes listeners behind the scenes as Biden stopped by a Democratic campaign office to rally volunteers. Plus, Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar joins to explain a coding error that caused the website to incorrectly show people as having voted by mail in the presidential preference primary. Ag...
Mar 20, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Will abortion be on the Nevada ballot in November? One initiative seeking to enshrine reproductive freedoms is currently in the hands of the Nevada Supreme Court and advocates are already gathering signatures for another measure dealing with abortion alone. On this episode of Ballot Battleground: Nevada, host Ben Margiott takes us inside last week's oral arguments at the state supreme court, explains the abortion landscape in Nevada and interviews Jason Guinasso, the attorney representing the Co...
Mar 13, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 7
We Matter - that’s the slogan made famous by this week’s guest - Jon Ralston, the CEO and editor of The Nevada Independent. As we heard on last week's episode of Ballot Battleground: Nevada, the Silver State will of course matter in the general election, but we mattered quite a bit less during this Presidential nominating cycle. We brought Jon in to talk about 2024, the early Biden/Trump polls, the U.S. Senate race heating up and the first year of Governor Joe Lombardo’s administration. Learn mo...
Mar 06, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 6
In the 2024 Presidential election, Nevada isn't just a battleground, it's a toss-up. A coin flip. Don't take our word for it - that's the official race rating from the Cook Political Report, one of the most well-respected election forecasters in the United States. Senate and governor editor Jessica Taylor comes on the podcast to talk about why CPR changed Nevada from 'lean Democrat' to 'toss-up,' and our U.S. Senate race that could once again decide control of the chamber. Learn more about your ...
Feb 28, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Who should draw Nevada's political maps? Today, it's whichever party is in control in Carson City. In the last cycle, Democrats had a trifecta and passed their maps without any Republican support - those maps were given an "F" from the nonpartisan Princeton Gerrymandering Project for giving Democrats a clear political advantage. But now one group is pushing to take the redistricting process out of the hands of politicians and put it into the hands of an independent board. Last week, a judge shot...
Feb 21, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 4
The busiest week in Nevada elections in a long time is in the rearview mirror. In the end, Donald Trump and Joe Biden won all of Nevada's delegates from the caucus and primary, respectively. Host Ben Margiott interviews reporter Audrey Mayer about her experience covering the caucus at a Reno-area elementary school. Plus, an extended interview with interim Washoe County registrar of voters Cari-Ann Burgess about why she came back to elections after experiencing burnout in a previous role, lessons...
Feb 14, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Nevada's first presidential preference primary in decades went smoothly, with low voter turnout making for no lines at most polling places. As expected, President Joe Biden won the Democratic primary handily. But in a surprising turn of events, former ambassador Nikki Haley lost to 'None of these candidates' in the Republican contest. We speak with reporters Kim Burrows and Audrey Mayer about their experience covering the election on the ground, plus a conversation with Jon Ralston, the CEO of t...
Feb 07, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Nevada's Presidential nominating process is more confusing than ever in 2024 with two different elections being held in a span of just three days. Despite the state shifting to a Presidential preference primary, the Nevada GOP has still opted to hold a caucus on February 8th. Truckee Meadows political science professor Fred Lokken comes on the show to explain in detail how and why we got here and how you can participate. We also talked about Nevada's diminished national attention this cycle beca...
Jan 31, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Ballot Battleground: Nevada is a show where we take deep dives into the issues, people, policies and debates shaping politics in our critical swing state. Many voters find themselves confused or overwhelmed when they walk into the voting booth. Our goal is to explain the issues that matter most to everyday Nevadans so they're fully informed before casting their ballot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 25, 2024•2 min
