Can the United States continue to run free and fair elections amidst a sea of election disinformation? What has the path of the voting wars looked like since the disputed 2000 election? How should journalists cover stories like election subversion, and deal with those who make claims about elections being stolen or rigged? On Season 3 Episode 4 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Pam Fessler, the dean of journalists on the democracy beat who recently retired as a correspondent for NPR.
Nov 09, 2021•29 min
Is the Voting Rights Act effectively dead as a superstatute? Is the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act the best way to protect minority voters in the United States? Are the dangers of election subversion and voter suppression more closely linked than some have said? On Season 3, Episode 3 of the ELB Podcast, we talk to Guy Charles, the Charles Ogletree, Jr. Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and faculty director of HLS’s Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice.
Oct 11, 2021•31 min
Is the United States at risk of election subversion and stolen elections? Is the key to secure American elections having people of integrity running them? What role can law play in protecting the rule of law and elections? On Season 3, Episode 2 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Harris County, Texas Election Administrator Isabel Longoria. (This episode is an excerpt from a recording of a September 24, 2021 conference on the risks of election subv...
Sep 28, 2021•51 min
How will the new round of redistricting go, with late census numbers, courts refusing to police partisan gerrymanders, and a weakened Voting Rights Act? Will redistricting cost Democrats control of the U.S. House? How will redistricting commissions fit into the rushed process? On Season 3 Episode 1 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Stanford law and political science professor Nate Persily.
Aug 18, 2021•30 min
Is the state of Georgia going to disenfranchise voters over missing hyphens on voter registration cards? What can be done about new strict voting rules, such as the North Dakota residential address rule that may disenfranchise Native American voters? Will the Supreme Court with new Justice Kavanaugh protect minority voting rights? On Season 2, Episode 3 of the ELB Podcast, we talk with Kristen Clarke, President and Executive Director of the National Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Oct 17, 2018•30 min
Does Michael Cohen's guilty plea to campaign finance violations implicate the President in criminal campaign finance activity? What about the defenses that the President has raised to these charges? Did Trump or the Trump campaign violate the prohibition on soliciting foreign contributions with their summer 2016 meeting with Russian government operatives at Trump Tower? On Season 2, Episode 2 of the ELB Podcast, we talk with Bob Bauer, former White House Counsel and former Obama campaign general...
Aug 23, 2018•37 min
After a long hiatus, the ELB Podcast is back in time for the midterm election season with a great first guest! What is the state of voting rights in America? What did the ACLU's lawsuit against Kris Kobach over the state of Kansas's "show us your papers" citizenship voting law teach us about the extent of the voter fraud problem? What's at stake in the litigation over the citizenship question which may appear on the 2020 census? On Season 2, Episode 1 of the ELB Podcast, we talk with Dale Ho, Di...
Aug 03, 2018•29 min
What is the connection between Republican Party extremism before Trump and the rise of Trump? What kinds of economic and political reforms can best preserve American democracy? What will life after Trump, and Trumpism, look like in the United States? On Episode 19 of the ELB Podcast, we talk with Tom Mann and Norm Ornstein, co-authors with E.J. Dionne of the new book, One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported.
Oct 20, 2017•26 min
Is the Supreme Court ready to finally rein in partisan gerrymandering? Can social science give us a manageable standard to decide when there's too much politics in redistricting? Is the "efficiency gap" Justice Kennedy's holy grail? On Episode 18 of the ELB Podcast, we talk with Eric McGhee of he Public Policy Institute of California and Nick Stephanopoulos of the University of Chicago Law School about their work on "the efficiency gap" and the upcoming Supreme Court case, Gil v. Whitford.
Sep 03, 2017•28 min
In this era of polarization in politics, how much power does Congress have compared to the President and the courts? Is the Republican Congress a meaningful check on President Trump? How well does Congress do at policing ethical lapses of its own members? On Episode 17 of the ELB Podcast, we talk with Josh Chafetz, Cornell Law School professor and author of the new book, Congress's Constitution: Legislative Authority and the Separation of Powers.
Jun 19, 2017•28 min
Will earlier work to improve the voters' experience at the polls be abandoned thanks to unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud? Is the "Election Integrity" commission established by President Trump going to undermine efforts to improve voting rights? Is there a future for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, one of whose members is joining the Trump-established commission? On Episode 16 of the ELB Podcast, we talk with Bob Bauer, former White House Counsel and co-chair of the Obama-establishe...
May 25, 2017•25 min
Is this year's concern about "election rigging" and violence at the polls unprecedented? Where do Donald Trump's claims fit within disputes over American elections? Have we as a country gotten better since Bush v. Gore at resolving our election disputes? On Episode 15 of the ELB Podcast, we talk with Ohio State's Ned Foley, author of Ballot Battles: The History of Disputed Elections in the United States.
Oct 27, 2016•33 min
Did Justice Ginsburg go too far in her comments against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump? Should comments like Justice Ginsburg's be protected by the First Amendment, and would they be grounds for recusal in a future Clinton v. Trump case? Are judicial rules which bar endorsements of candidates and political statements by judges unconstitutional? On Episode 14 of the ELB Podcast, we talk with UCI Irvine Law dean and noted constitutional scholar Erwin Chemerinsky.
Jul 18, 2016•23 min
Is the American election system ready to handle 2016? Has the country done what it can to prevent long lines and election breakdowns? Can the U.S. Election Assistance Commission help Democrats and Republicans to move beyond the Voting Wars? On Episode 13 of the ELB Podcast, we talk to Thomas Hicks, Chair of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, and its Vice-Chair Matthew Masterson.
Jul 10, 2016•35 min
Has the country moved from a period of deep political dysfunction to something bordering on authoritarianism, with the rise of Donald Trump? Does the rise of Bernie Sanders on the left mean Democrats are moving to the extremes like Republicans? What would a Hillary Clinton presidency with a Republican House look like? On Episode 12 of the ELB Podcast, we talk with Tom Mann and Norm Ornstein, authors of It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Po...
May 10, 2016•31 min
How does a Commissioner on the Federal Election Commission skeptical of regulation enforce the law? Is there a sound basis for limiting foreign money in elections? Why does the FEC deadlock along party lines, and what can be done about staff unhappiness at the FEC? On Episode 11 of the ELB Podcast, we talk to Republican FEC Commissioner Lee Goodman.
Mar 27, 2016•43 min
What has happened to African-American voting rights after the Supreme Court's 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder? Can the Voting Rights Act still protect minority voting rights in states such as Alabama and Texas? What are the prospects that a new Congress will step in to protect everyone's right to vote? On Episode 10 of the ELB Podcast, we talk to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund's Janai Nelson.
Mar 10, 2016•32 min
Will the Republican presidential nomination fight go beyond the primaries to a contested convention? Are the rules Republicans passed to assign delegates going to lead to chaos? What's different about this election cycle, and are Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders fighting for the same voters? On Episode 9 of the ELB Podcast, we talk to noted Republican campaign attorney Ben Ginsberg.
Jan 10, 2016•19 min
What is the state of voting rights in the United States as we approach the 2016 elections? Has the loss of a key portion of the Voting Rights Act thanks to the Supreme Court's Shelby County decision made it harder to register and vote? What tools do voting rights advocates have to fight the latest efforts to restrict access to the ballot? On Episode 8 of the ELB Podcast, we talk to Stanford Law Professor Pam Karlan.
Dec 17, 2015•21 min
What is the state of campaign financing in the U.S.? How have things changed in the Citizens United era? Is the Federal Election Commission dysfunctional, and if so do personalities or ideology explain the spate of high profile Commission deadlocks? On Episode 7 of the ELB Podcast, we talk to Federal Election Commissioner Ellen Weintraub.
Dec 04, 2015•31 min
Can the Supreme Court handle social science evidence in election law cases? Will lack of good data determine the outcome of the Supreme Court's upcoming one person, one vote decision in Evenwel v. Abbott? What role will and should evidence play in assessing questions such as the constitutionality of McCain-Feingold's soft money ban or Texas's strict voter identification law. On Episode 6 of the ELB Podcast, we talk to law professor and political scientist Nate Persily of Stanford Law School, one...
Nov 07, 2015•30 min
What is the state of Latino voting rights in the state of Texas and beyond? What's happening with the never-ending redistricting litigation in San Antonio, raising questions about whether Texas discriminated against Latino voters and others? Has the demise of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act thanks to the Supreme Court's 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder hurt minority voters? On Episode 5 of the ELB Podcast, we talk to Nina Perales, vice president of litigation for the Mexican American ...
Sep 12, 2015•19 min
Have efforts to reform the American political system backfired? Do changes in rules for campaign financing, redistricting, government transparency and election administration have unintended and undesirable consequences? On this special Episode 4 of the ELB Podcast, we hear from Bruce Cain, author of the terrific new book, Democracy, More or Less, and four scholars offering critiques of Cain's book. Listen to a September 2015 panel on Cain's new book at the American Political Science Association...
Sep 07, 2015•1 hr 6 min
Larry Lessig for president? The campaign finance reformer considers throwing his hat in the ring and proposes being president only long enough to pass a package of election reforms. What does Lessig believe about campaign finance? What other changes would he make in how we run our elections? Is his campaign strategy sound, given other reformers who have blasted his tactics? Larry Lessig joins us for a frank conversation about Lessig for President. Larry Lessig: Bold Campaign Reformer or Don Quix...
Aug 30, 2015•34 min
In Episode 2, we talk with leading First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams about the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, free speech, democracy and the academy.
Aug 26, 2015•32 min
The ELB Podcast: Episode 1 Interview with Ari Berman, author of Give Us the Ballot by Rick Hasen of the Election Law Blog
Aug 11, 2015•34 min
