On the Ballot

On this episode: New York City–home to the nation's largest public school district–is planning to ban cell phones in classrooms across all of its roughly 16,000 schools. What would such a policy look like at this scale, and how do parents, educators, and students feel about its efficacy? Chalkbeat NYC Bureau Chief Amy Zimmer joins the show to bring us up to speed on where the policy stands and when it may go into effect. In the second half of this episode, Ballotpedia staff writer Sam Wonacott shares how these policies have played out in the states and districts that have enforced them to date.  Learn more about these sorts of policies across the country:  https://ballotpedia.org/State_policies_on_cellphone_use_in_K-12_public_schools  Read Chalkbeat’s reporting here: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2024/07/17/nyc-school-cellphone-ban-could-take-effect-february-2025/  Subscribe to Hall Pass, our education newsletter: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia%27s_Hall_Pass    Sign up for our other 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.

On this episode: Many observers of national politics might not have known much about Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) before his ascendence over the last few weeks to become Kamala Harris' choice for a running mate, which became official last night. Why'd Harris choose Walz over other front runners like Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro or Arizona Senator Mark Kelly? What's his record look like as a politician, and who might succeed him as governor in Minnesota? Is the Harris-Walz ticket official, or are there any more formalities left for them to secure the nomination at the DNC in a few weeks? Learn more about Walz: https://ballotpedia.org/Tim_Walz  Read a profile of Walz by one of our guests, Patrick Coolican, Editor-in-Chief of the Minnesota Reformer: https://minnesotareformer.com/2024/08/06/from-a-mankato-classroom-to-the-white-house-harris-names-walz-her-vice-presidential-nominee/  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.

On this episode: Texans have decided on 708 ballot measures in the nearly 150 years since the state adopted its constitution. Five hundred twenty-eight (528) measures were approved, meaning the constitution has been amended 528 times. One hundred eighty (180) measures were defeated, giving Texas measures a lifetime approval rating of roughly 75%. In the first episode of what will become a recurring series on On the Ballot, our ballot measures expert Victoria Rose joins the show to walk us through how ballot measures work in the state, explains why Texas doesn't allow citizen initiated measures at the state level (but does at the local level), and shares some of what she found most interesting digging through 200+ years of Texas history. The inventory of Texas statewide ballot measures is part of Ballotpedia's Historic Ballot Measure Fact Book, which will document nearly 200 years of direct democracy in the United States.  Check out our Texas HBM page: https://ballotpedia.org/Texas_Ballot_Measures:_Historic_Ballot_Measures_Factbook 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.

On this episode: The first six months of 2024 have already seen the most recall attempts, and successful recalls of politicians, at this point in the year in the last ten years. What’s behind the recent surge in recall activity? In this episode, you’ll hear a full breakdown of BP’s mid-year report on political recalls, including this year’s most common trends, why states like Texas and Wisconsin are surging among others, and a breakdown of the most high profile recalls to keep an eye on. Read Ballotpedia’s Mid-Year Recall Report here: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia%27s_Mid-Year_Recall_Report_(2024)  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.

On this episode: According to BP's annual trifecta vulnerability ratings, eleven state government trifectas are vulnerable in the 2024 elections. Democrats are defending seven vulnerable trifectas and Republicans are defending four. For the Democrats, Oregon’s trifecta status is highly vulnerable, while the Republican trifectas of Texas and New Hampshire are also highly vulnerable.  A state government trifecta occurs when one party holds the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. Currently, there are 40 of them: 23 Republican and 17 Democratic, with the remaining 10 states having divided governments, where maybe they have a Republican Governor, a Democratic Senate, and a Republican House.  Read the full report here: https://ballotpedia.org/Trifecta_vulnerability_in_the_2024_elections  Take a deeper dive into trifectas: https://ballotpedia.org/State_government_trifectas  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.

On this episode: The assassination attempt on Donald Trump and President Joe Biden dropping out of the race for the White House–two history-shattering events in the span of eight days–have firmly pushed the minor party presidential candidates out of the conversation for the time being.  What impact might they have as we move closer to election day, and what sort of laws and tactics factor into how competitive they can actually be as candidates?  Barry Burden, a professor of American politics at the University of Wisconsin–joins the show to unpack the current field of noteworthy minor party candidates, the various challenges to getting their names on the ballot, how major parties co-opt their platforms and policies, and how we ended up with a political system dominated by two parties.   Read Burden’s recent work on the role third parties will play this November: https://theconversation.com/third-parties-will-affect-the-2024-campaigns-but-election-laws-written-by-democrats-and-republicans-will-prevent-them-from-winning-226877 Follow Burden on X: https://X.com/bcburden  On the race for the White House: https://ballotpedia.org/Presidential_election,_2024  Learn more about the major third party and independent candidates below: –https://ballotpedia.org/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr. –https://ballotpedia.org/Jill_Stein  –https://ballotpedia.org/Chase_Oliver  –https://ballotpedia.org/Cornel_West  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.

On this episode: President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential election this afternoon, July 21st. A president-elect has never withdrawn, died, or become incapacitated between the general election and the presidential inauguration in American history. So what happens now?  BP staff writer Ellen Morrissey joins the show to break down Biden’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, how the Democratic National Convention might handle selecting a new nominee, early favorites, and what happens to all of the campaign funding Biden’s raised thus far.  Learn more: https://ballotpedia.org/Withdrawal_of_Joe_Biden_from_the_2024_presidential_election  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.

On this episode: Kyle Kondik–the managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics–joins the show to discuss the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump (R), Trump’s choice of J.D. Vance (R) as his running mate, and how Joe Biden’s (D) debate performance may affect presidential polling. Plus – more on Senate/House projections, abortion ballot measures, and how plausible it is that Biden actually steps out of the race. Follow Kyle on X: https://x.com/kkondik  Check out Sabato’s latest polling and reporting: https://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/  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.

On this episode: An in-depth walkthrough of our mid-year report on election administration legislation. Ballotpedia has tracked 3,735 election-related bills in 2024, more than in all of 2023. For the third year in a row, state legislators considered more election-related legislation in states with Democratic trifectas, but adopted more new election laws in states with Republican trifectas. In Republican-led states, bill topic themes touched on issues such as ballot harvesting/ballot collection, voter registration drives, referring noncitizen voting ballot measures to voters, or preempting efforts to establish ranked-choice voting. In Democratic-led states, bill topic themes included cure provisions for absentee/mail-in voting, new definitions and penalties for voter suppression, and new laws related to election dis- and mis-information. Several topics found support across the partisan spectrum with new laws in several states related to voter list maintenance, protections for officials and workers, presidential electors, and voting by eligible but incarcerated individuals or someone convicted of a felony. Read the report here: https://ballotpedia.org/State_of_Election_Administration_Legislation_2024_Mid-Year_Report  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.

On this Episode: On Friday, SCOTUS overruled the legal doctrine known as Chevron Deference in a 6-3 decision authored by Chief Justice John Roberts. For almost 40 years, Chevron served as a legal structure through which courts may review, approve, and reject regulations in the context of statutory intent. Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Katanji Brown-Jackson dissented, arguing that deference should be given to agency expertise to clarify ambiguities in statutes. In this special re-release of On the Ballot's coverage from earlier in the year, we unpack Chevron Deference’s history, how the doctrine works, the arguments for and against keeping it around, and what its future might look like after SCOTUS’s decision. An in-depth guide: https://ballotpedia.org/Chevron_deference_(doctrine)  Our Learning Journey: https://ballotpedia.org/Journey:_Chevron_deference  More BP coverage: https://news.ballotpedia.org/2024/06/28/supreme-court-overturns-chevron-deference/  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.