What Voting Means To Me

Let's make voting fun again! Kim and Mara talk about ways to get people excited about the democratic process-- be it through "I voted" sticker selfies, making democracy themed art & music, or hosting election night parties. Kim talks about her frustration that voting is too often dismissed as easy. But she reminds us of this reality: if you didn't grow up in a voting-centric household, you may have not been taught what it means and how to vote. It's no surprise then that Kim has dedicated much of her work to supporting voter education and access. Kim and Mara also discuss mysteries the LA County Mosquito Abatement Commission, and reflect on all that has changed in the time that Kim has been in the election space. Kim is a deeply intuitive, insightful, and empathetic guest. Please enjoy!

Voting is innovation. Voting is the right to be in community. We are more than our singular votes; it is in the collective that they matter. In this episode Mara talks about these ideas and much more with ⁠Kevin Johnson⁠, co-founder and director of ⁠Election Reformers Network⁠ (ERN), an organization dedicated to protecting elections from polarization through independent and non-partisan innovation. Kevin talks about what it's like to observe emerging democracies, and the incredible experience of watching people vote for the first time. He talks about the work ERN is doing to advocate for independent redistricting and non-partisan election administration, and he and Mara muse about how we should view the work our election officials do for us within the context of representative democracies.

In this episode, Mara encourages listeners to think about what democracy-- or rather, the absence of democracy--feels like. They ask what it means to nurture and sustain hope in an era of democratic decline. Their guest, Pamela (Pam) Smith, the CEO and president of Verified Voting, offers answers and gentle perspective to these questions, and so much more, in her own democracy biography. "To vote is to be a part of something bigger than yourself." -- To learn more about Verified Voting, check out the following links! -Website: verifiedvoting.org for resources and tools that help explain how votes are cast and counted. -The Verifier verifiedvoting.org/verifier, a tool that lets you explore voting equipment usage and post-election audit requirements across the country going back to 2006 -An in-house database of voting equipment at verifiedvoting.org/equipmentdb provides extensive information on the equipment used to cast – and count – votes.

How much does it cost to run elections in the United States? The answer is not as simple as you might think. In this episode, Mara and Zach talk about Zach's journey from being a more or less casual observer of elections at the presidential level to a becoming a full blown election nerd bringing his expertise in accounting to the world of election science. Zach talks about the mind-boggling challenge of collecting data on election administration budgets in the United States. He also spotlights the people who make elections happen--local election officials and workers-- as he muses on what voting means to him.

Gabor Mate- author of "The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture" suggests there are “4 As” that help move us towards healing and wholeness: authenticity, agency, healthy expression of anger, and acceptance. But what does this have to do with democracy? I provide some thoughts on this question in conjunction with my remarkable conversation with Noah Praetz, president of The Elections Group. Throughout the episode we talk about the self-actualizing power of working in democracy spaces, and we come back to the idea that, while flawed, messy, and imperfect—democracy is the best answer to the question of how we govern ourselves.

Thessalia Merivaki is an Associate Professor of American politics at Mississippi State University. Her research expertise is on Election Science, particularly voter registration reform and voter education policy. With Mara Suttmann-Lea, they run team #voteredu. In this episode, Lia tells me about her experiences growing up in Greece, the voting experience she had there, and her transition to the United States for graduate school. Lia tells us how the complexity and nuances of election administration in the United States motivated her to pursue a Ph.D. We reminisce over the Internet bringing us together and the origins of our voter education story, which really began with Lia and a curious, frustrated student in her classroom. For Lia, the act of voting is significant, monumental even. It is something, she tells us, “we need to celebrate. We need to support. And we need to make sure it is protected and a part of a structure that everybody trusts and wants to be a part of.”

Mara talks with Brianna Lennon, the county clerk in Boone County, Missouri, about the logistical challenges of election administration. Brianna tells us what brought her to the work of administering democracy— like Mara, she was inspired by a high school government teacher—and muses on the difficulties of balancing cynicism, realism, and hope through the act of voting.

Every vote symbolizes a hope. That’s what voting means to this episode’s guest. We hear from Dustin Czarny—an election professional in Onondaga County, New York who has worn many hats during his life in elections. Dustin has been the Democratic election commissioner of Onondaga County since 2013, and has been involved in local politics as an activist and campaign operative for 30 years. Since 2017 he has also served as the Democratic caucus chair of the New York State Elections Commissioner Association.

“Democracy needs a marketing department…” That’s according to Steve Wanczyk, a former marketing expert turned democracy advocate and protector who founded the non-profit organization Protect Our Election in response to the growing threat of misinformation and challenges faced by election officials surrounding the 2020 United States presidential elections. Motivated by concerns that the principles of American democracy are under assault and require active defense, Steve and the volunteers at Protect Our Election believe that local election officials in particular—the oft-overlooked backbone of American democracy—are in need of greater support, attention, and yes, a good marketing department.

Spencer Mestel is an independent journalist and poll worker based in Brooklyn New York who shares his appreciation for the wonderful and yes, “forgettable” voting experiences he has had, his hopes for a less burdensome system of voting in the United States, and how elite partisan rhetoric and a lack of public understanding of how elections are run have combined to become a potent threat to American democracy. Spencer has written for the New York Times, The Guardian, Vice, The Intercept, and more. He also has a newsletter called Spenser’s Super Tuesday you can subscribe to, and you can give him a follow on Twitter @spensermestel.

"You can mess around with me, but don't mess around with my voters." Tune in to this special Election Day episode to hear about the magical work Genya Coulter has done as a poll worker in the state of Florida during the 2020 election cycle.

In this episode, Monique Newton shares how she came to understand the significance of local politics growing up in Sacramento, California. Now a Ph.D. student specializing in urban politics, Monique crafts a compelling narrative from her formative experiences to her burgeoning research agenda and work as an educator. Monique and Mara talk about the tensions that can exist between descriptive representation and substantive representation, and Monique graciously offers words of wisdom for all of the students, teachers, and professors who are grappling with how to discuss police violence against Black bodies and challenge white supremacy culture. Ultimately, Monique shares her deep appreciation of the right to vote—a right that was so fiercely contested and fought for—but also recognizes it is only one step in bending the arc of the moral universe towards a more just and equitable world.

In this episode, Mara talks to Dr. Holly Garnett, a professor of political science at the Royal Military College of Canada, about growing up in the world of Canadian politics. Holly shares how she went from working directly in Canadian Party politics, to engaging in the behind the scenes work of understanding and improving the function of electoral systems as a professor. She offers insight as to the central challenges facing elections in the United States in the lead up to the 2020 election, and Holly and Mara muse over the calculus of voting.

In this episode we hear from Jason Amos, a gifted violist, who tells us a beautifully complex story of how his own musicianship, upbringing, and living as a black gay man in America has shaped his perception of what it means to engage in a democracy. Jason and Mara discuss how the act of making music in collaboration with others can be deeply reflective of what it feels like to engage in deliberative democracy. They muse over whether Barack Obama is a better viola player than Jason, and bond over their shared love of Mara’s Congressional Representative in Connecticut, Jahana Hayes, and Jason's in Massachusetts, Ayanna Pressley. Jason talks about how, despite growing up in a middle-class black neighborhood, he still felt the sting of racism as a child, being constantly on alert for how his presence made white community members feel. Jason opens up about the existential dread he feels every time he is pulled over by the police, and the generational trauma his family experiences today as a result of police brutality. Jason expresses worry that too many people are voting out of fear, willful ignorance, and greed. As for himself, he ultimately sees his vote as an act of great hope, and looks to cast ballots for those he feels will deliver more just and equitable outcomes for American democracy. With Jason’s permission, and in solidarity with and recognition of the protests happening all around the world in response to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and far too many others, there are 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence before the interview with Jason begins. This is the amount of time it took to end George Floyd’s life. Mara encourages you to sit in this silence, notice what you feel, sit with any discomfort, and breath deeply into it before journeying into Jason’s story.

Dr. Brian Harrison is a political scientist specializing in American politics and public opinion. He most recently published “A Change is Gonna Come: How to Have Productive Political Conversations in a Divided America.” Brian sat down with Mara to talk about how his experiences growing up in Iowa, his time in the second Bush administration as a political appointee in the Department of Homeland Security, and his career as a political scientist have shaped his understanding of American democracy. He tells us what it was like growing up with the presidential candidate pizazz of Iowa politics, and recalls a fateful encounter with Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley that left a lasting impression. Brian and Mara discover they had a shared penchant for dressing up as Republican presidents for Halloween growing up, and they dig deep into the nature of political disagreement in American politics. Brian cautions that—while we should not expect everyone to “come together” in a kumbaya moment of unity—deliberative democracy requires that, at times, we find ways to have meaningful conversations with those who disagree with us. Inspired by the authenticity of elected officials like Harvey Milk, Brian still sees each and every vote—no matter the election, big or small—as an opportunity.

In this episode we hear from a remarkably complex and fascinating voter who also happens to be an avowed atheist. Mark Stickney is an HVAC / plumbing sales engineer, musician, and actor from Chicago, Illinois. He tells us his story about growing up in a conservative southern town and his transition from this socialization to his now active role in progressive politics. Triggered at a young age to “question everything,” as he puts it, Mark explains how his journey to progressive politics and voting is inextricably tied with his embrace of atheism. While he began his time as an active voter feeling more or less apathetic during the 2004 elections, his passion for learning and epistemology brought him to the political activism he engages in today. He and I muse about the impossibility of religious freedom, and Mark clarifies that being an atheist does not mean one hates religion. We argue for the imperative of self-reflection in today’s politics, and Mark shares how his vote is tied back to how it might impact others. “Voting for me,” he shares, “means doing my part to make life better for somebody else… it’s about the active effort of thinking of others and putting them above myself.” Ultimately, Mark hopes that his activism—and vote—will leave the world a better place for his children and all who will come after them.

After months of contentious primaries, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominating process came to a close in Philadelphia. Nominating the first female candidate for president of a major political party, the Democratic establishment sought to facilitate unity amidst the enmity that had been simmering between Hillary Clinton’s supporters and progressive allies of Independent-turned Democrat Bernie Sanders, a senator from Vermont. In the middle of this thicket was Pia Deshpande, a then 17-year-old, now graduating senior at Columbia University, who made an impressive run to become a delegate to the Democratic National Convention that summer. In this episode, Pia walks us through the path that lead her to that point, and all that has come for her since: enrollment at the University of Texas and then a transfer to Columbia University as a political science major, an abiding curiosity of the American political system, and a participation in that system as a regular voter. Pia shares the experience and impact of her first vote—on November 8, 2016—and the aftermath of that election on the campus at the University of Texas. As the daughter of parents who immigrated to the United States from India, she also talks about the different paths her parents took with their own engagement in the political system, paths that were shaped, in part, by her father’s survival in one of the buildings hit during the September 11th attacks, as well as subsequent threats she and her family felt as Hindu Indians living in the United States. Ultimately, Pia is a passionate voter who wants others to engage in politics, but recognizes the barriers to participation that many people face. Having experienced first-hand high costs in the process of voting absentee in particular, Pia recognizes how, even today, the vote is not something that is self-evident or a given for so many in the United States.

In this episode we reflect on the interconnectedness between faith and politics, taking a spiritual journey as we hear from to Gabriela De Golia, a pastor in training Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. Growing up in a politically active neighborhood in San Francisco, Gabriela takes us from her time as a resident in this progressive community, to her early teenage years in France, and her political and spiritual activism during and beyond her college years. For Gabriela, political participation has always been a part of the fabric of her life, raised to be engaged in politics from a young age. But as she grew older and broadened her horizons, she realized that, while she deeply values the act of voting, not everyone has been afforded the same kind of access and efficacy from this act that she has. Ultimately, for Gabriela, the vote ties back to her relationship with her communities and a belief that she exists in systems where there are larger forces at work than herself alone.  She reflects on how the inescapable connections between communities and individuals has become painfully apparent in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Offering ministerial comfort and guidance, Gabriela gently challenges listeners to recognize the ways in which this crisis is revealing how deeply interconnected we are, and how we might support that interconnectedness through our political efforts, voting and otherwise. She offers hope for the possibility of rebirth and reconnection—politically, economically, and spiritually—as we emerge from this pandemic.

In 2016, voters in the state of Michigan played a decisive role in determining the outcome of the presidential election in the United States. Winning by a tiny margin of about 0.23%, Donald Trump’s upset victory was a shock to the Democratic political establishment who had long thought of Michigan as a part of the “blue wall” Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton could count on come election night November 8, 2016. Our episode today takes us back to the state of Michigan, as William (Will) Lea, a choir teacher and musician, reflects on his time growing up in Shiawassee County, a conservative leaning jurisdiction that tilted substantively in Trump’s favor on Election night in 2016. Hailing from this oft-battleground state, Will makes for a fascinating first official entry in “What Voting Means To Me.” He tells us about his experience growing up in Owosso, a former bedroom community for workers at the automobile factories in Flint. He speaks about his politically engaged grandparents and parents who grew up in nearby Montrose, and talks about the evolution of his identity from an all American boy with dreams of becoming a politician, to the humble, hardworking, talented musician and teacher he is today. We discuss his very first vote—for John Kerry in 2004—and how he pushed forward with voting and political engagement after experiencing what he describes as shock over the defeat of his candidate. We talk about ballot design, voting for judges, engaging in discussion with folks who disagree with you, and what it means to establish your convictions as you age. And in the end we get a picture of what democracy—and voting—means to Will.

Welcome to What Voting Means to Me, a podcast about democracy from the perspective of “we the people.”