You research the candidates. You listen to the attack ads on TV. You volunteer to doorbell and you donate to a campaign. And then finally, after a long campaign season, you vote. But then what? What happens to the ballot dropped in the mail, or the tally taken at the poll booth? What happens behind the scenes, between checking the box for your candidate and the results? This week on the Election University Podcast, we go behind the scenes of election management. We get into the electoral nuance that allows our democracy to function. Tune in for the insider’s scoop on election management!

Our guest this week is Neal Kelley, Registrar of Voters for Orange County, California. Neal has worked for Orange County, the fifth largest voting district in the United States, since 2004. In that time, he has managed over 75 major elections and  overseen the tally and production of over 15 million ballots. But before transitioning to election management, Neal grew several companies in the private retail sector. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business and Management form the University of Redlands and a M.B.A from the University of Southern California.

You can learn more about Neal Kelley and his work here. You can learn more about Orange County on their website, here. You can also access real time voting data on the Data Central section of their website, or explore documents about Orange County pilots and projects in the Election Library.

Listeners, we want to count your vote! What did you think of this week’s episode? Have you ever volunteered as a vote counter or supervisor? What questions do you have about the elections process? What topic should we tackle next? We want to know! Send us an email at podcast@electionu.com or leave us a note or a review in the comment section below. You just might be the next guest on the Election University podcast!

You can listen to the show right here on the EU website or by subscribing in iTunes, Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Spotify, Stitcher, Soundcloud, iHeartRadio, and more! If you do subscribe, please leave us a rating and review. We love the feedback and we read every one! If you'd like to hear a particular topic on our podcast, please email podcast@electionu.com. As always, thanks for listening!

Some political experts (most notably, former Obama speechwriter and Pod Save America/The Wilderness podcaster, John Favreau) argue that the days of traditional media like political direct mail are long gone. But is that really true? In this digital era, do the traditional political mediums still work? Given the tedious deluge of junk mail, bills, and catalogs, how effective are these political mail pieces, really?

This week on the Election University Podcast, our expert guest argues that direct mail is more effective than ever—especially when it comes to reaching historically underrepresented voters. And he has the science to prove it. 

Our hosts Jason Bennett and Reiny Cohen interview Lionel Dripps, the Managing Director for Program and Digital at the Voter Participation Center. The Voter Participation Center is a nonpartisan organization devoted to ensuring that the voting population is representative of America’s population. To do this, the Voter Participation Center (VPC) focuses on increasing civic engagement among the Rising American Electorate (unmarried women, people of color, and millennials). And VPC’s primary tool to accomplish this goal? Direct mail.

Lionel Dripps is the Managing Director for Program and Digital at The Voter Participation Center. He also is Vice President at the Pivot Group. Previously, he served as the Executive Director for the Colorado Democratic Senate Fund, Regional Director for the Wisconsin Democratic Party, and on a handful of campaigns throughout the country.

You can find more information about the Voter Participation Center at their website, here. Interested in The Wilderness podcast, you can start listening here.

Listeners, we love mail and want more of it! Send us an email with your thoughts on this week’s episode! Have you seen a good direct mail piece recently that you just have to share? What about a big mail flop? We want to hear from you! You can reach us at podcast@electionu.com or leave us a note or a review in the comment section below.

You can listen to the show right here on the EU website or by subscribing in iTunes, Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Spotify, Stitcher, Soundcloud, iHeartRadio, and more! If you do subscribe, please leave us a rating and review. We love the feedback and we read every one! If you'd like to hear a particular topic on our podcast, please email podcast@electionu.com. As always, thanks for listening! 

Season Two of the Election University Podcast is here! This season, in addition to providing resources for down ballot campaigns, we are investigating the forces that influence elections. From voter contact tactics, to election security, to funding your campaign, we’ll cover it all. You’ll get the context you need to participate fully in your democracy, no matter your level of political experience.

Today, we kick things off with an investigation of an innovative way to fund political campaigns—public financing! The goal of public financing is to lower the barrier of entry for candidates who don’t ordinarily have access to the ballot. Candidates without deep pockets are empowered to run competitive races. Voters and residents are empowered to participate in local elections, regardless of their socio-economic status. Some localities have experimented with public financing of elections through grant or contribution matching systems. But Seattle has taken a new approach to public financing—one that automatically empowers all residents to participate. On this episode of the Election University podcast, we get the inside scoop on Seattle’s Democracy Voucher Program. We chat with Seattle Ethics and Elections’ Rene LeBeau about the Democracy Voucher’s successes and shortfalls, and discuss its implications for the future of publically financed elections.

Rene LeBeau is the Democracy Voucher Program Manager at Seattle Ethics and Elections. She previously worked on election implementation and administration at King County Elections and the Washington Secretary of State’s office. She also has five years of experience in software.

You can learn more about Seattle Ethics and Elections and the Democracy Voucher Program here.

It’s season two, and we want to hear from you! Send us your podcast topic recommendations! Send us your comments and questions! We missed you over the break, and we want to hear from you! You can reach us at podcast@electionu.com or leave us a note or a review in the comment section below.

You can listen to the show right here on the EU website or by subscribing in iTunes, Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Spotify, Stitcher, Soundcloud, iHeartRadio, and more! If you do subscribe, please leave us a rating and review. We love the feedback and we read every one! If you'd like to hear a particular topic on our podcast, please email podcast@electionu.com. As always, thanks for listening! 

You asked, we answered! Join the Election University podcast for an encore of our popular episode on Political Spouses. If you’re slogging toward November, wondering when you might get a moment to see your family or partner—this episode is for you!  Or, maybe you are a potential politico or political spouse in need of encouragement and advice—this episode is for you! Our hosts Reiny Cohen and Jason Bennett bring you the tips and tricks you need to keep your family grounded this election season. Our guest this week is Kerry Kriseman, expert political spouse. Kerry has survived more than 20 years of political campaigns. How did Kerry and her family endure a recent contentious re-election campaign, navigate the rise of social media, and persist through campaign wins—and losses? Tune in to find out!

Kerry Kriseman is a St. Petersburg native and communications professional. She currently works as a Public Relations consultant at Creative Clay, a St. Pete organization dedicated to making the arts accessible to all. She is also working on her first book about her experience as a political spouse. Previously, Kerry worked for as a Corporate Communications Specialist for the Tampa Bay Times. She is married to St. Petersburg mayor, Rick Kriseman, who first ran for office unsuccessfully in 1999 and then was later appointed to City Council in 2000. They have two children and a steady stream of Southeastern Guide Dog puppies.

Listeners, we want to hear from you! Are you a spouse in need of the Political Spouse Therapy Group? Do you need to hug a puppy right now? What piece of advice do you have to keep future candidates’ families sane? Are you or someone you love a “political widow?” Are you our next guest on Political Spouses Part III? We want to know about it! Send us an email at podcast@electionu.com or leave us a note or a review in the comment section below.

You can listen to the show right here on the EU website or by subscribing in iTunes, Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Spotify, Stitcher, Soundcloud, iHeartRadio, and more! If you do subscribe, please leave us a rating and review. We love the feedback and we read every one! If you'd like to hear a particular topic on our podcast, please email podcast@electionu.com. As always, thanks for listening!

What happened with polling in 2016 and what's changed for 2018? How can polling be useful (and affordable) for down ballot campaigns? Does polling tell us if there's going to be a Blue Wave this year? If so, how big? polling is for you! This week's episode answers all of that, and more!  In this week’s episode of the Election University podcast, our hosts Reiny Cohen and Jason Bennett talk with Russ Swindell, Chief Client Strategist with Public Policy Polling, to bring you the insider tips and tricks to get the most affordable, accurate, and timely polling for your campaign.

Public Policy Polling (PPP) provides a highly-accurate alternative to expensive, traditional telephone surveys. Rated one of the highest performing pollsters in the United States, Public Policy Polling conducts thousands thousands of polls across the country for progressive candidates and causes up and down the ballot. The company specializes in Integrated Voice Response Polling, which is an affordable and efficient survey delivered to a landline via a recorded system. Integrated Voice Response Polling allows Public Policy Polling to deliver accurate results at a fraction of the cost of traditional pollsters.

Our guest Russ Swindell has worked for PPP as a client strategist for more than three and a half years. Previously, Russ spent 14 years as the Chief of Staff to Congressman Bob Etheridge of North Carolina.

If you are interested in conducting a poll for your local election or you want to learn more about Public Policy Polling, send an email to information@publicpolicypoling.com. You can also keep up with the latest updates on cutting-edge research and follow races across the country by subscribing to their newsletter. You can also follow PPP on twitter @ppppolls and on Facebook.

Listeners, consider this a very informal poll: did you like this week’s episode? Do you have your own insider tips for getting affordable, accurate polls? Are you going to invest in polling this November? Let us know what you think by emailing us at podcast@ElectionU.com or leaving a note in the comment section below.

You can listen to the show right here on the EU website or by subscribing in iTunes, Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Spotify, Stitcher, Soundcloud, iHeartRadio, and more! If you do subscribe, please leave us a rating and review. We love the feedback and we read every one! If you'd like to hear a particular topic on our podcast, please email podcast@electionu.com. As always, thanks for listening!