ELB Podcast

What does the Trump executive order on elections purport to do? Why did a federal court put big parts of that executive order on hold? Does this EO threaten the 2026 midterm elections? On the season finale of Season 6 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Danielle Lang of the Campaign Legal Center.

How did campaigning and false information in campaigns change in the 2024 elections? What role did platform content moderation play in 2024? Is generative AI going to change campaigns in 2028 and beyond? On Season 6, Episode 7 of the ELB podcast, a roundtable with Alice Marwick, Kate Starbird, and Joshua Tucker.

Do documentary proof of citizenship laws stop a lot of illegal voting or suppress the votes of eligible voters? How have such laws been implemented in the state of Arizona and elsewhere? What are the prospects for passage of the SAVE Act, which would bring such laws to the nation as a whole? On season 6, Episode 6 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, The Cato Institute's Walter Olson, and Nina Perales of MALDEF.

What will the new Trump Administration and the new Congress do when it comes to voting rights and fair elections? What challenges face state and local election officials going forward? Will the courts stand up for voting rights and fair elections in the years to come? On Season 6, Episode 5 of the ELB podcast, we feature a discussion with Amy Gardner, Pam Karlan, and Stephen Richer.

How did social media's treatment of election content change in the 2024 elections? What do Meta's new announcements mean for politics and society going forward? How might AI change everything? On Season 6, Episode 4 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with social media and politics expert Katie Harbath.

What are the risks to a peaceful transition of power once all the votes have been cast? What can we learn from history and from other democracies about our moment of democratic peril? How worried should we be about the risks of political violence? On Season 6, Episode 3 of the ELB Podcast we speak with Republican election lawyer Ben Ginsberg, the Hoover Institution's Larry Diamond, the Carnegie Endowment's Rachel Kleinfeld, and USC law dean Franita Tolson.

Why do we have the Electoral College and is its use justified today? Why do Democrats and Republicans think differently about the Electoral College? Does the Electoral College make it harder or easier to subvert American elections? On Season 6, Episode 2 of the ELB Podcast we speak with Joey Fishkin of UCLA Law, Amanda Hollis-Brusky of Pomona College, and Derek Muller of Notre Dame Law School.

How prepared are we for a peaceful transition of power in 2024 in light of what we witnessed in the 2020 elections? What hurdles stand before minority voters in the upcoming elections? How has the social media and information environment affecting elections shifted since 2020? On today's episode of the ELB Podcast we speak with Leah Aden, of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, John Fortier, of the American Enterprise Institute, and Yoel Roth of The Match Group.

What's the difference between how Americans communicated about politics and policies 20 or 30 years ago and how we do it today? What are the most effective ways to combat disinformation in elections and otherwise? Are the platforms and the rest of us ready for election-related threats in 2024? On the season finale of Season 5 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Renee DiResta, author of the new book, Invisible Rulers.

How should we understand the Supreme Court's questions in the Trump immunity case? Will the Court let Donald Trump go to trial for 2020 election interference based just on his acts as a candidate and not as President? Are the legal theories advanced in Donald Trump's hush money case in New York legally sound? On Season 5, Episode 7 of the ELB Podcast, a conversation about the latest Trump cases between Rick Pildes and Rick Hasen

Why doesn't the U.S. Constitution contain an affirmative right to vote? Can constitutional reform promote political equality, defuse the voting wars, and thwart election subversion? How can we get a constitutional right to vote, if we can't even get normal voting rights legislation passed in Congress? On Season 5, Episode 6 of the ELB Podcast, I am in conversation with Erwin Chemerinsky about my new book, “A Real Right to Vote.”

What are the costs for democracy when the Supreme Court decides cases on the “shadow docket?” Is the Purcell Principle a license for states to act illegally in running elections? What is going to happen with the Trump disqualification case at the Supreme Court? On Season 5, Episode 5 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Steve Vladeck, author of the book, The Shadow Docket.

Has the United States done enough to minimize the risk of election subversion in 2024? How might problems in Congress affect a fair tallying of electoral college votes on January 6, 2025? How much danger of authoritarian rule does the U.S. face going forward? On Season 5, Episode 4 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Ian Bassin and Jess Marsden of Protect Democracy.

Do gag orders against presidential candidate Donald Trump in his civil or criminal trials violate the First Amendment? What should we make of Trump's claims that his actions to overturn the results of the 2020 elections are protected free speech? How should we assess the dangers of government “jawboning” of social media platforms to remove objectionable conduct? On Season 5, Episode 3 of the ELB Podcast, we delve into these issues with First Amendment experts Genevieve Lakier and Eugene Volokh.

Is the Roberts Court shifting on its protection of voting rights? How has the addition of three Trump-appointed Justices changed the nature of the Supreme Court? Should we expect a new ethics code for Supreme Court Justices? On Season 5, Episode 2 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Joan Biskupic, CNN's senior supreme court analyst and author of the new book, Nine Black Robes.

Will the multiple indictments and expected trials of former President Donald Trump lead to violence or unrest? Are the risks of political violence in the U.S. increasing or decreasing? What can the United States learn from other countries that reversed democratic backsliding? On Season 5, Episode 1 of the ELB podcast, we have a roundtable with Ben Ginsberg, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, and Rachel Kleinfeld.

What are the implications of the Supreme Court's decision in Moore v. Harper for American democracy? What will the case mean for 2024 election challenges? Does the decision shut down attempts to submit slates of fake electors and subvert presidential elections? On the Season 4 finale of the ELB podcast, a voting rights roundtable with Derek Muller, Carolyn Shapiro, Bertrall Ross, and Rick Pildes.

Why did two conservative justices on the Supreme Court join the Court's liberals to save section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in Allen v. Milligan? Will voting rights plaintiffs see more success in Section 2 cases in other states including Louisiana, Georgia, and Texas? What are the political implications of the Court siding with minority plaintiffs in Milligan? On Season 4, Episode 9 of the ELB Podcast, we have a voting rights roundtable with Professors Guy Charles, Ellen Katz, and Rick Pildes.

To what extent have abortion politics been the driver of campaign finance fights in the courts? How much of a force has anti-abortion lawyer Jim Bopp been in the campaign finance cases? Are new efforts to make it harder to pass abortion initiatives going to change voters' access to direct democracy? On Season 4, Episode 8 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with law professor and historian Mary Ziegler, author of the new book, Dollars for Life: The Anti-Abortion Movement and the Fall of the Republican Establishment.

How do Republican voters think about Donald Trump's false claims of a stolen 2020 election? What are voters' attitudes towards authoritarianism and the rule of law? How will election denialism play out in the 2024 Republican presidential primary? On Season 4, Episode 7 of the ELB podcast, we speak with GOP pollster and publisher of The Bulwark, Sarah Longwell.

Does our decentralized system of government create conditions to strengthen or weaken democratic institutions? Why have red and blue states adopted different sets of election rules, with some Republican states adopting restrictive registration and voting laws? Would more a more national election process in the United States protect against the risk of election subversion? On Season 4, Episode 6 of the ELB Podcast we speak with University of Washington Professor Jake Grumbach, author of the book “Laboratories Against Democracy.”

Can an attempt an election subversion in the 1940s teach us how to handle current threats to American democracy? Do failed attempts to hold Nazi sympathizers in the American government accountable through criminal litigation show the limits of the law in protecting democracy? What role can and should journalists play in safeguarding free and fair elections today? On Season 4, Episode 5 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with journalist Rachel Maddow, producer and narrator of the new podcast series, “Ultra.”

Did the 2022 U.S. midterm elections demonstrate that we have moved beyond risks to American democracy? What explains continued, persistent divisions across the American public along party lines? Does there remain a potential for violence associated with future U.S. elections? On Season 4, Episode 4 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with Lynn Vavreck and Chris Tausanovitch of UCLA's political science department.

Does former president Donald Trump know—and does he care—that the statements he has made undermining the integrity of the 2020 electionrun the risk of undermining the core of American democracy? Is election denialism bigger than Trump's hold over the GOP? What should the Republicans, Democrats, the Press, and others do to counter concerns about threats to free elections in the United States? On Season 4 episode 3 of the ELB Podcast, we speak with New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, author of the new book, Confidence Man.

What is the “independent state legislature theory,” and does a potential Supreme Court embrace threaten American democracy? Will use of the doctrine raise the risk of election subversion or stolen elections? How far could the theory go in insulating legislative voting rules from state constitutional review? On Season 4, Episode 2 of the ELB Podcast, we hear a recent conversation that I moderated with Vik Amar, Derek Muller, Rick Pildes, Carolyn Shapiro, and Franita Tolson.

Will Congress pass bipartisan legislation to fix the Electoral Count Act, that Donald Trump tried to exploit in 2020? Is the new Electoral Count Reform Act the right way to go to stop election subversion? Are there ways of improving the act before Congress may pass it as soon as this fall? On Season 4, Episode 1 of the ELB Podcast, we hear a recent conversation that I moderated with Norm Eisen, Ned Foley, Rebecca Green, J. Michael Luttig and Janai Nelson.

Why has it gotten harder rather than easier to vote in the United States over the past decade? What can be done about the risk of stolen elections in the United States? How have the Supreme Court's decisions on redistricting, voting rights, and gerrymandering affected the quality of American democracy? On season 3, Episode 8 of the ELB podcast, we speak with Wendy Weiser, Vice President for the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School. [This is the final episode of Season 3 of the podcast.]

How did Wisconsin go from the gold standard for election administration in the United States to its laughing stock? What does the partisan investigation into the 2020 election say about how to once again achieve bipartisan cooperation in running elections? What is the future of free and fair elections in Wisconsin and beyond? On season 3, Episode 7 of the ELB podcast, we speak with longtime Wisconsin election administrator and attorney Michael Haas.

ELB Podcast Episode 3:6: Deuel Ross: Everything You Wanted to Know About the Alabama Voting Rights Redistricting Case But Were Too Confused to Ask Why did the Supreme Court put on hold a federal district court order requiring the state of Alabama to draw another Black majority congressional district? What does the stay order in Merrill v. Milligan mean for the future of the Voting Rights Act? Are minority voting rights under threat by new arguments to weaken the Voting Rights Act? On season 3, Episode 6 of the ELB podcast, we speak with NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund's Senior Counsel and Director of Development, Deuel Ross.

ELB Podcast Episode 3:5: Bart Gellman, Jessica Huseman, and Margaret Sullivan: What Can (and Should) Journalists Do to Prevent Election Subversion and Another January 6? How can journalists best report on stories about the risks to election integrity in the United States? Should journalists be taking sides between the forces of those supporting and opposing free and fair elections in the United States? How should one tell local stories of election problems with national implications? On season 3, Episode 5 of the ELB podcast, we speak with The Atlantic's Bart Gellman, Votebeat's Jessica Huseman, and the Washington Post's Margaret Sullivan. (This episode is a recording of a January 21, 2022 panel held by the Fair Elections and Free Speech Center at UCI Law).

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.

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.

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 subversion convened by the Fair Elections and Free Speech Center at UCI Law.)

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.

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.

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 counsel.

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, Director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, who supervises the ACLU’s voting rights litigation and advocacy work nationwide.

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.

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.

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.

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-established Presidential Commission on Election Administration.

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.

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.

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.

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 Politics of Extremism.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 of the country’s leading redistricting and election law experts.