Democracy Optimist

How America Nominates Its Presidential Candidates

Our guest is Elaine Kamarck, a Senior Fellow in Governance Studies, and Director of the Center for Effective Public Management at the Brookings Institution. Dr. Kamarck is the author of “Primary Politics: Everything You Need to Know about How America Nominates Its Presidential Candidates” and “Why Presidents Fail And How They Can Succeed Again.”

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On Democracy Optimist, Joshua Douglas speaks to Jamie Long, the majority leader of the House of Representatives in Minnesota and an expert on the mechanics of elections.

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On Democracy Optimist, Joshua Douglas speaks to Jeff Clements, head of American Promise, a grassroots advocacy group promoting a constitutional amendment that would, quote, “tackle the out-of-control money in our campaigns and elections” and overturn the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United.

** WEKU is working hard to be a leading source for public service, and fact-based journalism. Monthly supporters are the top funding source for this growing nonprofit news organization. Please join others in your community who support WEKU by making your donation.

Our guest is decorated Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Al Cross, one of the most significant reporters in Kentucky, particularly in the area of politics as well as lifting up the voices of rural communities.

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“What’s On the Ballot,” a cheat sheet of elections everywhere. is the brainchild of Daniel Nichanian, a reporter and the founder of Bolts Magazine. Bolts covers the “nuts and bolts of power and political change” with a bottom-up approach, focusing primarily on state and local issues that shape public policy but are largely overlooked by the national media.

** WEKU is working hard to be a leading source for public service, and fact-based journalism. Monthly supporters are the top funding source for this growing nonprofit news organization. Please join others in your community who support WEKU by making your donation.

39 states elect at least some of their judges. The amount of money raised and spent in judicial campaigns has soared. Joining us to discuss the implications are Joanna Shepherd and Michael Kang, authors of “Free to Judge: The Power of Campaign Money in Judicial Elections.” Kang is a law professor at Northwestern University and Shepherd is a professor of law at Emory University.

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Most people agree that the Kentucky Republicans drew a severely gerrymandered map in this past redistricting cycle, helping to turn their legislative majority into a supermajority. Democrats challenged the state House and congressional maps, and the case went all the way to the Kentucky Supreme Court, where the court upheld the maps as drawn. But Justice Michelle Keller dissented from part of that ruling. Justice Keller joins us to discuss the case.

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County clerks are at the frontlines of our elections. They are the people who decide where the polling places are located, which voting machines to use, and how to ensure there are enough poll workers. Two Kentucky county clerks join us to explain how elections operate. Susan Lamb is the county clerk of Fayette County, which includes Lexington, the state’s second-largest city. Kenny Barger is the county clerk in Madison County, which encompasses Richmond, Ky.

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David Becker, Executive Director and Founder of the nonpartisan, non-profit Center for Election Innovation and Research is our guest. You’ve heard about Zuckerbucks, right? Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Pricilla Chan donated almost $400 million to local election officials to help run the 2020 election during the pandemic. Critics claim the funds were used in only liberal-leaning places. Is that true? Josh takes up that issue and more with David Becker.

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Voter turnout in America is usually quite low: about 66 percent of the electorate cast ballots in 2020, which was considered high, but one-third of registered voters didn’t vote. Could we adopt compulsory voting, like they have in Australia, Belgium, and several places in South America and Latin America? Our guest: EJ Dionne, Washington Post columnist, Brookings Institution senior fellow in governance studies, and co-author with Miles Rapaport of 100% Democracy, The Case for Universal Voting.

** WEKU is working hard to be a leading source for public service, and fact-based journalism. Monthly supporters are the top funding source for this growing nonprofit news organization. Please join others in your community who support WEKU by making your donation.