The Electorette

Connecticut is taking a different approach.

While many states have moved to restrict access to the ballot, Connecticut expanded voting access by passing its own John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act and implementing no-excuse absentee voting. At the same time, state leaders have found themselves responding to federal immigration enforcement, protecting access to schools and public services, and addressing rising costs for residents.

In this episode of The Margin, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont joins Jen Taylor-Skinner to discuss the state's efforts to strengthen voting rights, resist federal voter-roll requests, protect immigrant communities, and increase civic participation.

They also discuss Connecticut's high electricity costs, the regulation of utility companies like Eversource, and what states can realistically do to make life more affordable for residents.

As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, Lamont argues that states have an important role to play in protecting democratic participation and ensuring that residents feel invested in their communities.

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Homelessness is one of the most important issues in Los Angeles—and one of the most politically challenging.

Phoenix Tso of L.A. Public Press joins Jen Taylor-Skinner to unpack the debate over encampment sweeps, CARE Plus operations, Mayor Karen Bass's homelessness strategy, and the growing pressure on elected officials to balance public frustration with long-term solutions.

They discuss why progressive politicians often evolve on homelessness policy once in office, the controversy surrounding Measure ULA, and how housing has become a political lightning rod that is reshaping voter behavior across the city.

What happens when campaign promises collide with governing realities? This conversation explores one of the central questions facing Los Angeles today.

Follow Phoenix Tso's reporting on the L.A. Housing Crisis here.

LA organizers ‘sweep’ Council member Hugo Soto-Martínez’s home in protest of 41.18

Follow @electorette on YouTube and Instagram, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts for more political midterm coverage, election analysis, and nuanced discussions that go beyond the headlines.

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The Human Rights Campaign president on LGBTQ voters, anti-trans politics, authoritarianism, and why “hope is a discipline.”

In this episode of The Margin — a midterm election coverage collaboration between The Electorette and URL Media — Jen Taylor-Skinner speaks with Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson about the state of American democracy, rising attacks on LGBTQ Americans, and the political stakes heading into the 2026 midterms.

Robinson discusses new polling showing historically high LGBTQ voter engagement, why anti-trans attacks are becoming central to Republican strategy, and what candidates need to understand about the communities powering Democratic victories. The conversation also explores Black women’s political influence, voter mobilization, authoritarianism, and why Robinson believes joy itself can be a form of resistance.

“Hope is a discipline,” Robinson says. “Our joy is resistance, too.”

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What happens if your mail ballot is picked up by USPS… but never actually delivered?

In this episode of The Margin — a midterm election coverage collaboration between The Electorette and URL Media — Jen Taylor-Skinner speaks with ACLU attorney Theresa J. Lee about the Trump administration’s executive order targeting mail-in voting and the ACLU’s legal challenge against it.

Lee explains how the executive order could direct federal agencies to create citizenship verification lists using flawed federal databases, potentially impacting mail-in and absentee voting for eligible citizens across the country.

The conversation explores:
• the SAVE system vs. the SAVE Act
• the constitutional questions surrounding the executive order
• Section 11 of the Voting Rights Act
• polling place closures and voter suppression
• risks for disabled voters, military families, and overseas voters
• and whether the courts are likely to block the order before the 2026 midterms

Subscribe to The Electorette for smart, nuanced coverage of democracy, voting rights, and the 2026 elections.

#VotingRights #ACLU #MailInVoting #Midterms2026 #Election2026 #Democracy #TheElectorette #TheMargin

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Nikki Fried on organizing, voter suppression, and rebuilding Democratic infrastructure.

Florida has become shorthand for Republican dominance — but Nikki Fried says the national media narrative is missing what’s happening on the ground.

In this episode, Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried joins Jen Taylor-Skinner to discuss Florida’s newly drawn congressional maps following the Supreme Court’s decision weakening Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the legal battle over partisan gerrymandering, and why Fried believes Republicans may have unintentionally created more competitive districts.

They also discuss the disconnect between online political discourse and real-world organizing, why Democrats need to invest in long-term infrastructure instead of last-minute campaign spending, and what recent Democratic wins in Florida could signal about the state’s future.

Later in the conversation, Fried discusses Florida’s controversial immigrant detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” the political incentives behind it, and what she describes as a broader culture of privatization, corruption, and democratic erosion under Republican leadership in the state.

Topics include:

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Last week, the Supreme Court issued a decision in Louisiana v. Callais that could fundamentally alter the future of voting rights in the United States.

In this episode of The Electorette, host Jen Taylor-Skinner speaks with Sophia Lin Lakin, Director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, about what the Court’s ruling means in practice. At the center of the decision is Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act—the key provision used for decades to challenge maps that dilute the political power of Black voters and other voters of color.

Together, they examine how the Court reshaped Section 2 without formally overturning it, why the ruling could make it significantly harder to challenge racial vote dilution, and what this means for representation at every level of government. The conversation also explores the immediate consequences already unfolding in states like Louisiana, where elections have been halted and maps are being redrawn mid-cycle, creating confusion for voters and administrators alike.

As Lakin explains, the implications extend far beyond a single case—touching congressional races, state legislatures, and local elections, just months before the midterms.

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Across the world, women are leading—often outside traditional systems of power and often without recognition. At the same time, women’s rights are under pressure, making that leadership even more consequential.

For nearly three decades, Vital Voices has identified and invested in women leaders tackling some of the world’s toughest challenges.

In this episode of The Electorette, Alyse Nelson, President and CEO of Vital Voices, joins host Jen Taylor-Skinner to discuss what women bring to leadership, how those approaches differ, and why many of the solutions we need may already exist—if they’re recognized.

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Amanda Litman on local power, political messaging, and rebuilding the Democratic bench

At a moment when national politics feels stalled and increasingly disconnected from everyday life, something very different is happening at the local level.

In this episode of The Electorette, Jen Taylor-Skinner speaks with Amanda Litman, cofounder of Run for Something, about why Democrats are seeing success in down-ballot races—even as dysfunction persists in Washington. Litman argues that local candidates are able to do something national leaders often struggle with: communicate clearly, connect directly with voters, and deliver tangible results.

The conversation explores the limits of policy without messaging, the importance of candidates who can effectively “sell” their work, and why communication is not secondary to governing—it’s central to it. Litman also outlines Run for Something’s long-term strategy of building a new generation of leaders from the ground up, many of whom are already moving into higher office.

At the heart of the discussion is a larger question about political identity and direction: what replaces the “old normal” that many voters rejected, and what does it take to build something durable in its place?

This is a conversation about power—where it’s shifting, who’s building it, and what it means for the future of the Democratic Party.

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Patricia Martin on identity, algorithms, and the quiet politics of the inner self

In the digital age, life online increasingly involves shaping and presenting versions of the self—across platforms, in real time, and often multiple times a day. Over time, that performance begins to influence how identity is formed and understood.

In this episode, Jen Taylor-Skinner speaks with Patricia Martin, author of Will the Future Like You?, about how the internet is reshaping the relationship between the inner self and the public persona.

Drawing on more than a decade of research, Martin explains how the “persona”—the version of the self presented to others—has become a form of currency in the attention economy. As more energy is directed outward, access to the inner resources that support decision-making, adaptation, and self-definition can become more limited.

The conversation explores the psychological strain of constant performance, the subtle ways platforms influence behavior, and the broader implications for identity and agency in an AI-driven future. At its core, this is a discussion about self-determination—what it requires, what undermines it, and why it remains essential in a rapidly changing world.

📚 Get the book:

Will the Future Like You? Reflections on the Age of Hyper-Reinvention

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Why women candidates are winning—and changing what “electable” means

For years, politics has been shaped by assumptions about who is “electable”—assumptions that often sideline women candidates. But those assumptions are starting to fail.

In this episode, Jen Taylor-Skinner speaks with Jessica Mackler, President of EMILYs List⁠, about what that shift looks like in real time, starting with Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton’s recent primary win.

Despite being outspent and underestimated, Stratton’s victory reflects a broader pattern: women candidates, including women of color, are winning competitive races—and doing so without the traditional advantages long seen as necessary.

They discuss how the idea of electability shapes funding, media coverage, and political strategy—and what happens when candidates succeed without fitting that mold.

This conversation examines how power is built, who gets backed, and how those dynamics are beginning to change.

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