Joining us today are The Honorable Jocelyn Benson from the Great State of Michigan, and The Honorable David Scanlan from the Great State of New Hampshire.  

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In today’s episode, we’re diving into a vital discussion with three experts on the frontlines of safeguarding our elections: 

Jennifer Morrell, U.S. Air Force veteran and CEO of The Elections Group. Jennifer is a nationally recognized authority on election audits, a subject matter expert for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and a member of the National Task Force on Election Crises. 

Tina Barton, also of The Elections Group. With 32 years of civil service experience from local to federal levels, Tina has spent the last 16 years focusing on election administration and security. She’s served as the city clerk of Rochester Hills, Michigan, and as Senior Advisor at the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. 

Justin Smith, retired sheriff of Larimer County, Colorado. With 35 years of law enforcement experience, Justin now advises The Elections Group on law enforcement concerns related to elections. Tune in as we explore their unique perspectives on the challenges and solutions in ensuring safe and secure elections. 

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In 2022, America faced a significant challenge: we didn’t have enough election poll workers. Each election, around 1.2 million volunteers are needed to set up polling places, verify IDs, issue ballots, tally votes, and report the results.

In this episode, we dive into how a dedicated team of American patriots—both veterans and civilians—stepped up and filled more than half of that need in 2022. We’ll also share how we’re gearing up to launch Vet The Vote 2024 at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada, during the week of February 5, 2024. This year, our mission is to recruit 100,000 election poll workers. Are you ready to join us and serve our nation as a poll worker this year?

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In this episode, Ellen and Joe chat with long-time NY Times Pentagon reporter Thom Shanker and Army veteran, author, and investigative journalist Kelly S. Kennedy about the role of a free and vigorous press in our democracy.  

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In this episode we hear from retired Navy Admiral Steve Abbot who served as the deputy homeland security advisor to the President of the United States. You'll also hear from retired Marine Corps Colonel David Lapan who served as the press secretary and deputy assistant secretary for media relations during the last administration. They both join Ellen Gustafson and Jeremy Butler (USN) to dispel myths and highlight the accomplishments of the DHS over the last two decades. 

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In this episode, former Secretary of the Army, the Honorable Louis Caldera and former Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Sean O'Keefe join Joe Plenzler (USMC), Ellen Gustafson, and Jeremy Butler (USN) for a discussion on how increasing public understanding of civics helps strengthen our democracy and mitigate political polarization. 

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 In this episode, veterans Scott Cooper (U.S. Marine Corps) and Dan Vallone (U.S. Army) join Ellen, Jeremy, and Joe for a robust discussion on what our responsibilities are as veterans and how we can best continue to serve America and strengthen our democracy. Scott Cooper is a former Marine Corps EA-6B Naval Flight Officer and former founder of Veterans for American Ideals. Dan Vallone is a former Army infantry officer and current director of More In Common, USA - whose mission is to build a more united and inclusive America that is resilient to profound threats posed by our country’s polarization.   

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Hello, and welcome to Vet our Democracy - a podcast created and produced by We the Veterans and Military Families. We are a non-profit, non-partisan, pro-democracy and stridently patriotic organization created by veterans and their family members to promote positive, patriotic civic engagement, counter propaganda targeting the military and veteran community, and help veterans live their best lives as leaders in their communities following military service. 

In this series, we explore what it means to be a citizen, what veterans and their families can do to defend our Constitution following military service, and provide ways veterans can get involved in helping create a more perfect union. We're all in this democracy thing together, so it's important for every American to know their rights, their responsibilities as citizens, and how their government is supposed to work so we can engage productively to help bring about the best version of America. 

Oftentimes, members of the veteran community get more credit for knowledge of the Constitution than we deserve. Too many raise their right hands and swear an oath without even having read the Constitution! In this episode, founders Ellen Gustafson, Ben Keiser (USMC), and board members Jeremy Butler (USN) and Joe Plenzler (USMC) test their knowledge against the test questions on the U.S. Government's test for citizenship.

Have a listen and see if you can beat them with your knowledge of the United States in this fun and humorous episode.

For more, check us out at www.WeTheVeterans.us and on social media.

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For more, check us out at www.wetheveterans.us and at https://linktr.ee/vettedconversations