Your Vote Matters

It's been quite the year - thanks for seeing it to the end with us! For our last episode of 2020, we sit down with CEEP's own Georgia State Director, Daniel Coley. Daniel gives insight on the attitudes of GA voters towards such a historic runoff, the impact young voters will have on the election, and shares his own story as a young voter of color who grew up in Georgia.

After the break, Dan, Jane, and Ellie take a small walk through memory lane to highlight the amazing conversations we've had this year alongside moments written in history.

We're proud to be a show that tackles important conversations in order to expand access to political involvement for all young listeners. If you're curious about why your vote matters, this show is for you.

Thanks for listening y'all! See you in 2021.

Election 2020 is finally being wrapped up. So... what now?

Dan, Jane, and Ellie take a look at how to stay engaged in 2021 through joining a community with like minded folks, and building community through holding dialogue with those who have different views.

Check out livingroomconversations.org for more.

We also sat down with Dr. Seth Masket, a professor of political science and researcher at the University of Denver who specializes in political parties.

Your Vote Matters is a nonpartisan podcast who does not endorse party ideology or candidates, but we 100% think it's important for young people to know more about what political parties are, why we have them, and how they function.

Seth takes us through it all - the basics, the nitty gritty, and opportunities for young people to get involved if they want to.

Think of some of the biggest events you held every year - the Super Bowl, Coachella, New York Marathon. Event organizers spend the entire year making sure every detail is perfect. That's the life of Directors of Elections - the people who make sure the process of voting is secure and runs smoothly.

Elections are a major operation - and we're not talking about the candidates. Maintaining proper voter lists, setting up polling precincts, and ensuring safe and secure voting are just at the surface of a massive operation to run the logistics and moving parts of elections.

Running safe, smooth, and accurate elections is a big job, and it takes a village. We sat down with Colorado Director of Elections Judd Choate to learn more about the ins and outs of his work. We also gained some insight on election integrity and what it means for election officials.

Finally, we reflected on how COVID-19 forced many states to completely overhaul how their elections are run within six months, and how this will effect election structure in future years.

After the break, Dan, Jane, and Ellie reflect on a momentous election season. Youth have spoken, and they've chosen to be voters.

Just two days after Election Day 2020, Jane and Ellie sat down with two talented and very accomplished CEEP Fellows to gain insight from their election season experiences.

Reed Barkowitz, a junior at Stetson University from FL, and Julian Woods, a sophomore at North Carolina A&T State University are just bursting with energy and pride.

Catch their stories, on the ground insight, and hopes for the future of student voter engagement.

After the break, Reed joins us again to discuss compassion fatigue - what it is, why student organizers are more likely to experience it, and how to build resilience.

With only 8 days until the culmination of a monumental general election season, Jane and Ellie record one last pre-election episode! It's fun one >>>

Joining us the first half of our episode is Julia Azari, political scientist and professor at Marquette University. After plenty of episodes dedicated to state and local politics (don't worry, there's more!) Julia joins us for some timely insight on the 2020 Presidential Election.

We talk through a presidential mandate - what it is, why presidents have begun to use them, and if they allow presidents to have more social influence over the public.

We also discuss how increased voter turnout can affect a presidential election in ways we might not expect.

After the break, Jane and Ellie are joined by Mark Sanders and Sabrina Medler from the Faculty Network for Student Voting Rights. Mark, a Steering Committee member, and Sabrina, a recent college graduate, both share valuable insight on the formation of the network, its mission, and trajectory into 2020 and beyond.

As a network, each professor aims to normalize providing voter education in college classrooms. Music to our ears.

You can find them at facultyforvotingrights.org

Welcome to Your Vote Matters Episode 20! Dan, Jane, and Ellie host a joint interview with 2 exciting guests.

Coach Eric Reveno is the Assistant Coach for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Georgia Tech University. This summer, he led the initiative #AllVoteNoPlay lobbying the NCAA to make Election Day a mandatory day off for student athletes.

Erin Geiger Smith is a journalist and the author of Thank You For Voting!

Her book captures the narrative of youth voter participation and barriers to voting, and how to properly engage the next generation.

Mentioned in This Episode:

- Thank You For Voting! by Erin Geiger Smith. Printed for adults and children! Available in regular bookstores in shops and online.

- RSVP to FL Roundtable: https://tinyurl.com/y3ym5me5

Hello and welcome to Your Vote Matters! This episode, Dan, Jane, and Ellie took a chance to recap a recent Michigan Roundtable moderated by Jane! The Roundtable featured six CEEP Student Fellows, who spoke to why and how college students are voting in 2020.

Their lived experiences and poignant insight gave the three of us so much to think about and emulate in our own work.

After the break, we took on one of the most contentious topics of Fall 2020: filling an open Supreme Court Seat. Dan narrowed in on how exactly a seat is filled, and what that means for voters in November.

This lead to a discussion about unprecedented power dynamics, future legal implications, and how to navigate it all. You won't want to miss it.

#VoteSafe! This Fall, we're excited to have Jane joining us on the show! Welcome Jane. This episode Jane, Ellie, and Dan welcome Ryan Pierannunzi from Power The Polls, an organization dedicated to recruiting over 250,000 young poll workers this election.

We dive into the essential nature of poll workers, the implications of a generational shift in who serves as a poll worker, and why you should go sign up to be one! Yes you! powerthepolls.org

After the break, we dive into the Political Ladder, an unofficial term used to describe the path local politicians take toward higher office. Some begin with school board and move to city council, state legislature, and eventually U.S. Congress. Voter turnout in local elections are historically low, meaning not only are so few choosing their local representation, but so few are opening the gates for many to enter a career in politics. The three of us get into it from all angles.

Remember to check out powerthepolls.org and our new series on Medium.com!

Nothing like digging into a laundry list of challenges and solving them in live time! Dan and Ellie *attempt* that on this week's episode of Your Vote Matters.

First, we had the opportunity to chat with Tim Hughes, a candidate for the Nevada State Board of Education. Tim demystified a few questions about the roles of school boards and state boards of education, and expanded on how all constituents play a role in engaging with them. Spoiler: College students should engage! Listen in for his perspective on why.

After the break, Dan and Ellie take their sweet time analyzing challenges to voting in November, both old and new. Unfamiliar vote by mail processes, poll tax, lack of poll workers, the list goes ON. By acknowledging these challenges upfront, voters can be more prepared to work around them. Dan introduces the 4 R's to Voting By Mail or Dropbox: Request, Receive, Read, Return. Simple as that.

Of course, we tackle the elephant in the room: is all this extra effort needed to vote this year worth it? In a word, absolutely.

CEEP is proud to be one of hundreds of organizations working to make voting as accessible as possible this Fall.

Resources mentioned this episode:

mailvote.org

USPS.com

Sign Up to Be a Poll Worker: powertothepolls.org

Your Vote Matters. Make sure your friends and family know their votes matter too!

Yum! This episode, Evan Weissman, Founder and Executive Director of Warm Cookies of the Revolution joins us to discuss his mission and success as the first Civic Health Club.

Sometimes it helps not to take yourself too seriously when it comes to civics - who knew?

After the break, T'alyce, Ellie, and Dan take a look at Disability Pride Month, rooted in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in July 1990. We discuss the history, meaning, and future of Disability Pride. We also explore some digital accessibility tools that we can all weave into our organizing.

Resources Mentioned This Episode:

color.adobe.com

WAVE Tool

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