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On this episode: Ballotpedia’s Lara Bonatesta from our events team and Victoria Rose from our ballot measures team join Host Norm Leahy to cover what’s further down the ballot this November. They break down the trends behind this year’s 164 statewide ballot measures, from voter ID and the initiative process to California’s proposed ‘billionaires tax,’ why so many seats are open this year, the secretary of state and attorney general races that help shape how elections are run, how data centers have become an issue at every level of the ballot, and the races and measures they’ll be watching on election night. On the Ballot’s Midterm Mania is here to help you know your ballot up and down before you vote on November 3rd. Tune in for conversations with election analysts, journalists, and Ballotpedia’s brightest on policy, the people, and everything in between. Subscribe to stay ahead of the headlines! Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Show Intro & Meet Lara Bonatesta and Victoria Rose 06:00 - Open Seats, Redistricting, and Record Retirements 14:05 - Secretaries of State, AGs, and Other Down-Ballot Races 19:30 - Data Centers Up and Down the Ballot 26:08 - The Races and Measures to Watch on Election Night 32:39 - First Returns: Florida, Virginia, and the LA Mayor’s Race Show Notes: Lara Bonatesta is a staff writer on Ballotpedia’s events team, where she covers congressional, state executive, and mayoral elections. Victoria Rose is the lead writer on Ballotpedia’s ballot measures team, where she covers statewide ballot measure trends. Explore all of 2026’s statewide ballot measures: https://ballotpedia.org/2026_ballot_measures Read Ballotpedia’s State Executive Competitiveness Report: https://ballotpedia.org/Annual_State_Executive_Competitiveness_Report,_2026 See everything on your ballot with Ballotpedia’s Sample Ballot Lookup: https://ballotpedia.org/Sample_Ballot_Lookup Find registration deadlines, early voting dates, and more in Ballotpedia’s 2026 Voter Toolkit: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia%27s_Voter_Toolkit  More from Ballotpedia:   Sign up for Civic Blueprints, a substack by Ballotpedia Founder and CEO Leslie Graves: ⁠https://civicblueprints.substack.com/  Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode: Ballotpedia Managing Editor Doug Kronaizl joins Host Norm Leahy to go behind the scenes of Ballotpedia’s local election coverage, which spans about 55,000 elections and 116,000 candidates in 2026, a record for Ballotpedia. They discuss how the team tracks down candidate lists county by county, why some elections are run by law firms or neighbors with a landline, the unusual offices they’ve found along the way, from landowner elections to votes counted in dollars, and the plan to cover every elected office in all 50 states by 2028. On the Ballot’s Midterm Mania is here to help you know your ballot up and down before you vote on November 3rd. Tune in for conversations with election analysts, journalists, and Ballotpedia’s brightest on policy, the people, and everything in between. Subscribe to stay ahead of the headlines!  Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Show Intro & Meet Doug Kronaizl 04:22 - Single-Source vs. Multi-Source States 09:34 - Calling Law Firms and Landlines 12:04 - Landowner Elections and Votes Counted in Dollars 17:28 - Endorsements and Getting to Know Local Candidates 23:08 - The Road to All 50 States Show Notes: Doug Kronaizl is a managing editor at Ballotpedia, where he leads the team gathering information on tens of thousands of local candidates every election cycle. Look up every contest on your ballot with Ballotpedia’s Sample Ballot Lookup: https://ballotpedia.org/Sample_Ballot_Lookup Learn more about Ballotpedia’s 2026 local election coverage: https://ballotpedia.org/Local_election_coverage,_2026  More from Ballotpedia:   Sign up for Civic Blueprints, a substack by Ballotpedia Founder and CEO Leslie Graves: ⁠https://civicblueprints.substack.com/  Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode: Exploring the part of the ballot where many voters run out of information: the school boards, judges, county offices and special districts that make up more than 500,000 elected offices nationwide. They discuss why so many voters leave the booth unsure about their down-ballot choices, Ballotpedia’s plan to cover every contest on every ballot by 2028, how candidate surveys and local endorsing groups help fill the gaps, and preparing to enter the busiest stretch of the year.  On the Ballot’s Midterm Mania is here to help you know your ballot up and down before you vote on November 3rd. Tune in for conversations with election analysts, journalists, and Ballotpedia’s brightest on policy, the people, and everything in between. Subscribe to stay ahead of the headlines! Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Show Intro & Meet Leslie Graves 01:18 - Here There Be Dragons: The Offices Voters Don’t Know 05:02 - Ballotpedia’s Plan to Cover Every Contest 10:00 - Candidate Surveys and Local Endorsements 13:28 - Why Local Information Is So Hard to Find 17:08 - Volunteers, AI, and the “Big Six Weeks” More from Ballotpedia:   Sign up for Civic Blueprints, a substack by Ballotpedia Founder and CEO Leslie Graves Sign up for our Newsletters Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode: Jessica Taylor, Senate and Governors Editor at The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, joins Host Norm Leahy to break down the Senate map less than three weeks before Election Day. They discuss how Cook rates races, why states like Kansas, Nebraska and South Carolina are suddenly on the radar, each party’s path to a Senate majority, the governors’ races to watch, how money and issues like affordability and data centers are shaping the final stretch, and the early results she’ll be watching on election night. On the Ballot’s Midterm Mania is here to help you know your ballot up and down before you vote on November 3rd. Tune in for conversations with election analysts, journalists, and Ballotpedia’s brightest on policy, the people, and everything in between. Subscribe to stay ahead of the headlines! Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Show Intro & Meet Jessica Taylor 03:42 - The Senate Races on the Move 07:27 - Each Party’s Path to a Senate Majority 09:41 - The Governors’ Races to Watch 14:11 - Money, Ad Rates, and the Issues Moving Voters 18:01 - Upset Specials and Election Night Bellwethers Show Notes: Jessica Taylor is the Senate and Governors Editor at The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter. Before joining Cook, she spent five years as a political reporter at NPR and was a senior analyst at The Rothenberg Political Report (now Inside Elections).  Read Jessica’s latest analysis and race ratings: https://www.cookpolitical.com/about/staff/jessica-taylor/analysis More from Ballotpedia:   Sign up for Civic Blueprints, a substack by Ballotpedia Founder and CEO Leslie Graves: ⁠https://civicblueprints.substack.com/  Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode: Jayme Lozano, who covers the South Plains and Panhandle for The Texas Tribune, joins Host Norm Leahy to talk about what’s on Texas voters’ minds heading into November, from affordability and property taxes to the data center boom reaching rural communities. They also discuss why the open race for agriculture commissioner matters more than many voters realize, how rural Texans could shape the governor’s and U.S. Senate races, the challenges facing the state’s ranchers, and the under-the-radar races she’ll be watching on election night. On the Ballot’s Midterm Mania is here to help you know your ballot up and down before you vote on November 3rd. Tune in for conversations with election analysts, journalists, and Ballotpedia’s brightest on policy, the people, and everything in between. Subscribe to stay ahead of the headlines!  Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Show Intro & Meet Jayme Lozano 02:18 - Data Centers Up and Down the Ballot 05:24 - Why the Agriculture Commissioner Race Matters 07:28 - The Governor and Senate Races and the Rural Vote 10:11 - Energy Prices, Beef, and Life for Texas Ranchers 14:16 - The 2027 Legislature and Races to Watch Show Notes: Jayme Lozano Carver is The Texas Tribune’s first Lubbock-based reporter, covering the South Plains and Panhandle through a partnership with Report for America. texastribune Follow Jayme’s reporting: https://www.texastribune.org/author/jayme-lozano-carver/ Check out The Texas Tribune’s 2026 voter guides: https://www.texastribune.org/2026-vote/ More from Ballotpedia:   Sign up for Civic Blueprints, a substack by Ballotpedia Founder and CEO Leslie Graves: ⁠https://civicblueprints.substack.com/  Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode: How gas prices, populist sentiments, and presidential approval are shaping the midterms, competitive Senate contests in Texas, Ohio, Iowa, and Kansas, and how much redistricting matters for the House. Kyle also shares the Virginia and Kentucky races worth watching early on election night. On the Ballot’s Midterm Mania is here to help you know your ballot up and down before you vote on November 3rd. Tune in for conversations with election analysts, journalists, and Ballotpedia’s brightest on policy, the people, and everything in between. Subscribe and stay ahead of the headlines!  Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Show Intro & Meet Kyle Kondik 03:07 - Is a Wave Election Coming? 07:24 - Can We Trust the Polls? 12:25 - Redistricting and the House Map 18:08 - Virginia’s Competitive House Races 22:07 - Sleeper Races and Early Election Night Signals Show Notes: Kyle Kondik is managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball, the University of Virginia Center for Politics’ nonpartisan election newsletter, and a member of the CBS News Election Decision Desk team. Follow Kyle’s latest race ratings and analysis at Sabato’s Crystal Ball, and check out his book The Long Red Thread, a history of Republican power in the U.S. House. More from Ballotpedia:   Sign up for Civic Blueprints, a substack by Ballotpedia Founder and CEO Leslie Graves: ⁠https://civicblueprints.substack.com/  Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  Stream On the Ballot on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode: With under four weeks to go until Election Day, Ballotpedia CEO and founder Leslie Graves joins host Norm Leahy for a big-picture look at the 2026 midterms. They dig into "repudiation elections" and why the economy so often decides them. Leslie explains why state legislative races matter far more than most voters realize, how both parties target low-propensity voters, whether polls or prediction markets deserve more trust, and which early results on election night could signal where things are headed. Episode Highlights: 00:00 - Show Intro & Meet Leslie Graves 01:01 - The Economy and Repudiation Elections 04:17 - How 2010 Reshaped State Legislatures and Redistricting 08:46 - Lessons From the 1894 and 1922 Midterms 11:54 - The Fight for Low-Propensity Voters 13:38 - Polls, Prediction Markets, and What to Watch on Election Night More from Ballotpedia:   Read Leslie’s Column: ⁠https://ballotpedia.org/From_the_desk_of_Leslie_Graves⁠  Check out our complete office hours series: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtP8LWIl9mMO2t_0SXnYhwMv6HHgIoL75⁠  Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode: Axios co-founder Mike Allen joins Host Norm Leahy to talk about his new book, Simplify: Do 50% More with 50% Less, and why cutting through complexity matters more than ever in the age of AI. They also discuss data centers as a growing local political issue in Virginia and across the country, the three big shifts reshaping American technology, politics, and media, and why the days after the midterms could prove more eventful than election night itself.  Episode Highlights: (00:00) - Show Intro & Meet Mike Allen (02:49) - Simplify's Three Steps: Confront, Delete, Amplify (11:39) - The Politics of Data Centers (16:38) - What to Watch During the Midterms – and After (20:10) - Our Three ‘Tectonic’ Cultural Shifts (27:37) - The 10-Minute Rule Show Notes: Mike co-founded Axios with Jim VandeHei and Roy Schwartz (who are co-authors of Simplify) and writes its flagship newsletters, Axios AM and Axios PM. Before that, he co-founded Politico, where he created the Playbook newsletter and helped build the company through its first decade. He's also worked at TIME, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and two Virginia papers, the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star. Learn more about and get a copy of Mike, Jim, and Roy's new book Simplify: Do 50% More with 50% Less  Subscribe to Axios' newsletters More from Ballotpedia:   Subscribe to Ballotpedia Founder & CEO Leslie Graves Substack Civic Blueprints Check out our complete Office Hours series Sign up for our Newsletters Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode: A city council member in Independence, Missouri became the first elected official recalled over a data center deal. But the real story isn't just Missouri—it's the 41 other recall efforts underway nationwide. Leslie Graves and Norman Leahy dig into why recalls matter as a civic tool despite small numbers, what the data actually shows versus what headlines claim, and what November could bring as communities head to the polls Read Leslie’s Column: ⁠https://ballotpedia.org/From_the_desk_of_Leslie_Graves⁠  Check out our complete office hours series: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtP8LWIl9mMO2t_0SXnYhwMv6HHgIoL75⁠  Complete a brief 5 minute survey to review the show and share some feedback: https://forms.gle/zPxYSog5civyvEKX6  Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode: AI infrastructure has become a political issue at the local level, with recalls, ballot measures, and state preemption emerging as tools communities use to weigh in on whether or not Data Centers should come to town. As the 2026 midterms approach in November, Leslie Graves, CEO of Ballotpedia, and host Norman Leahy explore why data center decisions fall primarily to city councils and county commissions rather than state or federal officials, what candidate surveys reveal about voter concern, and what to expect as communities head to the polls this fall. Read Leslie’s Column: ⁠https://ballotpedia.org/From_the_desk_of_Leslie_Graves⁠ Check out our complete office hours series: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtP8LWIl9mMO2t_0SXnYhwMv6HHgIoL75⁠ Complete a brief 5 minute survey to review the show and share some feedback: https://forms.gle/zPxYSog5civyvEKX6 Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode: Norman Leahy sits down with Ballotpedia CEO and Founder Leslie Graves to explore how foundational literary works—like Don Quixote and The Seven Brothers—shape national character and culture. They examine why America, despite being born from enlightenment philosophy, has never produced a true, definitive national novel, and what that absence might say about how Americans understand themselves as people.  Read Leslie’s Column: ⁠https://ballotpedia.org/From_the_desk_of_Leslie_Graves⁠  Check out our complete office hours series: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtP8LWIl9mMO2t_0SXnYhwMv6HHgIoL75⁠  Complete a brief 5 minute survey to review the show and share some feedback: https://forms.gle/zPxYSog5civyvEKX6  Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode: Ballotpedia founder and CEO Leslie Graves joins host Norman Leahy to look back at how the country has celebrated — and processed — its milestone birthdays. From the muted 50th anniversary in 1826, when both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the same July 4th, to Philadelphia's sprawling 1876 centennial (where the refrigerator debuted and the Statue of Liberty's torch made its first public appearance), to the more conflicted bicentennial of 1976, each celebration has reflected where America thought it stood. Plus: Mel Brooks turns 100, Ballotpedia turns 19, and a Biden campaign postmortem that puts Ballotpedia in some unexpected company.Read Leslie’s Column: ⁠https://ballotpedia.org/From_the_desk_of_Leslie_Graves⁠ Check out our complete office hours series: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtP8LWIl9mMO2t_0SXnYhwMv6HHgIoL75⁠ Complete a brief 5 minute survey to review the show and share some feedback: https://forms.gle/zPxYSog5civyvEKX6 Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia.*On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode: The U.S. Constitution has been amended just 27 times in over 230 years. State constitutions, collectively, have been amended more than 7,000 times — and rewritten from scratch over 140 times. Ballotpedia founder and CEO Leslie Graves joins host Norman Leahy to explore why that gap exists, what gets embedded in state constitutions and why, and how states have effectively become the laboratories where Americans test out big policy changes. From California's Proposition 13 to the Article Five convention that's never happened, it's a conversation about how self-governance actually works in practice. Read Leslie’s Column: ⁠https://ballotpedia.org/From_the_desk_of_Leslie_Graves⁠  Check out our complete office hours series: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtP8LWIl9mMO2t_0SXnYhwMv6HHgIoL75⁠  Complete a brief 5 minute survey to review the show and share some feedback: https://forms.gle/zPxYSog5civyvEKX6  Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode: Running an election is harder than it looks — and it's always been that way. Ballotpedia founder and CEO Leslie Graves joins host Norman Leahy to walk through how elections actually get administered, from the surprisingly murky process of figuring out which district you live in to the chaotic, largely improvised vote that determined whether Kansas would enter the Union as a free state or a slave state. Along the way, they explore the surprisingly recent history of the secret ballot, how party-printed ballots once made your vote visible to everyone around you, the origins of the ballot initiative process, and why states that have it are unlikely to ever give it up. Read Leslie’s Column: https://ballotpedia.org/From_the_desk_of_Leslie_Graves  Check out our complete office hours series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtP8LWIl9mMO2t_0SXnYhwMv6HHgIoL75  Are you running for office, or struggling to find information for a candidate? Send them our Candidate Connection Survey or take it yourself: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia%27s_Candidate_Connection  Looking to get involved? Learn more about volunteer opportunities with Ballotpedia here: https://ballotpedia.org/Support:Volunteer  Complete a brief 5 minute survey to review the show and share some feedback: https://forms.gle/zPxYSog5civyvEKX6  Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

On this episode: Redistricting happens every decade — but lately it's been making news on a much shorter cycle. Ballotpedia's redistricting expert Nathan Maxwell joins host Norman Leahy to walk through how the process actually works, from reapportionment basics to the three main methods states use to draw their maps. Then they get into why redistricting keeps landing in court, what recent Supreme Court rulings like Louisiana v. Calais have changed, and what to watch as new maps take shape ahead of the 2026 midterms. Plus: the 1812 origin of gerrymandering, a pre-Constitution power play by Patrick Henry, and a 28-sided monstrosity from 1957 Alabama. Learn more about the redistricting battles taking place across the country ahead of the 2026 midterms: https://ballotpedia.org/Redistricting_ahead_of_the_2026_elections  Complete a brief 5 minute survey to review the show and share some feedback: https://forms.gle/zPxYSog5civyvEKX6  Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.