What Voting Means To Me

In this much belated episode of What Voting Means to Me, we hear from David Levine, a longtime election official and international election observer who is currently serving as the director of elections and general registrar for the city of Richmond, Virginia.David shares stories from Moldova to Maryland, from mobile voting food trucks to countering AI-driven misinformation. But what stands out most is the steady heartbeat beneath it all: his belief that participation is power. That voting is not just a right-- it's a bulwark. And that showing up, again and again, is how democracy survives.

Let's make voting fun again! Kim and Mara talk about ways to get people excited about the democratic process-- be it through "I voted" sticker selfies, making democracy themed art & music, or hosting election night parties. Kim talks about her frustration that voting is too often dismissed as easy. But she reminds us of this reality: if you didn't grow up in a voting-centric household, you may have not been taught what it means and how to vote. It's no surprise then that Kim has dedicated much of her work to supporting voter education and access. Kim and Mara also discuss mysteries the LA County Mosquito Abatement Commission, and reflect on all that has changed in the time that Kim has been in the election space. Kim is a deeply intuitive, insightful, and empathetic guest. Please enjoy!

Voting is innovation. Voting is the right to be in community. We are more than our singular votes; it is in the collective that they matter. In this episode Mara talks about these ideas and much more with ⁠Kevin Johnson⁠, co-founder and director of ⁠Election Reformers Network⁠ (ERN), an organization dedicated to protecting elections from polarization through independent and non-partisan innovation. Kevin talks about what it's like to observe emerging democracies, and the incredible experience of watching people vote for the first time. He talks about the work ERN is doing to advocate for independent redistricting and non-partisan election administration, and he and Mara muse about how we should view the work our election officials do for us within the context of representative democracies.

In this episode, Mara encourages listeners to think about what democracy-- or rather, the absence of democracy--feels like. They ask what it means to nurture and sustain hope in an era of democratic decline. Their guest, Pamela (Pam) Smith, the CEO and president of Verified Voting, offers answers and gentle perspective to these questions, and so much more, in her own democracy biography. "To vote is to be a part of something bigger than yourself." -- To learn more about Verified Voting, check out the following links! -Website: verifiedvoting.org for resources and tools that help explain how votes are cast and counted. -The Verifier verifiedvoting.org/verifier, a tool that lets you explore voting equipment usage and post-election audit requirements across the country going back to 2006 -An in-house database of voting equipment at verifiedvoting.org/equipmentdb provides extensive information on the equipment used to cast – and count – votes.

How much does it cost to run elections in the United States? The answer is not as simple as you might think. In this episode, Mara and Zach talk about Zach's journey from being a more or less casual observer of elections at the presidential level to a becoming a full blown election nerd bringing his expertise in accounting to the world of election science. Zach talks about the mind-boggling challenge of collecting data on election administration budgets in the United States. He also spotlights the people who make elections happen--local election officials and workers-- as he muses on what voting means to him.

Gabor Mate- author of "The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture" suggests there are “4 As” that help move us towards healing and wholeness: authenticity, agency, healthy expression of anger, and acceptance. But what does this have to do with democracy? I provide some thoughts on this question in conjunction with my remarkable conversation with Noah Praetz, president of The Elections Group. Throughout the episode we talk about the self-actualizing power of working in democracy spaces, and we come back to the idea that, while flawed, messy, and imperfect—democracy is the best answer to the question of how we govern ourselves.

Thessalia Merivaki is an Associate Professor of American politics at Mississippi State University. Her research expertise is on Election Science, particularly voter registration reform and voter education policy. With Mara Suttmann-Lea, they run team #voteredu. In this episode, Lia tells me about her experiences growing up in Greece, the voting experience she had there, and her transition to the United States for graduate school. Lia tells us how the complexity and nuances of election administration in the United States motivated her to pursue a Ph.D. We reminisce over the Internet bringing us together and the origins of our voter education story, which really began with Lia and a curious, frustrated student in her classroom. For Lia, the act of voting is significant, monumental even. It is something, she tells us, “we need to celebrate. We need to support. And we need to make sure it is protected and a part of a structure that everybody trusts and wants to be a part of.”

Mara talks with Brianna Lennon, the county clerk in Boone County, Missouri, about the logistical challenges of election administration. Brianna tells us what brought her to the work of administering democracy— like Mara, she was inspired by a high school government teacher—and muses on the difficulties of balancing cynicism, realism, and hope through the act of voting.

Every vote symbolizes a hope. That’s what voting means to this episode’s guest. We hear from Dustin Czarny—an election professional in Onondaga County, New York who has worn many hats during his life in elections. Dustin has been the Democratic election commissioner of Onondaga County since 2013, and has been involved in local politics as an activist and campaign operative for 30 years. Since 2017 he has also served as the Democratic caucus chair of the New York State Elections Commissioner Association.

“Democracy needs a marketing department…” That’s according to Steve Wanczyk, a former marketing expert turned democracy advocate and protector who founded the non-profit organization Protect Our Election in response to the growing threat of misinformation and challenges faced by election officials surrounding the 2020 United States presidential elections. Motivated by concerns that the principles of American democracy are under assault and require active defense, Steve and the volunteers at Protect Our Election believe that local election officials in particular—the oft-overlooked backbone of American democracy—are in need of greater support, attention, and yes, a good marketing department.