Ballotpedia: Events

Ballotpedia events

2021

May 26: Briefing—One Year of Documenting America's Path to Recovery

It's been one year since Ballotpedia staff began documenting America’s path to recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Join this free briefing where co-panelists Jimmy McAllister and Sam Wonacott will help you gain a better understanding of state government pandemic-related policies and the context and definitions surrounding those responses.

We’ll start with some of our earliest coverage areas like stay-at-home orders and changes to voting policies in the 2020 general election.

Then we’ll dive into our current coverage of vaccines, travel restrictions, mask requirements, school responses, and much more. We’ll dive into definitions when needed, give you an update on where things stand, and give you topline context. For example:

In total, 39 states have issued statewide mask requirements.
Fourteen states (11 states with Republican governors and three states with Democratic governors) have allowed statewide mask orders to expire.
25 states still have statewide mask orders, including 20 of the 23 states with Democratic governors and five out of the - 27 states with Republican governors.
11 states have ended mask requirements through executive order, two (Kansas and Utah) have ended mask requirements through legislative action, and one (Wisconsin) has ended its mandate through court order.

Register today to secure your spot!

Ballotpedia Insights

Seeking to expand your knowledge about politics and government? Ballotpedia Insights is a Q&A series with political and legal scholars, researchers, reporters, and subject matter experts. Each installment, we host a new speaker and ask them tailored questions designed to gain in-depth insight into their work. Occasionally, we will select a book for everyone to read and hold a session with the author or authors afterward.

These sessions will also be attended by Ballotpedia staff, who may come with some questions of their own.

In the past we've held sessions with:

Salena Zito and Brad Todd, authors of The Great Revolt
Chad Peace, expert in election law and voter rights
Edgar Bachrach and Austin Berg, authors of The New Chicago Way

These sessions are a great opportunity to learn from some leading professionals involved in politics. Even better, they're free to register and attend. Sign up using the form on this page to receive updates about upcoming sessions. Events will also be announced on Twitter and Facebook.

Previous 2021 events

May 12: Briefing—State Supreme Court Partisanship

One of the most common questions Ballotpedia staff hear is "How do I learn more about my judges?" Our latest report helps answer that question by looking at partisanship at each state's highest court.

In what may be the most striking finding of the study, our team found that justices of the same party disagree with one another just like justices of different parties disagree with one another.

This finding differs from idea that politics seems to be so polarized that people from different parties can never come to political agreement. However our analysis of 2020 state supreme court rulings seems to show that partisan lines are not as rigid across all of our political institutions as we may perceive them to be.

April 21: The State of Redistricting

With apportionment counts expected from the Census Bureau by April 30th, our redistricting team reviewed how states are responding to the expected delay in getting block-level data from the Census Bureau, including redistricting postponements, lawsuits, and more.

April 7: Briefing—2021 SCOTUS Update

With the end of the current SCOTUS term coming up this summer, our team took a look at what has changed since our last briefing. In this call, our team walks you through the following:

Changes in court membership
How the court continues to operate under COVID-19
Updates and analysis on this term's cases
A look ahead to the next term

You'll leave this briefing with a better understanding how this term compares to previous terms. Check it out!

March 24: Briefing—Exploring Election Systems

In addition to covering the candidates running for office and those election results, we also nerd out about how those elections are run. With the use of approval voting in St. Louis for the first time spring 2021, our team took a look at changes to election systems across the United States.

Ballot Measures Project Director Josh Altic discussed ballot measures on election systems, including

Alaska's top four ranked choice voting initiative
Mississippi Ballot Measure 2
New York City's 2019 ranked choice voting measure
St. Louis' 2020 approval voting measure and
5 other local ranked-choice voting measures

Staff writer Amée LaTour was also on the call talking about marquee local races using new election systems this year, including the mayoral elections in St. Louis and New York City.

March 10: Briefing—2021 Ballot Measures

Another year, another chance for voters to weigh in on important policy matters at the ballot. Join us as our Ballot Measures Project Director, Josh Altic, discusses the 2021 and 2022 statewide measures already certified for the ballot.
This briefing covers:

March 2 election results
A look at historical trends
The lingering effects of COVID-19
And a selection of notable potential measures that could still be added to the ballot.

Our apologies in advance as the audio cuts out at times in the first half.

Feb. 25: Briefing—Incumbency and 2020 state legislative elections

227 state legislative incumbents were defeated in general elections in 2020, the lowest number since at least 2010. This briefing takes a closer look at those defeats, where they had the largest effect, and what they mean for the 2021 state legislative sessions.

Our team also discusses incumbent turnover and what it means for newcomers in our state legislatures by examining incumbents defeated in primary elections and those who did not seek re-election this year.

Feb. 10: Briefing—Redistricting 101

The Ballotpedia staff spent the first couple of months of 2021 continuously refreshing their browsers checking for updated census data. While waiting for the data, our team ran through the basics of redistricting. Check out this briefing to get a refresher on the basics, including:

How redistricting works
What is at stake during the 2021 redistricting cycle
What changed from the last cycle
The latest news and updates

Jan. 21: Briefing—Pivot Counties and the 2020 Election

Going into the 2020 elections, one big question Ballotpedia's staff wondered was how would Pivot Counties swing. In this briefing, we dig into that question and the impact these counties had on the presidential election. We review why we started following these counties in 2016, as we introduce you to new definitions—Retained and Boomerang Counties. Finally, we cover the top line numbers, like how many counties voted which way, and then talk about some important differences in terms of demographics and turnout.

Archive

Scroll through our archive to view events from 2020. Older events can be found on our YouTube channel.

2020

November 11: Briefing—What We Know Now

Now that we've had time to breathe let's take a look at notable updated election results. Join the Ballotpedia team as they catch you up on the newly finalized races, recently called ballot measures, and trends from across the country.

November 6: Briefing—Down-Ballot Elections Review

With more than the presidential race on the ballot, there were a lot of November 3rd, 2020 election results to cover. Let Ballotpedia do the hard work for you by checking out this briefing where we talk about notable trends, races, and results from down-ballot races across the nation.

November 5: Briefing—Ballot Measures Review

Voters in 35 states weighed in on 120 measures on November 3, 2020, giving the Ballotpedia a lot to discuss in this post-election briefing. Listen in as Josh Altic and Dave Beaudoin as they break down the results we know so far and what happens next.

November 4: Briefing—Elections Review

The Ballotpedia Team takes a quick look at the election results we know as of 3 pm ET on November 4, 2020. Our News Editor, David Beaudoin, and Marquee Editor, Cory Eucalitto, walk you through the notable election results, the races that are too close to call, and what's next in this presidential election cycle.

October 29: Briefing—2020 ballot measures

In 32 states, voters will weigh in on 120 statewide ballot measures on November 3, 2020. Check out our briefing, hosted by News Editor David Beaudoin and Ballot Measures Project Director Josh Altic, to gain a greater understanding of

the key topics and trends
2020's notable unique measures
campaign finance data
the historical context behind the measures

October 15—Briefing: Battleground races and vulnerable trifectas

Party control of state government is on the ballot in 42 states this November. Ballotpedia's pre-election analysis of elections in those states identified 23 where party control has a good chance of changing this year. Join Ballotpedia News Editor Dave Beaudoin and Marquee Team Lead David Luchs for a look at party control of state governments heading into November and a discussion of which are most likely to flip.

September 21: Ballotpedia Insights—Winning Local Elections with Dan Theno

In September's Ballotpedia Insights call we talked with Dan Theno about his new book, Winning Local Elections. Theno served four terms in the Wisconsin State Senate and was elected twice as Mayor of his hometown.

Listen in as we talk with Theno about what it takes to win an election and how that's changed with the pandemic.

September 16: Briefing—A Decade in Review: State Legislative Competitiveness, 2010-2020

Since 2010, Ballotpedia has been tracking and analyzing how competitive state legislative elections are. In this briefing, our report authors dive into how competitiveness has changed over the decade.

August 4—Briefing: Looking back at 2020 primaries

With the 2020 primary season is almost over, join Ballotpedia's News Editor Dave Beaudoin and staff researcher David Luchs for a look back at some of the most memorable primaries this year and a preview of what's in store for the remaining primaries in August and September.

July 28—Ballotpedia Insights: Elections with Robert Ezra Stern

At Ballotpedia, we aren't just interested in elections at the federal level. Our dreams and plans include providing all voters a sample ballot for every election they are voting in. Could that include class council elections? Who knows!

Ballotpedia staffers were enthralled when they heard this month's guest, Robert Ezra Stern, on a recent ReplyAll podcast describe the rollercoaster of an election held at Berkeley High School in Berkeley, Calif. in 2019.

Robert, who was 17 at the time, was the commissioner of elections for the school and dealt with many of the issues we are collectively talking about at all levels of government right now: ranked-choice voting, elections integrity, and the different ways candidates choose to campaign.

We talk with Robert about his interests, the microcosm of elections issues he's seen, and where he has turned to in his own personal education on these topics.

July 23—Briefing: Supreme Court Wrap Up

Join the Ballotpedia Team as they review the most important aspects of the Supreme Court's 2019-2020 term. Learn more about the pandemic's impact, the decision trends they were seeing, and the latest data on reversal rates.

June 4—Briefing: Super Junesday

Ballotpedia covered elections for 1,011 offices in 12 states and Washington, D.C. on June 2, 2020. Listen in as we walk you through the notable results and trends. Our election experts give you a high-level overview and touch on the impact COVID-19 had on these elections.

May 14—Briefing: Changes to elections due to COVID-19

State and local governments have made many changes to election dates and procedures in response to the coronavirus pandemic. These include entire delays to election dates, expansion of absentee/by-mail voting, and adjusted candidate filing requirements. Ballotpedia's staff of elections experts walk through the key changes that have been made so far, describe changes on the horizon for the general elections, and summarize some of the most important debates around the actions taken.

April 16, April 23, and April 30—Ballotpedia Class

Ballotpedia Class was a three-part lecture series geared toward high school students. These are 45-minute lectures on government and civics by Ballotpedia's subject matter experts. Our three lectures covered a wide variety of topics as seen below:

April 28—Ballotpedia Insights: Pivot Counties with Cheddar News

In this April edition of Ballotpedia Insights, we talk with J.D. Durkin, the D.C. chief correspondent for the business news network Cheddar. He is the host and co-creator of the Cheddar series on the 206 Pivot Counties, a topic that is near and dear to the hearts of Ballotpedia staff and our readers. We talk about what he has seen from being on the ground in a few of these counties and what that could mean for 2020 and beyond.

April 23—Briefing: Political impacts of COVID-19

Ballotpedia is providing comprehensive coverage of how the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting America's political and civic life. In addition to monitoring federal, state, and local responses to the coronavirus, we are also capturing the nationwide and local debates on whether to extend or lift coronavirus-related restrictions affecting the economy, schools, government operations, public health, religious services, and travel. In this webinar, we summarize the key changes and policy responses made over the last several weeks—from stay-at-home orders to election date and process changes. Then, we review the state of the debates happening across the country over how and when to emerge from this crisis.

March 24—Briefing: Catching up with the Supreme Court

Join us as we catch you up on the October 2019-2020 Supreme Court term. Our experts review how COVID-19 has impacted the term, the opinions issued so far, reversal rates, noteworthy cases, and preview the October 2020-2021 term.

March 10: Introducing Candidate Conversations

Ahead of the 2020 primary season, Ballotpedia and EnCiv launched Candidate Conversations, a new program to help voters get to know their candidates. Listen in as Elisabeth Moore and Kayla Harris introduce the platform and explain how this conversational space will be another useful tool voters can use to prepare for the polls.

February 24—Ballotpedia Insights: Pivot Counties with Matt Taibbi

Matt Taibbi, prominent author and journalist, spoke about his book, Hate Inc.: Why Today’s Media Makes Us Despise One Another, in this installment of Ballotpedia Insights. The crux of the book's premise is, "that what most people think of as 'the news' is, in fact, a twisted wing of the entertainment business." Taibbi answered questions from our readers and Ballotpedia's staff regarding the influence the mainstream media has on our culture and how it could influence the 2020 elections.

February 19—Briefing: Presidential Race Update

The authors behind Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing discuss how the presidential field has shifted following the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary and preview Nevada, South Carolina, and Super Tuesday.

January 22—Briefing: Looking ahead at the 2020 congressional primary season

With the relaunch of our Heart of the Primaries newsletter, we previewed the 2020 congressional primary season. In this briefing, our experts detail the primary battles they have been closely watching as Democrats and Republicans compete to make it onto the general election ballot. Listen to learn more about emerging themes in the primaries, policy differences between candidates, which donor groups are weighing in, and more.

Ballotpedia: Events

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