On the Ballot

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On The Ballot is a podcast presented by Ballotpedia that connects people to politics.

Each week, Ballotpedia's election experts will unpack the week's top political stories. Ballotpedia's here to give you the facts, so you can form your own opinion. Stream On the Ballot on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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LATEST EPISODE

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Episode #176

What happens if the federal government shuts down?

On this episode: On this episode: Legislators are in the midst of negotiating a bill to keep the federal government up and running through September. Key debates and votes are playing out over the course of this week, with a ‘partial’ government shutdown possibly starting as early as this Friday, March 15th, if Congress can’t agree on a path forward.

From federal employee furloughs to impacts on essential services, this episode unpacks the ripple effects and what’s at stake.

Our guest:
Ellen Morrissey, Staff Writer at Ballotpedia

Key Highlights






RECENT EPISODES
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Episode #175Universal school choice in rural America Part 1

As of March 2025, 15 states have enacted universal private school choice programs, allowing all students to access public funds for private schools, homeschooling, and other alternatives to traditional public education. These programs—ranging from education savings accounts (ESAs) to tax credit scholarships and vouchers—have become a defining feature of state-level education policy debates.

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Episode #171Majority at stake in Wisconsin Supreme Court election

With Incumbent Justice Ann Walsh Bradley retiring, the stakes in Wisconsin's April 1st election  to select her successor couldn’t be higher — determining whether the court maintains its current liberal majority or shifts to a conservative 4-3 split. The candidates, former Republican Attorney General and current circuit court judge Brad Schimel, and Dane County circuit court judge Susan Crawford, present voters with starkly different visions. 

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Episode #167VA and NJ elect new governors this year. Here's what to watch

The incumbents in both races—Phil Murphy (D) in New Jersey and Glenn Youngkin (R) in Virginia—are term-limited, meaning that both states will have new Governors at the end of the year. We’re still a long way out from those elections, but since they’re the only two on the calendar for 2025, we wanted to offer an early glimpse into the marquee candidates, the issues that’ll drive their campaigns, what the stakes are for each major party in both states, and how national politics might factor into who winds up having an edge. 

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Episode #166What DOGE can learn from Clinton's effort to 'reinvent government' in the '90s

Dr. Elaine Kamarck helped lead the National Performance Review in the 90s as part of the Clinton administration. It was nicknamed REGO for “reinventing government,” and focused on cutting wasteful spending and inefficiencies in federal programs, workforce reductions, and decentralizing authority…sound familiar? The National Performance Review represents one of the most recent ventures by the federal government similar to what President Donald Trump and Elon Musk hopes to do with the Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE. 

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Episode #165Budget reconciliation, explained

The process occurs if Congress passes a budget resolution for the fiscal year that gives reconciliation instructions. It’s used to override the filibuster and expedite the approval of a package of legislation in Congress that changes spending, revenues, or the debt limit — making it an ideal tool for the Trump administration to advance their agenda. These bills require a simple majority (51 votes) instead of the three-fifths majority (60 votes) usually needed in the Senate to bring bills to a vote and approve them.

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Episode #163The Congressional Review Act's big role in enacting Trump’s agenda

Congress gets a window of time to review any new rule, where both chambers have a chance to pass what’s called a ‘joint resolution of disapproval.’ Then—if the president signs off—that rule is overturned. The tool’s only been used to repeal 20 rules in its nearly 30 year history, most of which in the last few years — and most heavily by Donald Trump during his first term. The incoming administration sees it as a key to advancing their agenda and rolling back regulations, so we figured now would be a great time to talk a little more about its history, original intention, and the big role it might play over the next few months.

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Episode #162The difference between executive orders and other presidential actions, and why it matters

A primary tool in President Trump's arsenal are executive orders, which enable him to change course on policy simply with a stroke of his pen. You might not know that executive orders are one of three different types of executive actions (presidential memoranda and presidential proclamations) the president has at their disposal, each with their own purposes and levels of influence — meaning that the type of action plays a big role in whether or not it has any teeth.

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Episode #160Citizen Initiatives:The history of giving power to the people

If you live in one of the 26 states where citizens can put laws directly on the ballot, you’ve probably seen ballot measures pop up during elections—deciding everything from property taxes and abortion rights to marijuana legalization and ranked-choice voting. If you've ever wondered where this process came from, or how it became such a powerful — and sometimes controversial — tool in American politics — then this episode is for you.


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