Explore every episode of the podcast The Voting Booth

Host John Fortier is joined by Alysoun McLaughlin, Director of the Election Resilience Lab at the University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement.

Show Notes:

• The HR of Democracy: Understanding the Election Workforce
• Error with mail-in ballot in the 2026 Maryland gubernatorial primary elections

Co-host Don Palmer recently departed from the Election Assistance Commission and reflects on his seven years at the EAC with John Fortier.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer* are joined by Rebecca Green, Professor of Law and Director of the Election Law Program at William and Mary Law School.

Show Notes:

• Election Law Navigator
• Election orders database
• Bush v. Gore
• Moore v. Harper

*This episode was recorded while Don was serving on the EAC.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Katy Owens Hubler, Director of Elections & Redistricting at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Show Notes:

• NCSL Resources

*This episode was recorded while Don was serving on the EAC.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Michael Morley, Sheila M. McDevitt Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Election Law Center at Florida State University’s College of Law.

Show Notes:

• Watson v. Republican National Committee
• Brief of Professor Michael T. Morley and Florida State Election Law Center as Amici Curiae in Support of Neither Party
• John’s report on the case
• Past episodes of The Voting Booth touching on the case: with Michael Watson, with Russ Nobile
• “Pipelaying”
• Ned Foley and Charles Stewart III on the “blue shift”

*This episode was recorded while Don was serving on the EAC.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Allen Dickerson, Partner at BakerHostetler and former Federal Election Commission Commissioner.

Show Notes:

• Buckley v. Valeo (1976)
• Federalist Society event marking the 50th anniversary of Buckley v. Valeo
• Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002
• McConnell v. FEC (2003)
• Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. v. FEC (2007)
• Citizens United v. FEC (2010)
• MUR #7271
• National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission (argued Dec. 2025, decision pending)

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by William Kresse, Associate Professor in the Accounting, Finance, MIS, and Economics Division of the College of Business at Governors State University.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Stuart Holmes, Director of Elections for Washington state, and Christopher Mann, Research Director at The Center for Election Innovation & Research.

Show Notes:

1. Innovation for Public Records: Centralizing Requests in Washington State

Co-host John Fortier interviews co-host Don Palmer on his experience implementing the Help America Vote Act, first as an attorney in the Department of Justice, then as the chief election official in Florida and Virginia, and finally as a commissioner on the United States Election Assistance Commission.

The conversation originally took place at a conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Supreme Court case Bush v. Gore.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Michael A. Carvin, retired partner at Jones Day.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Justin Riemer, President and CEO of Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE).

Show notes:

• RITE Newsletter

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Rodney Davis, former U.S. Representative for Illinois’ 13th district.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Paul Gronke, Professor of Political Science at Reed College.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Derek Bowens, Director of Elections of the Durham County (NC) Board of Elections.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Adam Kincaid, President and Executive Director of the National Republican Redistricting Trust.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Charles Stewart III, Kenan Sahin (1963) Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Trey Hood, Professor of Political Science at the University of Georgia and Director of the University of Georgia’s SPIA Survey Research Center.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Jay Phelps, Director of the Election Supporting Technology Evaluation Program at the United States Election Assistance Commission.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Russ Nobile, Senior Attorney at Judicial Watch.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Dean C. Logan, Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk of Los Angeles (CA) County.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Tre Hargett, Tennessee's Secretary of State.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Jared Marcotte, President of The Turnout.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Michael Watson, Secretary of State of Mississippi and incoming president of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS).

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Brad Raffensperger, Secretary of State of Georgia.

Show Notes:

• Secretary Raffensperger Announces the “Georgia Plan” for Federal Election Reform

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Richard H. Pildes, Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law at New York University School of Law.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Eitan Hersh, Professor of Political Science at Tufts University.

Materials Discussed:

• "How Election Rules Affect Who Wins"
• "How Did Absentee Voting Affect the 2020 U.S. Election?"

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer speak with state and local election administrators, as well as experts on election administration for live updates on Election Day 2024.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Cord Byrd, Florida's Secretary of State.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Craig Latimer, Supervisor of Elections in Hillsborough County, FL.

Show Notes:

• Executive Order of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis regarding elections

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Karen Brinson Bell, Executive Director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Frank LaRose, Ohio Secretary of State.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Emily Frye, Director for Cyber Integration at MITRE’s Center for Securing the Homeland.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Sara A. Cutter, Executive Director of the American Council for Election Technology (ACET).

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Edward B. Foley, Ebersold Chair in Constitutional Law at The Ohio State University.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by U.S. Election Assistance Commission Commissioner Thomas Hicks.

Show Notes:

• National Poll Worker Recruitment Day

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer discuss how President Biden's dropping out of the presidential election affects the administration of the 2024 elections.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Bradley A. Smith, Chairman and Founder of the Institute for Free Speech and former Federal Election Commission Commissioner.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Ron Turner, Supervisor of Elections in Sarasota County, Florida.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Geoff Pallay, Director of Editorial Content and Editor-in-Chief at Ballotpedia.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Brad Raffensperger, Secretary of State of Georgia.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Doug Lewis, Former Executive Director of The Election Center.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Genya Coulter, Senior Director, Stakeholder Relations & Social Media at the OSET Institute.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Wendy Underhill, Director of Elections and Redistricting at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Edward Foley (Charles W. Ebersold and Florence Whitcomb Ebersold Chair in Constitutional Law at the Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law) to recap the Supreme Court's decision in Trump v. Anderson.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Eugene Volokh (Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law at UCLA Law) to recap the NetChoice, LLC v. Paxton oral argument and preview Murthy v. Missouri.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Texas State Senator Bryan Hughes (R, District 1).

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Thad Hall, Director of the Voter Registration and Election Bureau in Mercer County, Pennsylvania.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Howard Knapp, Executive Director of the South Carolina Election Commission.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Rick Hasen (Professor of Law at UCLA Law) and Derek Muller (Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law School), to discuss Trump v. Anderson.

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by E. Mark Braden, Of Counsel at BakerHostetler, to discuss how the redistricting and recount processes effect the administration of our elections.