web01.fireside.fm Wed, 15 Apr 2026 05:07:46 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Tatter - Episodes Tagged with “Elections” https://tatter.fireside.fm/tags/elections Sun, 08 Nov 2020 12:00:00 -0500 This is a podcast exploring issues in politics and policy. Each episode features conversation with at least one subject matter expert, with a goal of helping listeners better understand the topic. en-us episodic Politics and Policy Michael Sargent This is a podcast exploring issues in politics and policy. Each episode features conversation with at least one subject matter expert, with a goal of helping listeners better understand the topic. no politics, policy, law Michael Sargent profsargent@gmail.com Episode 62: Hard Knocks (w/ Seth Masket) https://tatter.fireside.fm/62 4c24a1e8-9c30-489e-8f83-4cf30596e446 Sun, 08 Nov 2020 12:00:00 -0500 Michael Sargent full Michael Sargent My conversation with political scientist Seth Masket about political parties, and the lessons they learn from losing (and sometimes winning). 49:11 no ABOUT THIS EPISODE As Democrats were reminded (the hard way) in 2016, elections don't always turn out as we expect them to. When a political party loses an election, especially if it does more poorly than expected, it often has tough, self-reflective conversations about what happened. In so doing, parties try to learn lessons from their losses. University of Denver political scientist has written about these issues in his new book, Learning from Loss: The Democrats, 2016-2020. LINKS --Seth Masket's DU profile (https://www.du.edu/ahss/polisci/facultystaff/masket_seth.html) --Learning from Loss: The Democrats, 2016-2020 (Amazon) (https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Loss-Democrats-Seth-Masket/dp/1108482120) --"Amid tears and anger, House Democrats promise 'deep dive' on election losses," by Luke Broadwater and Nicholas Fandos (New York Times, 2020, Nov. 5) (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/05/us/house-democrats-election-losses.html) --"Susan Collins was never going to lose," by Robert Messenger (New York Times, 2020, Nov. 6) (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/06/opinion/susan-collins-was-never-going-to-lose.html) --Fair Fight (Voting Rights Organization founded by Stacey Abrams) (https://fairfight.com/) Special Guest: Seth Masket. politics, political science, political parties, elections, voting, race ABOUT THIS EPISODE
As Democrats were reminded (the hard way) in 2016, elections don't always turn out as we expect them to. When a political party loses an election, especially if it does more poorly than expected, it often has tough, self-reflective conversations about what happened. In so doing, parties try to learn lessons from their losses. University of Denver political scientist has written about these issues in his new book, Learning from Loss: The Democrats, 2016-2020.

LINKS
--Seth Masket's DU profile
--Learning from Loss: The Democrats, 2016-2020 (Amazon)
--"Amid tears and anger, House Democrats promise 'deep dive' on election losses," by Luke Broadwater and Nicholas Fandos (New York Times, 2020, Nov. 5)
--"Susan Collins was never going to lose," by Robert Messenger (New York Times, 2020, Nov. 6)
--Fair Fight (Voting Rights Organization founded by Stacey Abrams)

Special Guest: Seth Masket.

]]> ABOUT THIS EPISODE
As Democrats were reminded (the hard way) in 2016, elections don't always turn out as we expect them to. When a political party loses an election, especially if it does more poorly than expected, it often has tough, self-reflective conversations about what happened. In so doing, parties try to learn lessons from their losses. University of Denver political scientist has written about these issues in his new book, Learning from Loss: The Democrats, 2016-2020.

LINKS
--Seth Masket's DU profile
--Learning from Loss: The Democrats, 2016-2020 (Amazon)
--"Amid tears and anger, House Democrats promise 'deep dive' on election losses," by Luke Broadwater and Nicholas Fandos (New York Times, 2020, Nov. 5)
--"Susan Collins was never going to lose," by Robert Messenger (New York Times, 2020, Nov. 6)
--Fair Fight (Voting Rights Organization founded by Stacey Abrams)

Special Guest: Seth Masket.

]]> Episode 49: "Fuck You" Money, And Then Some (Azari & Wood, on Campaign Finance) https://tatter.fireside.fm/49 9bc49396-708c-4307-984e-3bff16fd8492 Mon, 09 Mar 2020 06:00:00 -0400 Michael Sargent full Michael Sargent A discussion of campaign finance, and more, with Julia Azari and Abby Wood. 1:00:59 yes ABOUT THIS EPISODE What's the impact of money on electoral politics? For instance, how does reliance on large numbers of small donors affect a candidate's appeal to voters? As more candidates recruit more financial support from large numbers of donors online, what's the impact on political parties? Does it further weaken them? I discuss such issues as these--and more, including race, gender, and campaign finance--with Marquette University political scientist Julia Azari and USC law professor Abby Wood. LINKS --Abby Wood's USC profile (https://gould.usc.edu/faculty/?id=71046) --Julia Azari's Marquette U. profile (https://www.marquette.edu/political-science/directory/julia-azari.php) --"Mischiefs of Faction" political science blog (https://www.mischiefsoffaction.com/) --Azari's FiveThirtyEight profile (https://fivethirtyeight.com/contributors/julia-azari/) --"Campaign Finance Disclosure" (by Abby Wood, in the Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 2018) (https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-110316-113428) --"Democrats might have the stronger party. They also have a harder job." (by Julia Azari, for the Mischiefs of Faction, 2020) (https://www.mischiefsoffaction.com/post/democrats-might-have-the-stronger-party-they-also-have-a-harder-job) --"From AOC to shining sea: Justice Democrats want to be the Left's Tea Party" (from The Economist, 2020) (https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/01/11/justice-democrats-want-to-be-the-lefts-tea-party) Special Guests: Abby Wood and Julia Azari. money, campaigns, campaign finance, elections, political parties ABOUT THIS EPISODE
What's the impact of money on electoral politics? For instance, how does reliance on large numbers of small donors affect a candidate's appeal to voters? As more candidates recruit more financial support from large numbers of donors online, what's the impact on political parties? Does it further weaken them? I discuss such issues as these--and more, including race, gender, and campaign finance--with Marquette University political scientist Julia Azari and USC law professor Abby Wood.

LINKS
--Abby Wood's USC profile
--Julia Azari's Marquette U. profile
--"Mischiefs of Faction" political science blog
--Azari's FiveThirtyEight profile
--"Campaign Finance Disclosure" (by Abby Wood, in the Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 2018)
--"Democrats might have the stronger party. They also have a harder job." (by Julia Azari, for the Mischiefs of Faction, 2020)
--"From AOC to shining sea: Justice Democrats want to be the Left's Tea Party" (from The Economist, 2020)

Special Guests: Abby Wood and Julia Azari.

]]> ABOUT THIS EPISODE
What's the impact of money on electoral politics? For instance, how does reliance on large numbers of small donors affect a candidate's appeal to voters? As more candidates recruit more financial support from large numbers of donors online, what's the impact on political parties? Does it further weaken them? I discuss such issues as these--and more, including race, gender, and campaign finance--with Marquette University political scientist Julia Azari and USC law professor Abby Wood.

LINKS
--Abby Wood's USC profile
--Julia Azari's Marquette U. profile
--"Mischiefs of Faction" political science blog
--Azari's FiveThirtyEight profile
--"Campaign Finance Disclosure" (by Abby Wood, in the Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 2018)
--"Democrats might have the stronger party. They also have a harder job." (by Julia Azari, for the Mischiefs of Faction, 2020)
--"From AOC to shining sea: Justice Democrats want to be the Left's Tea Party" (from The Economist, 2020)

Special Guests: Abby Wood and Julia Azari.

]]> Episode 14: Spoiled https://tatter.fireside.fm/14 56064cfd-275e-4974-be22-37c0a6234c45 Thu, 07 Jun 2018 12:00:00 -0400 Michael Sargent full Michael Sargent Once upon a time, I was an enthusiastic supporter of ranked-choice voting. But after reading a bit more, and after this conversation with two political scientists, I'm not so sure anymore. 27:34 no In elections with three or more candidates, spoiler effects are thought to occur when one candidate, one with supporters who are ideologically similar to those of another candidate, garners enough support that a third, ideologically dissimilar or even opposite, candidate can win without a majority. For example, in the 2014 Maine gubernatorial general election, Democratic nominee Mike Michaud received 43.4% of the vote, while independent candidate Eliot Cutler received 8.4%. Because Cutler's issue positions (e.g., pro-choice, supportive of marriage equality, pro-union) aligned him more closely with Democrats than the Republican opponent, many have suggested that Cutler's participation in the election drew enough support away from Michaud to prevent what otherwise would have been a Democratic victory. As it was, Republican Paul LePage was elected with 48.2% of the vote, less than a true majority. Vote-count systems that allow a candidate to win with merely a plurality (i.e., the greatest number of votes, but less than a majority) are vulnerable to spoiler effects. In response to apparent spoiler effects such as this one, and (as some have argued) Ralph Nader's impact on the 2000 U.S. presidential election, some reformers have advocated for the use of ranked-choice voting. In this episode, I talk with political scientists Jason McDaniel (https://politicalscience.sfsu.edu/people/25298/jason-mcdaniel) and Jack Santucci (http://www.jacksantucci.com/) about the potential rewards--but also risks--associated with ranked-choice voting. The risks include ones that could be detrimental to the interests of low-income citizens, and less educated ones. EPISODE LINKS 2013 Op-ed from Minnesota (Lawrence Jacobs & Joanne Miller) (http://www.startribune.com/new-minneapolis-voting-rules-could-diminish-equality/218598731/) 2014 Op-ed from Minnesota (Jacobs & Miller redux) (http://www.startribune.com/ranked-choice-voting-by-the-data-still-flawed/245283691/) FAQ on ranked-choice voting in Maine (http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/rankedchoicefaq.html) A timeline of actions on ranked choice voting in Maine (http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/pdf/rcvtimeline.pdf) William Poundstone's "Gaming The Vote" (https://www.amazon.com/Gaming-Vote-Elections-Arent-About/dp/0809048922) Special Guests: Jack Santucci and Jason McDaniel. In elections with three or more candidates, spoiler effects are thought to occur when one candidate, one with supporters who are ideologically similar to those of another candidate, garners enough support that a third, ideologically dissimilar or even opposite, candidate can win without a majority. For example, in the 2014 Maine gubernatorial general election, Democratic nominee Mike Michaud received 43.4% of the vote, while independent candidate Eliot Cutler received 8.4%. Because Cutler's issue positions (e.g., pro-choice, supportive of marriage equality, pro-union) aligned him more closely with Democrats than the Republican opponent, many have suggested that Cutler's participation in the election drew enough support away from Michaud to prevent what otherwise would have been a Democratic victory. As it was, Republican Paul LePage was elected with 48.2% of the vote, less than a true majority.

Vote-count systems that allow a candidate to win with merely a plurality (i.e., the greatest number of votes, but less than a majority) are vulnerable to spoiler effects. In response to apparent spoiler effects such as this one, and (as some have argued) Ralph Nader's impact on the 2000 U.S. presidential election, some reformers have advocated for the use of ranked-choice voting. In this episode, I talk with political scientists Jason McDaniel and Jack Santucci about the potential rewards--but also risks--associated with ranked-choice voting. The risks include ones that could be detrimental to the interests of low-income citizens, and less educated ones.

EPISODE LINKS
2013 Op-ed from Minnesota (Lawrence Jacobs & Joanne Miller)

2014 Op-ed from Minnesota (Jacobs & Miller redux)

FAQ on ranked-choice voting in Maine

A timeline of actions on ranked choice voting in Maine

William Poundstone's "Gaming The Vote"

Special Guests: Jack Santucci and Jason McDaniel.

]]> In elections with three or more candidates, spoiler effects are thought to occur when one candidate, one with supporters who are ideologically similar to those of another candidate, garners enough support that a third, ideologically dissimilar or even opposite, candidate can win without a majority. For example, in the 2014 Maine gubernatorial general election, Democratic nominee Mike Michaud received 43.4% of the vote, while independent candidate Eliot Cutler received 8.4%. Because Cutler's issue positions (e.g., pro-choice, supportive of marriage equality, pro-union) aligned him more closely with Democrats than the Republican opponent, many have suggested that Cutler's participation in the election drew enough support away from Michaud to prevent what otherwise would have been a Democratic victory. As it was, Republican Paul LePage was elected with 48.2% of the vote, less than a true majority.

Vote-count systems that allow a candidate to win with merely a plurality (i.e., the greatest number of votes, but less than a majority) are vulnerable to spoiler effects. In response to apparent spoiler effects such as this one, and (as some have argued) Ralph Nader's impact on the 2000 U.S. presidential election, some reformers have advocated for the use of ranked-choice voting. In this episode, I talk with political scientists Jason McDaniel and Jack Santucci about the potential rewards--but also risks--associated with ranked-choice voting. The risks include ones that could be detrimental to the interests of low-income citizens, and less educated ones.

EPISODE LINKS
2013 Op-ed from Minnesota (Lawrence Jacobs & Joanne Miller)

2014 Op-ed from Minnesota (Jacobs & Miller redux)

FAQ on ranked-choice voting in Maine

A timeline of actions on ranked choice voting in Maine

William Poundstone's "Gaming The Vote"

Special Guests: Jack Santucci and Jason McDaniel.

]]> Episode 11: Magic Carpet Ride https://tatter.fireside.fm/11 6ad3254d-c4c8-4529-9427-ae0af45b2cd2 Wed, 16 May 2018 05:00:00 -0400 Michael Sargent full Michael Sargent This is the full interview I did with Lucas St. Clair, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House seat in the Second Congressional District of Maine. 26:09 yes Lucas St. Clair is famous (or, for some, infamous) for leading the successful effort to persuade former U.S. President Barack Obama to designate 87,500 acres in northern Maine as the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument (https://www.nps.gov/kaww/index.htm). Now, St. Clair is running for Congress in Maine's Second Congressional District. As a follow-up to the "I-95 Northernmost (https://tatter.fireside.fm/10)" episode of Tatter, in which St. Clair was discussed and briefly quoted, this episode features the entirety of my interview with him. Special Guest: Lucas St. Clair. Lucas St. Clair is famous (or, for some, infamous) for leading the successful effort to persuade former U.S. President Barack Obama to designate 87,500 acres in northern Maine as the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. Now, St. Clair is running for Congress in Maine's Second Congressional District. As a follow-up to the "I-95 Northernmost" episode of Tatter, in which St. Clair was discussed and briefly quoted, this episode features the entirety of my interview with him.

Special Guest: Lucas St. Clair.

]]> Lucas St. Clair is famous (or, for some, infamous) for leading the successful effort to persuade former U.S. President Barack Obama to designate 87,500 acres in northern Maine as the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. Now, St. Clair is running for Congress in Maine's Second Congressional District. As a follow-up to the "I-95 Northernmost" episode of Tatter, in which St. Clair was discussed and briefly quoted, this episode features the entirety of my interview with him.

Special Guest: Lucas St. Clair.

]]> Episode 10: I-95 Northernmost https://tatter.fireside.fm/10 e4708400-93bc-4c3a-aaf9-9f625d72fa96 Mon, 14 May 2018 05:00:00 -0400 Michael Sargent full Michael Sargent This episode features a discussion of the Second Congressional District of Maine, the status of eight of its counties as "pivot counties," and the upcoming election of its representative to the U.S. House. 28:35 yes Maine political writer Al Diamon (The Daily Bulldog (http://www.dailybulldog.com/db/) and The Forecaster (http://www.theforecaster.net/)) and political scientist Amy Fried (University of Maine (https://umaine.edu/polisci/faculty-and-staff/amy-fried/) and The Bangor Daily News (http://pollways.bangordailynews.com/author/asfried/)) discuss Maine's Second Congressional District, the district's pivot from Democratic presidential candidates to Donald Trump, and the upcoming election of its representative to the U.S. House. The episode ends with an excerpt from a recent interview with Democratic candidate Lucas St. Clair (https://www.stclairforcongress.com/), an interview that will be the basis of the next episode of Tatter. Special Guests: Al Diamon and Amy Fried. Maine political writer Al Diamon (The Daily Bulldog and The Forecaster) and political scientist Amy Fried (University of Maine and The Bangor Daily News) discuss Maine's Second Congressional District, the district's pivot from Democratic presidential candidates to Donald Trump, and the upcoming election of its representative to the U.S. House. The episode ends with an excerpt from a recent interview with Democratic candidate Lucas St. Clair, an interview that will be the basis of the next episode of Tatter.

Special Guests: Al Diamon and Amy Fried.

]]> Maine political writer Al Diamon (The Daily Bulldog and The Forecaster) and political scientist Amy Fried (University of Maine and The Bangor Daily News) discuss Maine's Second Congressional District, the district's pivot from Democratic presidential candidates to Donald Trump, and the upcoming election of its representative to the U.S. House. The episode ends with an excerpt from a recent interview with Democratic candidate Lucas St. Clair, an interview that will be the basis of the next episode of Tatter.

Special Guests: Al Diamon and Amy Fried.

]]>