The 2020 election season, while carried out successfully by dedicated election officials and poll workers, exposed one glaring problem with the U.S. system of elections: it is chronically underfunded.

Though Congress allocated $400 million for election assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was far short of what experts and election administrators said was needed to pull off an election in a pandemic. Private philanthropy, from folks like Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, stepped in to help fill the gap. These investments didn’t come without scrutiny.

In episode 41, Weston speaks with election advocates including the head of one of the nonprofits that distributed grants to election departments around the country in both red and blue states, to set the record straight about the role private philanthropy played in the 2020 election, and the need for increased federal investment in our nation’s election infrastructure.

The episode also features interviews with Republican election officials, including Bill Gates, chairman of the Maricopa County, AZ board of supervisors; Carly Koppes, clerk and recorder for Weld County, CO; Shane Schoeller, clerk for Green County, MO; and Neal Kelley, former registrar of voters for Orange County, CA.

Released on July 1, 2022

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