In this episode, hosts Brianna Lennon and Eric Fey speak with Casandra Hockenberry. Previously, she worked at the Council of State Governments’ Center for Innovation, but is now serving as the Program and Policy Director for Advance Elections, a nonpartisan, elections-focused consulting firm. They spoke about how election administrators can more effectively help overseas and military voters cast their absentee ballots, as well as the importance of consequence planning alongside emergency managers.

In this episode, hosts Brianna Lennon and Eric Fey speak with Jamie Fitzgerald. He’s served as the Auditor and Commissioner of Elections in Polk County, Iowa, since January 2007. They spoke about a unique technology his office has been using since 2025 — where his poll workers transmit their unofficial tallies back to the central office via QR code on election night.

In this episode, hosts Brianna Lennon and Eric Fey speak with Ben Adida. He’s the co-founder and executive director of VotingWorks, a nonprofit organization that builds open-source voting equipment. They spoke about what an open-source system actually is, some of the challenges of getting new voting machines through the certification process, and about the overall health of the voting equipment ecosystem. This episode is part of a three-part series focused on election technology.

In this episode, hosts Brianna Lennon and Eric Fey speak with Scott Leiendecker. He’s the founder and CEO of KNOWiNK, an electronic poll pad system, and Liberty Vote, as well as a former Republican Elections Director for St. Louis City. They spoke about how Leiendecker’s election administration experience influenced his decision to enter the election vendor space, how he’s working to combat mis- and disinformation about election technology and about what he hopes is next for the industry. This episode is part of a three-part series focused on election technology.

In this episode, hosts Brianna Lennon and Eric Fey speak with Tom Hicks. Hicks was a U.S. Election Assistance Commission [EAC] commissioner from January 2015 until July 9, 2026 — when he was notified via email that his position was “terminated, effective immediately.” They reflected on Hick’s tenure — some of the efforts he’s proudest of and what he wishes he had more time to do — and spoke about what the EAC is still capable of without commissioners and Hick’s hopes for the agency going forward. You can read more about Hick’s time at the EAC at: https://www.eac.gov/about/commissioner-thomas-hicks

In this episode, hosts Brianna Lennon and Eric Fey speak with Lauren Prather and Thad Kousser, the co-directors of the Center for Transparent and Trusted Elections based at the University of California-San Diego. They spoke about some of the research they have done, which shows simple and effective ways for election administrators to connect with their constituents and grow trust in elections. This includes office tours, video office tours, simple and “authentic” social media videos and more.

Back in September, the High Turnout Wide Margins team traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for the 2025 Summer Convening of the Partnership for Large Jurisdictions, or PLEJ. While there, hosts Eric Fey and Brianna Lennon had the opportunity to speak with election administrators from across the county and world. They also had the opportunity to take the stage for a special live taping with Carolina Lopez, the executive director of PLEJ. They spoke about the history of PLEJ, as well as how it has grown and benefited election administrators across the county. They also brought several members on stage — Zach Manifold of Gwinnett County, Georgia, and Kurt Bahr of St. Charles County, Missouri — to share how PLEJ has supported them in their work and how they have given back to the organization.