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The Bully Pulpit has merged with the Let’s Find Common Ground podcast. As the tone of public discourse becomes increasingly angry and divisive, Let’s Find Common Ground offers a healing path to reaching agreement and moving forward. At the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future, we bring together top Republicans and Democrats to transcend partisan divisions and explore solutions to our most pressing national and global challenges. Join veteran strategists Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy along with other Center staff and major voices for fun conversations that advance civil dialogue and practical politics. The conversations go behind the curtain with elected officials, campaign staff, journalists, academics, pundits, and political operatives. Every exchange is guided by standards central to the Center’s mission: Respect each other and respect the truth. Opponents are adversaries, not enemies. And if you lose, don’t burn down the stadium.

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  2. How States Hold Fair Elections. Secretaries of State Michael Adams and Steve Hobbs

How States Hold Fair Elections. Secretaries of State Michael Adams and Steve Hobbs

Aug 31, 2023

Until recently most of us outside of state government didn’t know much about the role of Secretary of State, the state’s top election official. We simply didn’t think about it. But since 2020, election laws and procedures have been in the spotlight – and election officials have come under attack. 

In this episode of Let’s Find Common Ground, we meet Democrat Steve Hobbs, Secretary of State for Washington, and Republican Michael Adams, Secretary of State for Kentucky. 

Kentucky is a vote-in-person state, while Washington has voting by mail and at the dropbox. But no matter how people vote, suspicion of the entire process is rife. In recent years both men have encountered election deniers and faced threats to themselves and their staff.

“These abuses, even if they’re not full-fledged threats of violence - it adds up,” says Michael Adams, “and it begins to really lay some strain on our election process.

Hear what each of our guests is doing to protect democracy in his state, why being part of the Electronic Registration Information System (ERIC) is important to them, and how volunteers play a vital role in free and fair elections.