Co-hosts Brianna Lennon, county clerk in Boone County, Missouri and Eric Fey, director of elections in St. Louis County, Missouri, talk to subject-matter elections experts and local election administrators to ask the questions that are most meaningful to their work and talk with colleagues about how to best approach issues like voter education, cybersecurity, and integrity.
From the High Turnout Wide Margins team:
High Turnout Wide Margins has officially wrapped a 26-episode second season. The second season won four prestigious awards this year: a regional Edward R. Murrow Award, a National Headliner Award, a Public Media Journalist Association Award, and a Missouri Broadcasters Association Certificate of Merit.
The importance of High Turnout Wide Margins is two-fold. The first, as well as the original goal of the podcast, is to give voice to the actual people running elections at the local level. We have heard from local election administrators throughout the country that this podcast has become a regular listen and the podcast has even been used in the training of election staff throughout the country. Second, HTWM educates and provides valuable insight into the process of elections for everyday voters. While voters may be aware of the electoral college, Congress, etc., this podcast draws back the curtain so that the day-to-day work of election administration can be understood more thoroughly.
Thank you for making Season 3 of HTWM a reality. With your support, a successful Kickstarter campaign and fundraising, High Turnout Wide Margins returns.
-
In this episode, hosts Eric Fey and Brianna Lennon speak with Michelle Kavanaugh, the Bernalillo County Clerk in New Mexico.They spoke about some of the recent changes to New Mexican election law, which include automatic voter registration at the Motor Vehicle Division, semi-open primaries and the restoration of voting rights to citizens after incarceration — regardless of felony status. -
In this episode, hosts Eric Fey and Brianna Lennon speak with Ben Ginsberg and Bob Bauer. These two longtime and respected election experts launched a national effort called Pillars of the Community in 2024. This program aims to educate and answer questions from trusted community members who can then assist in the fight against election dis- and misinformation.You can find out more about the program, as well as access community engagement tools for election administrators, at https://pillarsofthecommunity.org/.
-
In this episode, hosts Eric Fey and Brianna Lennon speak with Tom Rogers, who was the Australian Electoral Commissioner from 2014 to 2024.They spoke about the structure of Australian elections, how the country counts its ballots, and the importance of democracy sausages.
-
High Turnout Wide Margins recently traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for the 2025 summer convening of the Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions [PLEJ], and spoke with election officials from across the county — and world — about the elections work they are doing in their communities.In this episode, hosts Eric Fey and Brianna Lennon speak with Eduardo Repilloza Fernández. He’s the Director General of Transparencia Electoral, an election organization in Latin America that is working to promote and protect democracy through election observation, research and training.They spoke about the work of the organization, the focus the organization has placed on data privacy for individual voters and about how the work of the organization is important to the security of democracy in the region.You can check out Transparencia Electoral’s data privacy dashboard athttps://transparenciaelectoral.org/privacidad-de-datos-en-procesos-electorales/
-
High Turnout Wide Margins recently traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for the 2025 summer convening of the Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions [PLEJ], and spoke with election officials from across the county — and world — about the elections work they are doing in their communities.In this episode, hosts Eric Fey and Brianna Lennon speak with Paul Lux, the Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections, and Mark Earley, the Supervisor of Elections in Leon County.They spoke about how the lists of registered voters are already maintained in Florida, and about how the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE Act — a proposed piece of federal legislation that would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections — could impact that process.
-
High Turnout Wide Margins recently traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for the 2025 summer convening of the Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions [PLEJ], and spoke with election officials from across the county — and world -- about the elections work they are doing in their communities.In this episode, hosts Eric Fey and Brianna Lennon speak with Brian Kruse. He’s the Douglas County Election Commissioner based in Omaha, Nebraska. They spoke about how elections work in Nebraska, as well as the unique way Nebraska ensures there’s enough poll workers — by drafting them.Kruse has announced that he will step down from his current position in January 2026.
-
High Turnout Wide Margins recently traveled to the 40th annual Election Center conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, and spoke with election administrations and officials from across the county about how they do the work of elections in their communities.In this episode, hosts Eric Fey and Brianna Lennon speak with Chris McGinn. For the past year and a half, he’s been working as the executive director of the Texas Association of County Election Officials [TACEO]They spoke about some of the changes McGinn is helping make to the association, how the association balances the needs of some of the largest and smallest counties in the country, and about what’s next.
-
High Turnout Wide Margins recently traveled to the 40th annual Election Center conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, and spoke with election administrations and officials from across the county about how they do the work of elections in their communities.In this episode, hosts Eric Fey and Brianna Lennon speak with Lisa Marie Manning Bridges, the Registrar of Voters in the Parish of Orleans in Louisiana.They spoke about the unique nature of Louisiana elections, how the work is divvied up by different parish offices and how the parish works alongside the Louisiana Secretary of State to serve their voters.
-
High Turnout Wide Margins recently traveled to the 40th annual Election Center conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, and spoke with election administrations and officials from across the county about how they do the work of elections in their communities.In this episode, hosts Eric Fey and Brianna Lennon speak with Gretchen Reinemeyer, the General Registrar/Director of Elections for Arlington County.They spoke about some of the challenges that come from running elections in an area that has a large overlap with other metropolitan areas, as well as a large and ever changing number of military voters.
-
High Turnout Wide Margins recently traveled to the 40th annual Election Center conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, and spoke with election administrations and officials from across the county about how they do the work of elections in their communities.In this episode, hosts Eric Fey and Brianna Lennon speak with Judge Yashiba Glenn Blanchard in Jefferson County, Alabama. She was elected as the county’s probate judge in November of 2024, which means she hears probate cases – and is the chief election official for the county.They spoke about the decentralized nature of Alabama’s elections administration, what she’s learned about elections since coming into the role, and how she hopes to change the administration of elections in her community.