WEBVTT - TURNOUT Episode 7: 'Stepping out of your partisan self' 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:17.119 Oh jamaatral in California. Do you love movies? Well, I 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:19.600 have the podcast for you. Hey there, this is Mike 0:00:19.680 --> 0:00:22.760 d from Movie Mix Movie Podcast, your go to source 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:26.480 for all things movies. Each episode explores a different movie topic, 0:00:26.600 --> 0:00:29.960 plus spoiler free reviews on the latest streaming and movies 0:00:30.000 --> 0:00:33.280 in theaters. You'll also get interviews with actors and directors 0:00:33.320 --> 0:00:35.960 to take a look behind the scenes of your favorite movies. 0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:39.400 Listen to new episodes of Movie Mix Movie Podcast every 0:00:39.440 --> 0:00:42.280 Monday on the Nashville Podcast Network, Available on the I 0:00:42.400 --> 0:00:46.040 Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. 0:00:47.680 --> 0:00:50.720 Look for your children's eyes and you will discover the 0:00:50.800 --> 0:00:54.480 true magic of a forest. Find a forest near you 0:00:54.720 --> 0:00:58.160 and start exploring it. Discover the forest dot org. Brought 0:00:58.200 --> 0:01:00.360 to you by the United States Forest Service and the 0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:08.479 AD Council. My fellow Americans, I'm Katie Couric, and this 0:01:08.640 --> 0:01:13.640 is turnout Volks. The people of this nation have spoken. 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:22.160 They've delivered us a clear victory, a convincing victory. On Saturday, 0:01:22.160 --> 0:01:26.840 November seven, after days of County, Pennsylvania finally tipped the 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:32.840 scales for the Biden Harris ticket of victory four, We 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:37.400 the people We've won with the most votes ever cast 0:01:37.440 --> 0:01:41.520 from presidential ticket in the history of the nation, seventy 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:48.800 four millions. That night in Wilmington, Delaware, the President elect 0:01:48.960 --> 0:01:52.880 and his vice president elect sent out a message of unity. 0:01:53.680 --> 0:02:02.720 You chose hope and unity, decency, science, and yes truth. 0:02:08.680 --> 0:02:13.000 It's time to put away the harsh rhetoric. Laura the temperature, 0:02:13.760 --> 0:02:18.040 see each other again, listen to each other again. It 0:02:18.080 --> 0:02:22.040 was a refreshing moment. It was also historic. But while 0:02:22.080 --> 0:02:25.000 I may be the first woman in this office, I 0:02:25.040 --> 0:02:29.919 will not be the last. On Sunday, the day after 0:02:30.000 --> 0:02:33.519 those speeches, I woke up feeling like my old self again, 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:38.359 just forty, I mean, four years older. Here's the thing 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:41.880 about President Donald Trump. I know him, or at least 0:02:42.000 --> 0:02:45.040 I got to know him during my fifteen years on 0:02:45.120 --> 0:02:51.000 the Today Shows This Is Today with P. D. Curry. 0:02:51.840 --> 0:02:54.680 Part of our job was to promote a reality show 0:02:54.800 --> 0:02:58.560 I had never seen, called The Apprentice. Last night, on 0:02:58.600 --> 0:03:00.919 The Apprentice, I did the unex acted. I didn't even 0:03:00.919 --> 0:03:03.919 give the fiery a chance to fight for her spot. 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:09.280 His success, in fact, was partially our responsibility. The Donald, 0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:12.680 as he was known to Manhattan Night's, was very nice 0:03:12.720 --> 0:03:16.040 to me. During those years. He supported my colon cancer 0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:19.440 efforts after my husband died, and I even attended his 0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:23.680 wedding to Milania in two thousand five. In two thousand 0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:27.239 and sixteen and the contest between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, 0:03:27.800 --> 0:03:30.600 I believed Hillary would have been a far better president, 0:03:31.200 --> 0:03:34.680 and I was disappointed and pretty shocked at the results. 0:03:35.320 --> 0:03:39.760 But Hillary Clinton's gracious concession speech moved me. We have 0:03:39.920 --> 0:03:44.480 seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought. 0:03:45.440 --> 0:03:48.880 But I still believe in America and I always will. 0:03:49.840 --> 0:03:53.480 And if you do, then we must accept this result 0:03:53.680 --> 0:03:57.360 and then look to the future. Donald Trump is going 0:03:57.440 --> 0:04:01.320 to be our president. We owe him an open mind 0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:07.440 and the chance to lead. I tried to keep an 0:04:07.440 --> 0:04:11.160 open mind. I prayed that somehow the awesome and humbling 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:14.720 job of leading our country would bring out the best 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:17.799 in Donald Trump, that he would rise to the occasion. 0:04:18.560 --> 0:04:22.359 But instead it was the opposite. As Trump's character sank 0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:26.240 lower and lower, we Americans were like the proverbial frog 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:29.760 in the water. As that water got hotter and hotter. 0:04:29.839 --> 0:04:33.800 Over the course of his presidency, we became slowly accustomed 0:04:33.839 --> 0:04:38.359 to his norm breaking outrages, until it reached a roiling 0:04:38.440 --> 0:04:44.560 boil I recognized that some people appreciated that Donald Trump 0:04:44.600 --> 0:04:47.039 said it like it was, and that he became a 0:04:47.120 --> 0:04:51.279 vessel for their fears and frustrations. But every day he 0:04:51.320 --> 0:04:54.039 seemed to take his bare hands and rip apart the 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:58.839 gaping wound that already existed in our country, preventing any 0:04:58.960 --> 0:05:05.440 chance of events will healing. The birther who inexplicably promoted 0:05:05.440 --> 0:05:09.160 the false notion that Barack Obama was not a US citizen, 0:05:09.760 --> 0:05:14.160 gave birth to countless conspiracy theories and the nefarious groups 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:19.000 that trade in them, And he sewed mistrust in our institutions. 0:05:19.040 --> 0:05:22.760 A reality star who locked his supporters into an alternate 0:05:22.839 --> 0:05:27.039 reality and threw away the key. Donald Trump didn't grow 0:05:27.080 --> 0:05:31.960 bigger in the job. He grew smaller. And now it 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:35.520 really is mourning in America. We have a president and 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:41.239 vice president who will conduct themselves with dignity, humility, and decency. 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:45.480 We must restore the soul of America. Our nation is 0:05:45.600 --> 0:05:50.719 shaped by the constant battle between our better angels and 0:05:50.800 --> 0:05:56.160 our darkest impulstals. Now what presidents say in this battle matters. 0:05:56.880 --> 0:06:04.040 It's time for our better angels revail. They have a 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:07.719 huge task, of course, making millions of Americans who didn't 0:06:07.760 --> 0:06:12.159 support them feel seen, heard, and cared about. They must 0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:15.560 help them understand that the changing demographics of our country 0:06:16.040 --> 0:06:20.360 isn't something to fear, but to celebrate. And job number 0:06:20.400 --> 0:06:23.320 one is to lead the country out of an out 0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:27.960 of control pandemic that's leaving families grieving over the lives 0:06:28.040 --> 0:06:33.680 and livelihoods lost. I'm an optimist, but I'm not cock eyed. 0:06:34.320 --> 0:06:38.680 We may never agree on everything, but I'm looking forward to, 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:42.320 as Joe Biden said, lowering the temperature of our national 0:06:42.360 --> 0:06:46.839 thermostat and seeing each other as human beings, not bumper 0:06:46.880 --> 0:06:50.320 stickers or lawn signs. Maybe then we can get back 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:54.000 to work and start making progress on some enormous problems 0:06:54.480 --> 0:06:58.520 that won't just go away on their own. I wanted 0:06:58.560 --> 0:07:01.240 Donald Trump to succeed, and I gave him a chance. 0:07:01.880 --> 0:07:04.480 For all those who voted for him, please do the 0:07:04.520 --> 0:07:09.520 same for the incoming administration. So keep an open mind 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:18.600 and maybe, just maybe we can all work together. We're 0:07:18.600 --> 0:07:21.200 gonna take a short break when we come back, let's 0:07:21.200 --> 0:07:25.160 see how our democracy is doing. Now that the election 0:07:25.840 --> 0:07:40.280 is almost in our rear. Freeme mirror, So I present state, 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:58.040 whoever foot in Latina, but always keep their cal Hope 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:07.920 is keen in California. From Cavalry Audio comes the new 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:12.680 true crime podcast, The Shadow Girls. Were always wanted to 0:08:12.720 --> 0:08:15.640 know what it felt like to kill somebody and started laughing. 0:08:15.720 --> 0:08:19.480 Prosecutors described him as a serial killer survant, kicking up 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:22.800 these girls, getting him in a position of vulnerability. When 0:08:22.800 --> 0:08:24.880 he got hold of their neck, that was it. I'm 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:29.120 Caroline Asia, a journalist and lifelong resident at the Pacific Northwest. 0:08:29.440 --> 0:08:31.680 I grew up near the banks of the Green River 0:08:32.080 --> 0:08:34.959 and in the shadow of the killer that bears its name. 0:08:35.320 --> 0:08:37.960 How many times did you bring the camera? One of time? 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:42.080 Just one? He started fantasizing about having sex with his mother, 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:46.040 and he fantasized about killing her. But this podcast isn't 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:49.400 only about tracking down the killer. It's about the victims. 0:08:49.840 --> 0:08:52.240 We stayed in the woods. He always liked to call 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:56.199 in the woods all of the kind of strange. You 0:08:56.280 --> 0:08:59.040 know how he feels about prostitutes. Listen to The Shadow 0:08:59.080 --> 0:09:02.520 Girls on the I Heart Radio app, on Apple Podcasts 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:07.840 or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Chuck Wicks 0:09:07.840 --> 0:09:10.440 from Love Country. Talk to Chuck. Where we bring you 0:09:10.800 --> 0:09:13.520 what's really happening in the country music family. We also 0:09:13.600 --> 0:09:15.120 if you love country. Here's the deal. If you love 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:17.240 country music, you can be on the podcast. So if 0:09:17.240 --> 0:09:20.120 you're a fan country music, well, you can call in anytime, like, oh, 0:09:20.120 --> 0:09:22.400 I want to talk about this. Haul Cogan called in 0:09:22.520 --> 0:09:27.199 season one. He's like Chuck the Lobster. I love your podcast. 0:09:27.360 --> 0:09:31.320 I mean Jason al Dean, Jimmy, Allen, Carley, Pierce, Laurena, Lena. 0:09:31.960 --> 0:09:34.200 So many huge stars have been on Love Country Talk 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:37.280 to Chuck season two. It's gonna get even better. I'm 0:09:37.280 --> 0:09:40.560 gonna have the same big, giant, huge stars. But I 0:09:40.559 --> 0:09:43.079 think it's time bring some people in the studio right 0:09:43.120 --> 0:09:45.920 off the street. You love country music, fine, come talk 0:09:45.960 --> 0:09:48.320 to Chuck. That's how cool we are. I'm just saying it. 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:50.320 I'm saying it out loud. Listen to new episodes of 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:52.960 Love Country Talk to Chuck every Monday and Thursday on 0:09:52.960 --> 0:09:56.480 the Nashville Podcast Network, available on the I Heart Radio app, 0:09:56.520 --> 0:10:04.320 Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Now that 0:10:04.440 --> 0:10:08.760 this unprecedented pandemic election is technically behind us, we thought 0:10:08.800 --> 0:10:13.560 it'd be helpful to get a temperature read on our democracy. 0:10:13.559 --> 0:10:17.679 Elections were far better than some of the worst case scenarios. 0:10:17.880 --> 0:10:21.000 To do that, we brought back Jesse Littlewood of Common 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:24.760 Cause and it still had some challenges for voters that 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:28.400 we think could be improved because democracy works best when 0:10:28.480 --> 0:10:31.560 more people participate, and we think that there's a lot 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:34.720 of reforms in the elections to build on, but democracy 0:10:34.800 --> 0:10:37.439 needs to keep pushing forward to have a democracy that 0:10:37.480 --> 0:10:41.040 truly works for everyone. During the early voting period and 0:10:41.240 --> 0:10:44.600 on election Day, Common Cause was out there and across 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:48.920 the country keeping an eye on democracy at work. So 0:10:49.120 --> 0:10:51.880 the Election Protection Coalition that Common Cause is proud to 0:10:51.920 --> 0:10:54.960 be one of the leaders of not Only is deployed 0:10:55.000 --> 0:10:59.200 people in the field into over forty states helping to 0:10:59.320 --> 0:11:02.640 monitor the poll in places. Um you know, many of 0:11:02.640 --> 0:11:05.680 our volunteers were in a car or on a bicycle 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:07.960 sort of traveling between a couple of polling places to 0:11:07.960 --> 0:11:10.320 make sure that the election was running smoothly. You know, 0:11:10.360 --> 0:11:12.839 our partners, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under law 0:11:12.920 --> 0:11:15.920 Man the eight six six are about hotline which received 0:11:16.200 --> 0:11:19.360 you know, a record number of calls, and that's not 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:22.080 necessarily because there was a record number of problems, but 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:25.199 there were people who learned that there was a resource 0:11:25.280 --> 0:11:28.600 for them to answer their question, to find out where 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:31.000 they're polling place, was to understand what kind of ID 0:11:31.160 --> 0:11:33.520 they needed, and they were able to get their questions 0:11:33.520 --> 0:11:37.840 answered and actually participate. Now that data is actually really 0:11:37.960 --> 0:11:40.920 vital to be able to make a plan to change 0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:43.920 any of the problems that did crop up on election day. 0:11:44.160 --> 0:11:48.120 So that data, the data that comes from our field volunteers, 0:11:48.120 --> 0:11:52.080 the data that we found from our social media monitoring program, 0:11:52.120 --> 0:11:56.439 We're going to turn that into uh usable actionable insights 0:11:56.520 --> 0:12:01.280 for state legislatures and other decision makers to see where 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:05.079 there were systemic problems and be able to address those 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:09.080 on their state level. In this country, we administer elections 0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:11.440 on a state by state level, sometimes county by county, 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:14.560 and so being able to actually be a source of 0:12:14.600 --> 0:12:18.680 information and to help advocate for voters of any party 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:21.320 to participate and get over some of these hurdles is 0:12:21.360 --> 0:12:25.880 something we're gonna do. You know. I think one thing 0:12:25.880 --> 0:12:29.520 that I found really remarkable was in our social media 0:12:29.559 --> 0:12:33.000 monitoring program. You know, we set that program up to 0:12:33.120 --> 0:12:37.120 not only look for the disinformation that is attacking voters, 0:12:37.320 --> 0:12:39.360 you know, telling people the wrong ways to vote or 0:12:39.400 --> 0:12:42.320 telling them that their vote doesn't count, or trying to 0:12:42.400 --> 0:12:44.920 undercut their belief in the integrity of the system. We 0:12:44.960 --> 0:12:47.800 also set that system up because we know many voters 0:12:48.200 --> 0:12:51.040 don't know the hotline number or don't know who to 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:53.560 call if they have a problem. And we found just 0:12:53.720 --> 0:12:57.360 a remarkable number of instances of voters tweeting out that 0:12:57.520 --> 0:12:59.440 they had a problem, that they were told they had 0:12:59.480 --> 0:13:01.480 to use a pro national ballot, or that there was 0:13:01.520 --> 0:13:03.360 a long line at their polling place, or they couldn't 0:13:03.360 --> 0:13:05.400 be found in the voter rules. And we were able 0:13:05.440 --> 0:13:07.880 to connect with those voters because we have this network 0:13:07.880 --> 0:13:11.000 of volunteers and tell them, Okay, you can actually get 0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:13.199 your problem solved. You can call eight six six r 0:13:13.280 --> 0:13:16.520 vote Um. If you're being told to use a provisional ballot, 0:13:16.559 --> 0:13:19.880 you should talk to the sire vote volunteer or your 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:22.480 administrator and find out why, because maybe you're just in 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:24.360 the wrong polling place and if you go to a 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:27.440 different polling place, you won't have to vote provisionally. So 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:30.960 we we saw a lot of folks use these social 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:33.720 media tools to kind of throw up a flare and 0:13:33.760 --> 0:13:37.480 ask for help, and because we had this network of volunteers, 0:13:37.480 --> 0:13:39.520 we were able to do a little bit of a 0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:41.680 search and rescue mission. We found those folks and we 0:13:41.679 --> 0:13:44.600 were able to get them that information. And because social 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:48.400 media is a publishing platform, other people saw that too, 0:13:48.480 --> 0:13:51.600 when they saw their friends ask for help and that 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:54.480 a resource was there. I think that's important on an 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:58.040 individual level, but also, and I be a little cheesy here, 0:13:58.120 --> 0:14:01.760 it's it's also important on kind of a societal democratic 0:14:01.800 --> 0:14:06.000 participation level. There's so much happening right now in especially 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:09.280 on social media that is a competing it's a partisan warfare. 0:14:09.360 --> 0:14:12.760 It's two parties attacking each other, either about policies or 0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:18.080 about the election process. And to see that there was individuals, voters, 0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:20.880 people just like them saying we're here to help you. 0:14:21.160 --> 0:14:23.440 I don't care what party you're part of, I don't 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:25.960 care who you're voting for. You have a right to vote. 0:14:26.000 --> 0:14:28.400 I'm here to help you. I think that actually matters, 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:31.240 to push back on the way that, you know, politics 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:33.440 right now is kind of a blood sport and a 0:14:33.480 --> 0:14:36.840 winner take all contests, and instead we were able to 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:41.400 have democracy and action of voters helping voters, you know, 0:14:41.560 --> 0:14:45.240 stepping outside of our own partisan bubble and saying there's 0:14:45.240 --> 0:14:47.240 gonna be problems that people have. I don't really care 0:14:47.280 --> 0:14:49.440 where or you know, what party they are, but I'm 0:14:49.440 --> 0:14:51.200 going to step in and try and help them. And 0:14:51.240 --> 0:14:54.800 I think that that goes to the process of rebuilding 0:14:54.800 --> 0:15:00.520 a stronger civic fabric in this country. Jeff he says, 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:06.080 big picture, there are two major takeaways from election. Number 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:08.760 one takeaway from me is that when you give people 0:15:09.280 --> 0:15:12.440 opportunities to vote on a day other than the first 0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:14.760 Tuesday in November, they will take you up on the 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:18.120 offer and it will make your first day in November 0:15:18.200 --> 0:15:22.520 election day run much smoother. Expanding early vote, expanding vote 0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:26.400 by mail, those are huge benefits not just to voters 0:15:26.440 --> 0:15:28.960 but to the people who need to administer the elections 0:15:29.400 --> 0:15:31.360 because it reduces the volume that you have to go 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:34.120 through on that day. I also think that voters are 0:15:34.120 --> 0:15:38.760 getting the message pretty clearly that UM their vote matters 0:15:38.840 --> 0:15:41.920 when you see that the margin of victory and some 0:15:42.080 --> 0:15:45.840 of these contests is really really narrow. Now, Common Cause 0:15:45.920 --> 0:15:48.520 is not a big proponent of the electoral college. In fact, 0:15:48.600 --> 0:15:52.200 we support the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact because the 0:15:52.240 --> 0:15:55.680 way the electoral College works UM is a real voter 0:15:55.800 --> 0:15:58.680 depression in terms of making folks feel like their vote 0:15:58.680 --> 0:16:02.360 doesn't actually out in the presidential contest in many states, 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:05.840 but as we saw, there are some very close races 0:16:05.880 --> 0:16:08.120 and some of these key battleground states, and I think 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:10.200 it sends a message clearly to the voters that every 0:16:10.280 --> 0:16:14.280 vote does matter, and the narrow margin of victory means 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:16.680 how important is for everyone to turn out and make 0:16:16.720 --> 0:16:22.640 their voice hurt in our democracy when we come back, 0:16:23.000 --> 0:16:26.720 what that big turnout could mean for future elections. That's 0:16:26.800 --> 0:16:38.760 right after this. My name is the south Shire in 0:16:38.760 --> 0:16:41.360 the linebacker for the San Francisco forty NS. COVID hit 0:16:41.560 --> 0:16:43.600 so many different people, from the very top to the 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:46.280 very bottom. There's nobody not being affected by COVID in 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:47.960 some way, shape or form, and so I think that 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:49.960 that but a lot of people together. I've teamed up 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:52.800 with cal Hope to let Californians know about the resources 0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:55.040 and support available to all of you that may be 0:16:55.080 --> 0:16:57.560 dealing with mental health issues. Go to cal hope dot 0:16:57.640 --> 0:16:59.760 org to chat with a live person or call their 0:16:59.840 --> 0:17:05.240 war at one eight three seven Hope. That's eight seven 0:17:05.680 --> 0:17:09.919 h o P. The art world, it is essentially a 0:17:10.240 --> 0:17:13.760 money laundering business. The best fakes are still hanging off 0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:17.200 people's walls. You know, they don't even know or suspect 0:17:17.240 --> 0:17:20.520 that they're fakes. I'm at like Baldwin and this is 0:17:20.520 --> 0:17:25.080 a podcast about deception, greed, and forgery in the art world. 0:17:25.520 --> 0:17:31.360 You knew the painting was fake. Um Listen to Art 0:17:31.400 --> 0:17:35.320 Fraud starting February one on the I Heart Radio app, 0:17:35.400 --> 0:17:47.080 Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, y'all, 0:17:47.080 --> 0:17:49.320 this is Caroline Hobby, the host of Get Real with 0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:54.080 Caroline Hobby, Honest Women, Honest Talk. I love podcasting. It 0:17:54.160 --> 0:17:58.639 is so much fun because I have the most in depth, spiritual, soulful, 0:17:59.280 --> 0:18:04.760 real as conversations with women who are mothers, who are entrepreneurs, 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:07.879 who have started their own businesses, who are married to celebrities, 0:18:07.920 --> 0:18:12.000 who are celebrities themselves. These women are juggling motherhood, being 0:18:12.000 --> 0:18:15.600 a career woman, starting their own businesses, taking leaps, knowing 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:18.879 when to jump. These women are incredible and the conversations 0:18:18.880 --> 0:18:21.560 are so real it will hit every nerve in your 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:23.800 body as a woman. A little bit about myself. I 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:26.440 was a country music artist in a trio. I traveled 0:18:26.440 --> 0:18:29.199 the country open for every celebrity you can imagine in 0:18:29.240 --> 0:18:32.040 country music. I also been on the Amazing Race twice. 0:18:32.040 --> 0:18:33.960 And I'm married to Michael Hobby, who is the lead 0:18:33.960 --> 0:18:36.680 singer of A Thousand Horses, and we have our precious daughter, Sonny. 0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:39.399 Who's to Listen to new episodes of Get Real with 0:18:39.480 --> 0:18:43.280 Caroline Hobby every Monday on the Nashville Podcast Network, available 0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:45.760 on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever 0:18:45.800 --> 0:18:50.040 you listen to podcast. I believe that we had a 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:52.919 higher turnout than almost at any other point in the 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:58.359 history of the electorate. Again, here's Jesse Littlewood of Common Cause, 0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:01.560 and that is like a testament to the great work 0:19:01.560 --> 0:19:04.399 of elections workers, as well as the changes that we 0:19:04.480 --> 0:19:07.440 made to the election systems in response to the coronavirus pandemic, 0:19:07.480 --> 0:19:11.200 which could have crashed our turnout and instead it actually 0:19:11.480 --> 0:19:14.760 increased it from the last four years, which is a 0:19:14.800 --> 0:19:18.040 remarkable success story. Now, there were very real problems that 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:21.360 happened to individuals over the course of election day. There's 0:19:21.400 --> 0:19:24.760 far too many barriers to be able to exercise your vote, 0:19:24.840 --> 0:19:27.960 especially when it comes to people of color and low 0:19:28.000 --> 0:19:31.840 income communities, or people with disabilities, or other folks like 0:19:31.920 --> 0:19:34.280 students who still have a lot of barriers in their 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:36.840 way in order to be able to vote, but we 0:19:36.920 --> 0:19:40.480 saw no large scale meltdown of the election process, and 0:19:40.520 --> 0:19:41.919 I think that has a lot to do with the 0:19:41.960 --> 0:19:45.000 fact that the changes that we made in the process 0:19:45.160 --> 0:19:49.160 included expanding the vote by mail system to far more 0:19:49.600 --> 0:19:52.760 voters than ever before. And it also the number of 0:19:52.800 --> 0:19:57.120 early days that voters could participate meant that a very 0:19:57.200 --> 0:20:00.159 large portion of the votes were already in before or 0:20:00.240 --> 0:20:03.800 the singular election day on the first Tuesday in November. 0:20:04.359 --> 0:20:07.560 And because of that, that reduced some of the administrative 0:20:07.640 --> 0:20:12.760 challenges that we've seen in the past. High turnout is 0:20:12.840 --> 0:20:16.480 good news, but Jesse says there were still those familiar 0:20:16.600 --> 0:20:19.639 barriers to the ballot. The thing I don't want to 0:20:19.640 --> 0:20:22.600 do is erase the challenges that some people still have 0:20:22.760 --> 0:20:24.960 and being able to exercise their right to vote. And 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:27.520 those challenges don't happen just on election day. They come 0:20:27.560 --> 0:20:31.679 through restrictive laws like strict voter ID laws that we 0:20:31.760 --> 0:20:36.560 know disenfranchise individuals, particularly voters of color, more so than others. 0:20:36.600 --> 0:20:40.560 Those barriers still exist, right and the challenges of removing 0:20:40.600 --> 0:20:44.560 people unduly from the voter rolls when they haven't been 0:20:44.600 --> 0:20:48.080 active in the most recent elections, these challenges are still there, 0:20:48.200 --> 0:20:52.680 and yet despite that democracy one people overcame those barriers. 0:20:52.960 --> 0:20:56.040 More people participated as a voter in this election than 0:20:56.080 --> 0:20:59.840 in previous periods, and that was because of the in 0:21:00.040 --> 0:21:03.560 trist in participating in the democracy and the fact that 0:21:03.640 --> 0:21:07.760 elections workers really stood up to the challenge and we're 0:21:07.800 --> 0:21:12.920 able to do more um in terms of actually administering 0:21:12.920 --> 0:21:16.240 this election. Despite not having the resources that they needed 0:21:16.240 --> 0:21:18.399 to have to be able to fully administer it in 0:21:18.440 --> 0:21:20.479 the challenges that we had, they did a lot with 0:21:20.520 --> 0:21:22.600 what they were able to do, so I would call 0:21:22.640 --> 0:21:25.560 it certainly a qualified success. I wouldn't say that it 0:21:25.640 --> 0:21:29.639 was perfect because democracy is a process, it is not 0:21:29.720 --> 0:21:33.560 a destination, and we are still need to eliminate any 0:21:33.560 --> 0:21:37.040 of the barriers two people participating in our democracy, of 0:21:37.080 --> 0:21:40.040 which there's there still exists far too many. This election 0:21:40.119 --> 0:21:43.959 also brought to the surface new potential obstructions to voting 0:21:44.000 --> 0:21:48.760 that organizations like Common Cause are watching and plant to fight. 0:21:49.400 --> 0:21:53.280 While we were expecting a large amount of disinformation about 0:21:53.400 --> 0:21:56.840 the elections, I think I was still surprised by the volume, 0:21:57.160 --> 0:22:02.199 the consistency, and the sort of ferocity of it. And 0:22:02.240 --> 0:22:05.800 I think while we have seen it increase, sort of 0:22:05.880 --> 0:22:09.520 year over year. I am concerned that specifically around the 0:22:09.600 --> 0:22:13.439 disinformation about the participation in democracy will continue to be 0:22:13.560 --> 0:22:17.600 just like a tactic used by partisans in order to 0:22:17.720 --> 0:22:21.480 secure victory for their preferred candidate. UH whether or not 0:22:21.560 --> 0:22:24.960 that becomes really part of the party and the campaign 0:22:25.040 --> 0:22:28.520 apparatus remains to be seen. We know that there were 0:22:28.600 --> 0:22:32.040 a number of legal challenges filed by the Trump campaign 0:22:32.040 --> 0:22:36.160 and the Republican National Committee about certain types of reforms 0:22:36.240 --> 0:22:39.720 that were made to do expansion of the voting process, 0:22:39.720 --> 0:22:43.040 including the vote by mail system and early voting drop 0:22:43.080 --> 0:22:46.680 boxes and how many are allowed per county. That kind 0:22:46.680 --> 0:22:52.720 of legal push to restrict reforms that could give more 0:22:52.720 --> 0:22:56.080 people access to voting, I think is really troubling and 0:22:56.160 --> 0:22:59.159 something that will be really important to pay attention to 0:22:59.240 --> 0:23:03.720 in the future. While it appears that President Trump has 0:23:03.720 --> 0:23:08.000 lost reelection, Republicans across the country did not fare that badly, 0:23:08.400 --> 0:23:10.720 and so it is going to be interesting to see 0:23:10.760 --> 0:23:14.240 how the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party decides 0:23:14.320 --> 0:23:17.960 to steer their course when it comes to deciding what 0:23:18.040 --> 0:23:21.680 are the kinds of voting reforms they they want to encourage. 0:23:21.680 --> 0:23:25.280 We're kind of voting reforms they want to discourage. What 0:23:25.440 --> 0:23:28.440 is troubling about that is that, by and large, states 0:23:28.600 --> 0:23:31.800 and the elections administrators in those states have a pretty 0:23:31.840 --> 0:23:34.960 good idea, especially when they're are in dialogue with voter 0:23:35.040 --> 0:23:39.040 protection groups, what voters need to be successful and to 0:23:39.080 --> 0:23:42.159 be able to participate and to see it become a 0:23:42.240 --> 0:23:46.119 key campaign tactic to try and change the rules of 0:23:46.119 --> 0:23:50.280 the system. I don't think that is beneficial to voters 0:23:50.359 --> 0:23:52.639 or to our democracy. So we're gonna watch dog that 0:23:52.720 --> 0:23:55.440 kind of process UM in the future, as we continue 0:23:55.480 --> 0:23:59.200 to look at how polling places are deployed and other 0:23:59.280 --> 0:24:01.760 kinds of reform UM, we'd like to see a lot 0:24:01.840 --> 0:24:05.600 of the kind of reforms that clearly increased turnout remain 0:24:05.720 --> 0:24:09.040 in place. UM. As we voters are now starting to 0:24:09.040 --> 0:24:13.320 get experienced with more vote by mail options, those are 0:24:13.640 --> 0:24:16.639 positive reforms that will help more voters turn out. So 0:24:16.640 --> 0:24:19.679 we'd like to see what can be done to ensure 0:24:19.720 --> 0:24:22.800 that those are permanent reforms that are available to more 0:24:22.880 --> 0:24:30.960 voters in the future elections. It's great that we saw 0:24:31.040 --> 0:24:34.720 more Republicans, Independence, and Democrats participate in this election than 0:24:34.760 --> 0:24:36.960 any other. That's the bottom line of what a good 0:24:37.000 --> 0:24:41.240 democracy looks like is when there is a robust contest 0:24:41.359 --> 0:24:45.959 between competing ideas and the body politic decides to make 0:24:46.000 --> 0:24:48.159 their voice heard in what that outcome is going to be. 0:24:49.400 --> 0:24:52.600 But my hope, and this may be something of rose 0:24:52.600 --> 0:24:55.639 colored glasses, but my hope is that it's also people 0:24:56.040 --> 0:24:59.439 determining for themselves that it's important to be an active 0:24:59.480 --> 0:25:02.960 citizen right and to actually decide for themselves that what 0:25:03.000 --> 0:25:06.040 they're gonna do is they're going to participate in one 0:25:06.119 --> 0:25:08.240 of the ways, one of the most important ways, not 0:25:08.320 --> 0:25:10.720 the only way, but one of the ways of making 0:25:10.760 --> 0:25:14.440 their voice heard in shaping the future and the decisions 0:25:14.440 --> 0:25:17.640 of our country. And that means deciding to vote. And 0:25:17.840 --> 0:25:21.359 I hope that everyone, regardless of your political belief, decides 0:25:21.359 --> 0:25:23.840