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Speaker 1: to learn more. Welcome to Why I'm Voting, a production
Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Listen. You already know this, but
Speaker 1: it's an election year. You might already be tired of
Speaker 1: hearing about it. But here's the thing. Democracy doesn't work
Speaker 1: without you. I'm Holly Frying, and I'm sitting down with
Speaker 1: many of my fellow podcasters, from Will Ferrell to Stephanie Rule,
Speaker 1: as well as other luminaries, to find out about their
Speaker 1: relationships with the ballot box and ultimately just to find
Speaker 1: out why they vote. I hope you're exercising your right
Speaker 1: to vote, and if you're not, I hope that their
Speaker 1: stories inspire you. So today on Why I Am Voting,
Speaker 1: I am joined by the fabulous and delightful Chuck Bryant,
Speaker 1: host of stuff you should know and also movie crush
Speaker 1: in general, all around guy who has kindly agreed, Uh,
Speaker 1: that should have been all around good guy, but whatever,
Speaker 1: he's definitely an all around guy, all around good guy
Speaker 1: to join us and talk about his relationship with voting
Speaker 1: a little bit. So right out of the gate, do
Speaker 1: you remember when you realized as a kid maybe the
Speaker 1: voting was a thing and something that you could potentially
Speaker 1: participate in one day. Well, Holly, here's my story. I
Speaker 1: grew up in a house that did not really talk politics.
Speaker 1: It was politics free zone except for the occasional grousing
Speaker 1: of my dad. I guess about something, but it was
Speaker 1: just not something that was very big in my family
Speaker 1: for some reason. And you know, of course I learned
Speaker 1: about all that kind of thing in Civics class and voting,
Speaker 1: but it didn't really hit home. I kind of got
Speaker 1: a late start as far as personally being involved politically.
Speaker 1: That didn't come around until until later, like towards the
Speaker 1: end of college. So you didn't register right away like
Speaker 1: when you were eighteen. I didn't, And I may have
Speaker 1: been completely wrong about this, but if I remember correctly,
Speaker 1: I think I remember that, and it may have been true,
Speaker 1: but uh that if you registered to vote, you are
Speaker 1: also registered for the draft. And even though it's silly
Speaker 1: to think that there would even be a draft anymore,
Speaker 1: I think I remember at the time being like, I'm
Speaker 1: not registered me for me, and and I don't even
Speaker 1: know if that was true, So it was it was
Speaker 1: very shameful looking back. But I also didn't know anything
Speaker 1: about anything back then, so I don't know if I
Speaker 1: would have been a responsible voter even Yeah, I think
Speaker 1: there's no shame in acknowledging. Like when you're kind of
Speaker 1: still a dumb kid, you're not really ready to make
Speaker 1: decisions anyway, and maybe aren't ramping up to vote. Do
Speaker 1: you remember what made you finally decide to register to vote? Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, in college, I think for a lot of
Speaker 1: people is when a lot of that stuff becomes a
Speaker 1: little more to the forefront, a little more spiritually awake
Speaker 1: and politically awake and all that good stuff. And I
Speaker 1: remember very distinctly, and I guess my sophomore year in college,
Speaker 1: maybe my second or third year, when the first Gulf
Speaker 1: War happened, and sitting around and watching that on CNN
Speaker 1: and having a roommate who was now an attorney that
Speaker 1: was pre law back then that was very political, and
Speaker 1: his name was Rob Elz and Rob we're still friends.
Speaker 1: He really kind of brought politics to the apartment. And
Speaker 1: my other roommate, Eddie Cooper, also we're both ahead of
Speaker 1: me politically, and that's when I first started kind of
Speaker 1: realizing that it's important to be involved and to be
Speaker 1: aware and to know what the hell is going on.
Speaker 1: Do you remember the for time that you actually voted, Like,
Speaker 1: do you have any memories of that first ballot experience?
Speaker 1: I do. The first election I participated in was my
Speaker 1: final year in college because I spent six years. There
Speaker 1: was the nineties six election, which I guess was Bill
Speaker 1: Clinton Part two. I'm remembering, right, yeah, yeah, that track
Speaker 1: and that wash. I think you know, Nader was involved
Speaker 1: back then. I think Ross Perrot was having his second
Speaker 1: go around, and that's when I cast my first vote,
Speaker 1: as you know, as a Democrat, and I've been a
Speaker 1: lifelong Democrat since then. What is your research process like
Speaker 1: or do you research for elections? Like I know for me,
Speaker 1: like some of the local politicians, like they're not getting ads,
Speaker 1: I gotta do some some leg work to make sure
Speaker 1: I know who I'm voting for. What is your process like? Well,
Speaker 1: I mean you and I are both sort of professional researchers,
Speaker 1: so we know our way around the internet when it
Speaker 1: comes to finding the good research. I like to think,
Speaker 1: you know, with with the presidential candidates and all, it's
Speaker 1: the way it's constructed in this country. You kind of
Speaker 1: have a choice of one or two things usually, and
Speaker 1: that's always easy for me. But as you go down ticket,
Speaker 1: I do research. I just try to you know, Facebook
Speaker 1: a lot of times is where not what people are saying,
Speaker 1: but people linking to some good information is a good
Speaker 1: place to get stuff. I always try to read up
Speaker 1: on the measures, the local measures that are going to
Speaker 1: be on the ballot, whether it's can you drink on
Speaker 1: Sundays in Georgia too, things that are a little more substantial.
Speaker 1: But I try to kind of investigate and I ask
Speaker 1: around to people that are smarter than me. I don't
Speaker 1: think there's any shame in seeking out opinions of people
Speaker 1: that really know their stuff. You know. Yeah, this kind
Speaker 1: of brings up the things. So you do, obviously vote
Speaker 1: down ticket, but do you make sure that you hit
Speaker 1: like the local elections that maybe aren't part of a bigger,
Speaker 1: you know, every four every two year situation. I do
Speaker 1: now and for the past probably fifteen years or so.
Speaker 1: Because I got a late start. I thought, you know,
Speaker 1: you go in and you vote for the president, and
Speaker 1: that's doing your civic duty. And then the more I
Speaker 1: grew up and became a you know, a sentient, responsible adult,
Speaker 1: you realize I think, like we all do, and like
Speaker 1: you probably have, that a lot of those local elections
Speaker 1: really really matter as far as what impacts you and
Speaker 1: the people that you love and people in your community.
Speaker 1: So that is definitely something that came on later in life,
Speaker 1: but now those are very important elections for me. My
Speaker 1: husband and I always make voting a date. Oh that's fine,
Speaker 1: where we always like go to breakfast or we go
Speaker 1: have lunch afterwards, whatever our schedule will permit. Do you
Speaker 1: have any rituals around voting. Well, I try to vote early,
Speaker 1: um in the pre voting, just because I don't like
Speaker 1: standing in lines and stuff. Although I will say I've
Speaker 1: had some great experiences standing along lines to vote, some
Speaker 1: great feeling of community, because I think that's one of
Speaker 1: the kind of the fun things about voting. Is you
Speaker 1: vote in your district and you're voting with your neighbors.
Speaker 1: And I live in a very mixed race neighborhood in Atlanta,
Speaker 1: and going in to vote and standing in those lines
Speaker 1: to vote for President Obama, it was a great feeling
Speaker 1: and you could you could feel it in the air,
Speaker 1: and there was just a good spear of community and friendliness.
Speaker 1: And so I don't mind those lines because it can
Speaker 1: make me feel closer to my my fellow person and
Speaker 1: my neighbor. But um, I also do like to try
Speaker 1: and early vote as well, just to get in and out.
Speaker 1: It sort of depends if I missed my window. It's
Speaker 1: not like, you know, I don't hang my head. I
Speaker 1: just go like, all right, I'll go stand in line. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I like the line too, because I feel like it
Speaker 1: makes you remember that you're not just voting for yourself,
Speaker 1: You're voting for the well being of everyone in your community. Totally.
Speaker 1: That's a great way to look at it. Now. You,
Speaker 1: like me, came to voting a little bit later. You
Speaker 1: weren't right out of the gate at eighteen. But I
Speaker 1: feel like kids today are better informed certainly than I
Speaker 1: was at that age. So if there are any people
Speaker 1: out there, whether they're young or even older, that maybe
Speaker 1: aren't using their right to vote. If you could tell
Speaker 1: them one thing, what would it be. Well, I feel
Speaker 1: like subsequent generations behind us are more politically active than
Speaker 1: we were maybe, But then I also sometimes see the
Speaker 1: voting numbers and see things like, you know, the younger
Speaker 1: generation isn't voting like they should. So I'm not quite
Speaker 1: sure how to reckon that. I would say, you know,
Speaker 1: take a look at the world around you, and if
Speaker 1: you don't like what you see, it's kind of one
Speaker 1: of the only things that we have. We can protest,
Speaker 1: and we can petition, we can lobby and make calls
Speaker 1: to congress people and senators, but your vote is really
Speaker 1: the only thing where you know that you're on record
Speaker 1: of having cast your official say on something. Uh, And
Speaker 1: that's important, you know. I don't want to get sidetracked
Speaker 1: about the electoral College and some states people might not
Speaker 1: think they're vote counts, but it does, especially because of
Speaker 1: the ballot measures and the local elections and council elections
Speaker 1: and stuff like that. It always counts. It's your duty.
Speaker 1: And lastly, you know, as we go forward and we're
Speaker 1: getting older and maybe becoming jaded old hags at least.
Speaker 1: I but I wonder what it is that keeps you
Speaker 1: motivated to vote knowing that, like, it's not the same
Speaker 1: as when you're a kid and you're predicting or or
Speaker 1: determining your future for quite as long a run, Like,
Speaker 1: what is it that keeps you mailing in that ballot
Speaker 1: or going to the polls even when it's a pain
Speaker 1: in the butt. I have a daughter now, a five
Speaker 1: year old daughter, and that's a big part of it.
Speaker 1: I want to ensure her rights to have control of
Speaker 1: her own body. I would feel, you know, the same
Speaker 1: way if I had a son, obviously, but it does
Speaker 1: hit home a lot more when you have a daughter,
Speaker 1: I think. So a lot of this is to set
Speaker 1: an example for her, to take her with me if
Speaker 1: you know, she's getting to the age where obviously not
Speaker 1: during a pandemic, but she'll be going to vote with
Speaker 1: me the next time it's safe to do so. And
Speaker 1: I want to teach her about that kind of stuff
Speaker 1: because I wasn't really taught that stuff. So I think
Speaker 1: it's a very selfish thing to only think about while
Speaker 1: I'm here. Let me vote for the things that are
Speaker 1: important to me. It's it's about the future and making
Speaker 1: sure the planet's taken care of and making sure that
Speaker 1: everyone has their rights enshrined and into law. And uh,
Speaker 1: to not vote is um, it's lazy, it's cynical, I think,
Speaker 1: inc and I'm trying to rid myself of that cynicism,
Speaker 1: which is tough as you get older. But it's set
Speaker 1: an example for my daughter. I guess it is the
Speaker 1: easiest answer, perfect one. In my opinion, You're continuing the
Speaker 1: chain of voters. I love it. I'm trying to chuck.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for chatting on me today, but
Speaker 1: also just thank you for voting. Thank you. And I
Speaker 1: wear that sticker all day, I know. Uh, that's a
Speaker 1: big part of it. That Georgia Peach it is. It's cute.
Speaker 1: You got to post it on one of the social
Speaker 1: meds as well. Yes, that's how people know. So thank you, Holly.
Speaker 1: It was a pleasure to talk to you again. It's
Speaker 1: always a delight for me. I feel spoiled I've gotten
Speaker 1: to do to chat with you recently. Let's keep it
Speaker 1: up and let's keep voting everybody. Yes please, Hey are
Speaker 1: you not registered to vote yet? But you think it's
Speaker 1: something you want to do, you may still have time.
Speaker 1: Voter registration deadlines vary by state, so to find out
Speaker 1: the scoop for where you are, check out a nonpartisan
Speaker 1: registration voting site like head count dot org or fair
Speaker 1: vote dot org. Why I'm Voting is an I Heart
Speaker 1: Radio production. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit
Speaker 1: the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever it
Speaker 1: is you listen to your favorite shows