Voting Now: Turning Rights into Reality
By Oregon Historical Society | Oregon Federal Bar Association
Our podcast is made by lawyers, for everyone. We tackle the sticky questions about democracy through the lens of voting access. Our guests include community leaders, activists, scholars, and students who have agreed to share their insight on the heroes of our past, the inequities that persist, and the movements inviting your participation.
Latest episode
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Keeping the government accountable and transparent
Trust is the foundation for democracy; without it, people don't willingly engage with government policy. Our guest today is Jennifer McGuirk who keeps government agencies accountable. Jennifer is Multnomah County’s Auditor which means that she examin… -
Kathleen Saadat: Velvet and Steel
Kathleen Saadat has been called the conscience of Portland, Oregon. Here, Saadat talks about organizing Portland’s first gay pride parade, as well as the campaign to beat Measure 9 in 1992, a homophobic amendment to the Oregon Constitution. Kathleen.… -
Training Democratic women to run for office…and win
Women makeup 51% of the US population and yet account for only 24% of the Senate and 27% of the House of Representatives. How can women start to change that landscape? Jillian Schoene, Emerge Oregon’s departing Executive Director, joins us to discuss… -
Leigh Chapman: Fighting for The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and more
While the 2020 Presidential Election saw an unprecedented voter turnout, the fight to end voter suppression and discrimination rages on. We’re joined by Leigh Chapman, Senior Director of the Voting Rights Program at The Leadership Conference on Civi… -
The Power of the Native American Vote
Attorney Molly Washington discusses the Native American vote with Amanda WhiteEagle and journalist, Anna V. Smith who covers indigenous affairs for High Country News. In 2020 WhiteEagle ran to represent District 92 in the Wisconsin State Assembly, i… -
Hidden history & the suffragist movement
Mary Beatty should be a well-known figure in women's history: she was one of the first Black women (west of the Mississippi) to publicly advocate for woman suffrage. Decades before women won the right to vote, Mary Beatty and 3 other white women... -
The Triumph of the 2020 Election. What We Learned. Myrna Pérez.
Despite significant obstacles, the US had the highest voter turnout since 1908. How did it happen? Myrna Pérez, director of the Brennan Center's Voting Rights and Elections Program, joined us to discuss what we accomplished in the 2020 election, what… -
What is the Latinx vote?
Is there even such a thing as the Latinx vote? It’s not the monolith some may think. So says Jessica Vega Pederson, Commissioner for Multnomah County, Oregon and the state’s first Latina House Representative. In this episode, Jessica touches on why.… -
Voter security: Peter Miller
Vote-by-mail, elections, and voting in general have been on everyone’s mind these days, which is why we spoke to an expert, Dr. Peter Miller. Miller is a social scientist at The Brennan Center for Justice, which is a non-partisan law and policy... -
Why representation matters: Albert Lee
Albert Lee was born in South Korea to an African-American soldier father and a Korean mother. When he was five years old; he moved to the states. He grew up working-class. His background drove him to public service: In 2020 he ran for Congress; befo…