Spenser's Super Tuesday

One night in the summer of 2022, I was in Provincetown, tossing and turning in bed. The midterms were only a few months away, and what kept me awake was a question I think we’ve all wrestled with at some point: What would happen if the Maricopa County Elections office were held hostage? During the 8 years I spent as a journalist covering voting rights, I learned about one worst-case scenario after another — but this specific tragedy always felt the realest to me.

Hello, friends. I know it’s not Tuesday, and I know it’s been a while, and I am sorry! But I’ve been busy — not just learning a glide kip on the P bars (please see above) — but also finishing a new feature. Reported with a grant from the Pulitzer Center, it’s about VotingWorks, a non-profit voting machine vendor that’s committed to transparency. Like, really committed. Like, they publish the source code for every one of their machines on GitHub.

Consider this your trigger warning. Yesterday, This American Life dropped a seemingly heartwarming story about Heider Garcia, an election official in Tarrant County, Texas. In 2020, Tarrant flipped blue for the first time since 1964, and residents were extremely not chill about it.

Just when you needed me least, I appeared. It’s me. Hi. I’m the problem, it’s me. You needed someone to guide you through the tail end of election season: the early voting drama, the day-of jitters, the week afterward when Maricopa County released batches of 15 votes every 90 seconds and you were refreshing Twitter in a bar bathroom and having panic flashbacks to 2016. But in your time of need, SST was nowhere to be found. If it makes you feel any better, I was also spiraling out on my own.

Voting news and relationship advice — you’ve really struck gold today. I am disappointed to report that summer has ended, and so has my one-year relationship with my boyfriend (unrelated events, to the best of my knowledge). I’ll spare you the details — this isn’t Spenser’s Super Diary!!!! — and I mention it only because I’ve been thinking a lot about other relationships that have run their course.

Super Tuesday Consulting Do you know what a secretary of state does? When this question comes up at parties, you probably say something like, In 37 states, they’re the chief election official with ultimate oversight over elections and voter registration. That’s so true, bestie, but what does it really mean to have ultimate oversight?

Actual footage from a recent Seattle City Council meeting. Today was supposed to be different. Today was supposed to be a love letter to local government. As I wrote for Bolts, the Oakland City Council recently approved a democracy voucher initiative to go on the November ballot. The program would provide four $25 vouchers for every Oakland voter to donate to eligible city and school board candidates. This is huge.

They wouldn’t let me wear my “Ballots & Barbells” crop top 🙁 Spenser’s Super Summer schedule is in effect. The next post will be July 26th. The Bad A few weeks ago, I went to D.C. with Issue One to ask Congress and the White House for regular federal funding for elections and more protections for poll workers. Candidly, I felt a bit intimidated by the rest of the delegation.

Today’s cameo is a doozy. Spenser’s Super Summer Schedule is in effect, and the next issue is July 5th. If you find yourself missing me more than usual, I’m on Twitter. *** Cook County Voters — you don’t know anything about the judicial candidates on the ballot next Tuesday, so read this voter guide from Injustice Watch. The Bad For the past three years, most reporting on voting rights has been debunking idiotic conspiracy theories from people who didn’t believe them in the first place.

Today’s post is more of a comment than a question. Spenser’s Super Summer Schedule is in effect, and the next issue is June 21st. If you find yourself missing me more than usual, I’m on Twitter. The Good Recently, I did the annual training for New York City poll workers. I’ve done a version of this course every year since 2012, and I’ve always appreciated that they relentlessly push one point: to refer to your manual.