The Democracy Volunteers Podcast

We welcome Professor Kidd back onto the podcast to explain what this election actually means for US politics. We ask: Why did the Democrats win this election? How does a blue House and Senate change what Trump can do? Who are the winners and losers for the 2028 Presidential race? And much more.
Find out how to get involved as an election observer: https://democracyvolunteers.org/

Join me and Professor Quentin Kidd, Executive Vice President and Provost of Christopher Newport University, to get an update on the Midterm elections taking place on Tuesday, 3 November. In this episode, we cover what's at stake in elections, the narratives that have shaped the campaign, which states to pay close attention to on election night, and what a victory in the House or Senate for either party could mean for US politics. Find out how to get involved as an election observer: https://democracyvolunteers.org/

Millions of citizens live abroad, and most of them don’t vote. In this episode of How to Increase Turnout, we speak to Dr Timothy Veale, who launched Grits Abroad, an organisation working to improve turnout and political participation among Canadian non-residents. Canada has around 4 million non-resident citizens who are eligible to vote, after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 2019 that all eligible citizens can vote in federal elections regardless of where they live. The UK has made a similar move: the Elections Act 2022 removed the 15-year limit on voting rights for British citizens living overseas. Yet in Canada’s 2021 federal election, only around 1% of overseas Canadians voted. Why is it so low, and what can be done?

Have you ever struggled to get to a polling station on election day? As an overseas voter, have you lost faith in the postal voting system? These are questions democratic nations have asked themselves. One solution adopted by Norway, Finland and Australia is Early Voting. Since 2022, the UK has experimented with early voting, most recently running a pilot in Cambridge ahead of the 2026 local elections. Joining us to offer insight into this pilot is Vicky Jenner, Electoral Services Manager at Cambridge City Council. Find out how to get involved as an election observer: https://democracyvolunteers.org/

Morocco's recent election felt important, yet turnout was strikingly low. In this episode of Elections across the world, we look at why so many young Moroccans are walking away from the ballot box, and at the gap between the country's prestige projects and economic growth and the reality of youth unemployment and poor public services.
We ask where real power in Morocco sits, with parliament or the palace, and trace how the monarchy came to dominate after independence. We consider whether the new prime minister marks real change or just a reshuffle, what the Ceuta migration wave revealed about public frustration, and whether a coalition government can deliver the jobs it has promised. We also look at freedom of expression and fears of a drift back toward authoritarianism, and ask whether Morocco's crisis of political trust is part of a wider pattern across North Africa.