ICYMI: New Podcast Demystifies the Nuts and Bolts of Ballot Initiative Campaigns
WASHINGTON — The Ballot Initiative Strategy Center (BISC) recently released its first-ever podcast production called Direct Democracy Diaries. Hosted by BISC’s Executive Director Chris Melody Fields Figueredo and Director of Strategic Communications Caroline Sánchez-Avakian, this show spotlights the inspiring stories of resilient activists, organizers, and campaign leaders and their tenacious efforts to turn grassroots momentum into lasting policy change.
Topics include fighting for reproductive rights via the ballot, pushing back on authoritarianism via ballot measures, and breakthrough narratives that bridge language and cultural divides. New episodes drop every Wednesday through the end of November—and the first three episodes are live now everywhere you get your podcasts.
Highlights from the show’s first three episodes:
EP 1: How a Story of Redemption Transformed Democracy Across America
with Desmond Meade from the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition
Description: Ballot measures are reshaping democracy from the ground up—but what does it really take to run one? In our very first episode, the co-hosts sit down with Desmond Meade—MacArthur “Genius,” Time 100 honoree, and the visionary behind Florida’s Amendment 4, which restored voting rights to over 1.4 million people.
Select Quotes:
- “We didn’t need an external enemy—we needed to capture the things inside of us that unite us as a human race. That laid the foundation for us to pursue our amendment, and that elevated it above partisan politics.”
- “No matter what issue you’re dealing with, if you lead with politics, policies or labels—as opposed to the people—then you’re not going to be as effective.”
EP 2: Running Ballot Measures with Community + Care
with Lauren Brenzel & Sarah Parker from Yes on 4 Florida
Description: Running a ballot measure takes more than signatures and soundbites—it takes people, trust, and courage. In this episode, the co-hosts sit down with organizers Lauren Brenzel (Florida’s Yes on 4 Campaign Director) and Sarah Parker (Executive Director of Voices of Florida) to unpack what it really takes to launch a ballot initiative.
Select Quotes:
- Sarah: “Without funding organizations that are in Florida and Texas— or any other red state—, you’re telling people that we only take the easy route. The best things that come in history have always been the hardest route.”
- Sarah: “We might’ve lost when it comes to [what’s] on paper, but we won when it came to our heart and being able to push forward because people had lost all hope.”
- Lauren: “People like to brand folks in any state that faces authoritarianism as uneducated or uninvolved or uncaring. And the reality is people who are willing to fight in these states are facing greater obstacles than most folks in states with easier pathways can imagine.”
- Lauren: “Everybody told us that….we couldn’t do a ballot initiative. And we just dug our heels in knowing full well that it was going to be a hard campaign, that we were probably unlikely to win. But that we had a responsibility to people to try as hard as we could because the avenue for doing so was closing.”
EP 3: From Signatures to Power: How Movements Get on the Ballot
with Danielle Atkinson from Mothering Justice
Description: Signature gathering is more than just petition signing—it’s people power in action. In this episode, co-hosts Chris Melody Fields Figueredo and Caroline Sánchez-Avakian talk with Danielle Atkinson, founder of Mothering Justice and veteran organizer, about how the petition phase can make or break a campaign.
Select Quotes:
- “Signature gathering…has to be the most frightening part of your campaign. It can be really taxing on an organization. I think the flip side of it is it can be empowering. It can be something that builds your organization.”
- “A lot of initiatives that I think could have a huge impact on the everyday lives of folks, and the conversation around democracy, have not been able to have a chance at the ballot because the signature gathering piece is so, so, so far away from our core values. It’s [not] a practice that is sustainable for movement folks.”
Five episodes remain for the podcast’s debut season. It’s available wherever you get your podcasts! The trailer is available here.
If interested in speaking with Chris or Caroline to learn more about BISC’s work on ballot measures and defending direct democracy, please contact Anna Connelly at ([email protected]).
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