San Diego Decides

In our final episode before Election Day, we talk about the death penalty, which California voters will have a chance to end this year or reform.

Proposition 62 would end the death penalty in California. Proposition 66 would try to speed up appeals of death penalty verdicts, which could result in quicker executions or exonerations. (If both pass, the one with the most votes takes effect.)

First Sara Libby and I talk with Mike and P...

Unlike presidential debates that are watched by millions, local political debates are rarely televised, yet they offer some of the only chances for voters to hear city and county candidates who will have direct say over so much of their lives.

This week we talk about those debates.

Local debates happen more than you'd think. Podcast co-host Sara Libby, for instance, moderated a city attorney debate last Monday between Mara Elliott...

Those of you who were able to attend our Politifest presentation on the 17 state ballot measures not only got to learn about the ins and outs of the many complex measures facing California voters, you also got to witness our strong hat game.

We've recreated that presentation here on the latest San Diego Decides episode — unfortunately, you'll just have to imagine us wearing weird hats as you listen.

Some of the measures are re...

Just before we went to tape the latest episode of the San Diego Decides podcast, former Obama adviser David Axelrod had a fortuitous tweet:

Polls are so numerous at this point that results vary greatly and everyone can find one they like. Yet all are covered as if they're right!

— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) September 14, 2016

Dur...

This week, Sara Libby and I start preparing for the weighty decisions we'll all be asked to make in this fall's election.

These are weighty not only because they're important decisions, but because there are a lot of them. When you get the state's Official Voter Information Guide in the mail this fall, you'll see it's a voluminous document, the size of some cities' telephone books. The guide takes voters through the pros and cons ...

The primary is right around the corner, so co-hosts Sara Libby and Ry Rivard tackle some of the biggest local races and issues that'll be on the ballot.

VOSD staffers join the podcast this week to help break things down and give listeners useful information in advance of the June 7 vote.

Andrew Keatts talks about a few of the San Diego City Council races and the five-way city attorney race. He also shares some i...

This week we explore races full of lawyers: the race for city attorney and two San Diego Superior Court judge races.

The first race is full of intrigue, campaign ads, sniping among candidates and has a lot of people's attention. Sara Libby and I talk with Andy Keatts, who has been covering the race. Recently, he's explored the client lists of Robert Hickey and Rafael Castellanos and looked at how frequent city f...

There's a lot to unpack when it comes to politicalactioncommittees, or PACs.

Joe Yerardi, a reporter at inewsource, joins San DiegoDecidesthis week for a quick PAC history lesson, including arundownof the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling andothercases that have upended the world of campaign finance inthelast few years. He also reviews the basics when it comesto"dark money" and other termsswirling around&...

In the political arena, underdogs are candidates who don't get many endorsements, they raise little money compared to competitors and they don't have much name recognition.

People think underdogs are long-shots who won't likely win, but sometimes they pull out a surprise.

Lori Saldaña is a self-admitted political underdog who joins podcast co-hosts Ry Rivard and Sara Libby this week to talk about her underdog status in th...

You might've heard that California's presidential primary, for once, could actually matter this time around. But that doesn't necessarily mean you can just stroll into a poll this June and weigh in.

The latest San Diego Decides is all about voting — what needs to happen before you can vote in the primary, how voting is changing and some of the controversies surrounding how votes are counted.

Hosts Sara Libby ...

San Diego Decides is Voice of San Diego’s elections podcast. Hosts Sara Libby and Ry Rivard break down individual races and ballot measures San Diegans will weigh in on this year, as well bigger issues like the mechanics of voting, state-level drama and more.

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In this week's episode, hosts Sara Libby and Ry Rivard talked about three big races this week: the race for mayor,...

What role do endorsements play in politics? Is it just a lot of back-slapping among friends and political influencers? Do they really sway voters in any meaningful way? And what is the process that goes on in the background that leads to an organization or individual endorsing a political candidate?

These are just some of the questions that we’re explorin...