Ballot Battleground: Nevada
Ballot Battleground: Nevada is a show where we take deep dives into the issues, people, policies and debates shaping Nevada politics in our critical swing state. Many voters find themselves confused or overwhelmed when they walk into the voting booth. Our goal is to explain the issues that matter most to everyday Nevadans so they're fully informed before casting their ballot.
Episodes
After 7 days, Nevada lawmakers adjourned the state’s 36th special legislative session sine die late Wednesday.
The week was packed with unexpected surprises, important policy debates, long lulls in the action and criticism about the lack of transparency.
From a rare procedural move that nearly derailed film tax credits on day 1 to lawmakers adding their own bill to the agenda for the first time ever, it was a dramatic special ses...
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November 12, 2025 • 31 mins
In the 2026 midterms, Washoe County will — once again — have someone new running its elections.
Andrew McDonald is the county’s new registrar of voters — the 4th person to hold that job since 2022.
But McDonald says he’s in it for the long haul and he's got some big goals: moving the registrar’s office to a bigger location, continuing to clean up the voter rolls, and bringing in new voting machines that leave a paper record for ...
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October 29, 2025 • 30 mins
It's mail time at Ballot Battleground: Nevada. This week, we're digging through the listener mailbag once again with News 4 and Fox 11 morning show anchor Chris Murphy.
Host Ben Margiott and Chris answer questions ranging from tax reform and John Doe's identity to open primaries and the cost of a special legislative session.
Do you have questions for our next mailbag? Send them to bjmargiott@sbgtv.com and put Ballot Battleground:...
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October 15, 2025 • 31 mins
Legislators will be headed back to Carson City this fall for another special session of the Nevada legislature — the sixth since 2020.
Governor Joe Lombardo announced he wants them to finish some 'unfinished business' in the next few months.
So when exactly will that be? What still needs to get done? And why have there been so many special sessions lately?
One of the biggest issues likely to come up is whether Nevada should offer...
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October 10, 2025 • 15 mins
It's day 10 of the federal government shutdown and it seems Congress is no closer to an agreement to reopen the government.
Amid the partisan standoff, we got the chance to sit down with Northern Nevada's representative in the U.S. House, Republican Mark Amodei.
In this bonus episode, we asked Amodei why he opposes extending the Affordable Care Act subsidies, whether he supports the effort to ensure military members are paid and ...
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October 1, 2025 • 23 mins
In August, Nevada government agencies were hit with a crippling ransomware attack.
Thankfully, Nevada’s election infrastructure wasn’t affected.
But against that backdrop — and with concern over Nevadans’ personal information still fresh — the Department of Justice is now requesting driver’s license records and partial Social Security numbers for every registered voter in the state.
Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar joins this w...
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September 17, 2025 • 40 mins
ICE arrests are surging in Nevada as the Trump administration moves forward with its mass deportation agenda promised in the campaign.
In this episode, we go beyond the headlines to hear from both sides of the immigration debate.
First, Athar Haseebullah of the ACLU of Nevada explains why his organization is fighting back against what it sees as government overreach.
Then, Bruce Parks, chair of the Washoe County Republican Pa...
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September 3, 2025 • 33 mins
President Trump’s second term has put mass deportations back at the center of U.S. politics — and Nevada offers a revealing look at what that means on the ground.
In part 1 of our two-part series, host Ben Margiott talks to reporter Kim Burrows, who witnessed several ICE arrests during an exclusive ridealong in May.
Then, we turn to The Nevada Independent’s Eric Neugeboren and Isabella Aldrete, who crunched the numbers to an...
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August 20, 2025 • 27 mins
The Silver State is home to some of the most interesting characters - political and otherwise.
Former Assemblyman, journalist and columnist Pat Hickey recently released Here and Hereafter: Nevada Voices on Life and the Great Beyond.
The book includes inspiring, intimate portraits of power of some of the most famous, infamous and influential Nevadans of the 21st century.
Host Ben Margiott interviews Hickey about his extended i...
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August 7, 2025 • 36 mins
Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D) is becoming a more prominent figure in the Democratic party as it tries to find the most effective way to push back against the second Trump administration.
The tension between working across the aisle to make progress and resisting took center stage last week during a dustup between Cortez Masto and fellow Democratic Sen. Cory Booker.
In an extended interview, host Ben Margiott asks Cortez ...
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July 23, 2025 • 27 mins
How will the 2026 elections be different because of the 2025 legislature?
After sweeping changes in the last 5 years, Nevada lawmakers didn't make any wholesale changes to how we vote.
But they did tweak certain laws regarding AI in campaign materials, sample ballot deadlines and language access.
Host Ben Margiott interviews Kerry Durmick, the Nevada state director of All Voting is Local, a nonpartisan voting rights advocacy gr...
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President Donald Trump's signature economic package, the One Big Beautiful Bill, is now the law of the land. It extends the Trump tax cuts, ends the tax on tips and boosts border security spending, among other GOP priorities.
But it also makes drastic cuts to social safety net programs, including Medicaid and food assistance.
How will these cuts affect Nevadans? How will our community health centers and food banks be impacted?
...
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It was a simple campaign promise to put money back in people's wallets during a Presidential election centered on the economy.
'No Tax on Tips' resonated with voters across the country but especially in Nevada, which has the highest percentage of tipped workers.
That campaign promise, first raised by President Donald Trump, has not fallen by the wayside. Multiple proposals are actively being debated in Congress.
Before it comes...
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Late nights, filibusters and political gamesmanship. The end of the 2025 session of the Nevada legislature had all the usual shenanigans we’ve come to expect as sine die approaches in Carson City.
On this episode of Ballot Battleground: Nevada, what happened? Which bills lived and died? And what does it all mean moving forward?
We’ll hone in on the final chaotic hours with KRNV/KRXI reporter Sophie Lincoln who was our boots on th...
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It is crunch time in Carson City — less than a week remains in the 83rd session of the Nevada legislature. Major policy proposals, big budget questions and the endgame are all still up in the air.
Will education get a funding increase this year? Is there room for state workers to get raises? What about tax credits for movie companies? Will Governor Lombardo’s major pieces of legislation make it through and how many bills will he v...
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It's mail time at Ballot Battleground: Nevada. This week, we're digging through the listener mailbag for the first time in 2025 with News 4 and Fox 11 morning show anchor Chris Murphy.
Ben and Chris answer questions ranging from public lands bills and no tax on tips to special sessions at the Nevada legislature and yes - the 2026 midterms.
Not to mention the GSR arena, jackpot thresholds and which Aces team is more likely to win...
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April 30, 2025 • 39 mins
It's almost time to get down to brass tax in Carson City as we're a little over two-thirds of the way through the 83rd legislative session.
The massive list of bills has been whittled down somewhat, but perhaps more important than what legislation gets passed is passing a balanced budget.
With revenues lagging behind expectations, it seems Nevada may be in a budget crunch this session. How bad is it? How do both sides want to wea...
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April 18, 2025 • 30 mins
Jacky Rosen is back in the U.S. Senate for a second term representing the Silver State - after she barely hung on to her seat amid the red wave.
Democrats are in the minority in both the Senate and House, but Senator Rosen says they’re finding their footing when it comes to pushing back on tariffs, deportations, DOGE and more.
This episode, host Ben Margiott sits down with Senator Rosen for an extended one-on-one conversation on...
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April 7, 2025 • 42 mins
Longtime northern Nevada Representative Mark Amodei, fresh off his 2024 re-election, is now part of the GOP's slim House majority in President Donald Trump's second term.
It's been a busy start, from the back-and-forth over enacting tariffs, DOGE cuts, deportations, Medicaid, the Signal group chat controversy and much more.
Where does Amodei stand on these issues? This week, host Ben Margiott sits down with him for a one-on-one i...
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March 25, 2025 • 35 mins
A fast-growing state, lagging incomes and a limited supply of developable land created an affordable housing crisis in Nevada before the pandemic hit. Supply chain constraints and construction costs experienced during COVID-19 only exacerbated the issue.
In the pandemic's wake, have our elected leaders done enough to solve the affordable housing crisis? What's it going to take to put Nevada on a sustainable path to boost housing ...
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