Elections Integrity (Federal Election Commission)

About this episode

It's the same question every election season: can we trust our voting system? To get a straight answer, we talked to someone who spent more than two decades inside the agency that polices money in American politics. We get into what the Federal Election Commission actually does (and what it doesn’t), where the safeguards in our election system come from, and what ordinary voters can do to help protect the process. Ellen Weintraub served as an FEC commissioner and four-time chair from 2002 to 2025. Before joining the FEC, she was Of Counsel to the Political Law Group of Perkins Coie and Counsel to the House Ethics Committee, and she holds degrees from Yale College and Harvard Law School. She now serves on the national governing board of Common Cause. Ellen walks us through the history, the legal ups and downs, and her practical advice for the road ahead: make a plan to vote, vote early, and consider becoming a poll worker. Head over to our Government That Doesn’t Suck YouTube channel to WATCH this episode: https://www.youtube.com/@GovernmentThatDoesntSuck If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Government That Doesn’t Suck to never miss an episode! Government That Doesn’t Suck