“So I think key in everybody’s mind is results, at the end of the night."
"Yeah, that’s a big deal for us, right?”
That’s Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck and Elections Supervisor Katie Bard on their podcast called “Not a Podcast – Ballots & Banter” which addressed critical topics, such as voter registration, election security, and how to obtain absentee ballots.
The goal was to use a casual podcast format to deliver clear, accessible voter information in advance of the 2024 Presidential Election.
“We got a lot of recognition out in the community. Justin and I would both be out and about whether personally or for events and people came up like, ‘You’re from the podcast!’ and that was a really cool way just to know people were seeing and hearing it and it was having an impact."
The program earned the county an award for Excellence in Election Administration with a national Clearinghouse or “Clearie” for Distinguished Voter Education and Communications Initiatives.
It’s one of only 53 programs nationwide honored by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission for innovation, sustainability, and replicability.
“We got a lot of recognition out in the community. Justin and I would both be out and about whether personally or for events and people came up like, ‘You’re from the podcast!’ and that was a really cool way just to know people were seeing and hearing it and it was making an impact.”
The series aired on Facebook and Instagram and is now uploaded on YouTube, but they’re not done yet.
“We should be having a full-length podcast coming out here I believe at the end of next week with Justin and I talking about elections generally and specifically about the upcoming election.”
