Terms of Engagement – Matthew Baum on What Voters Fear, What They Don’t Know and Where They Look
As the 2026 midterm elections approach, new research raises an urgent question: are Americans operating within fundamentally different information realities? In this episode, Professor Matthew Baum examines what voters know about election rules, where they get their information, and how partisan divides shape perceptions of the voting process.
With the 2026 midterms approaching, a troubling question surfaces: are we living in two completely different realities?
Professor Matthew Baum of Harvard Kennedy School joins Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to examine new research from the Shorenstein Center in collaboration with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation on Americans’ knowledge of voting regulations in the 2026 Voting Information Trends report.
The findings reveal significant gaps in understanding when asked about their state’s voting regulations:
34% of respondents correctly answered questions about their state’s voting rules.
36% were unsure.
30% answered incorrectly.
Concerns about ballot handling mishaps and counting errors also follow clear party lines, pointing to something far more troubling than mere policy disagreement. The research also explores how political affiliation and information sources shape perceptions of voting, including views on mail-in voting, ballot handling, and vote counting. Views on making mail voting easier varied across party affiliation, with 79% of Democrats supporting the idea compared with 38% of Republicans.
With the 2026 midterms approaching, this work offers timely insight into how voters get information—and how different information environments may influence what they believe about the voting process.
Professor Baum talks about where people are turning for voting information, and why these knowledge gaps fall so neatly along partisan boundaries. Baum also explores how our fragmented information ecosystem determines what citizens believe about voting before they cast their ballots.
In Appearance Before Congress, Stephen Richer Testifies at House Hearing on Alleged Noncitizen Voting in New Jersey
On Tuesday, September 15, 2026, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight held a hearing featuring testimony from Stephen Richer, a former Maricopa County, Arizona, Recorder, election administration expert and Ash Senior Fellow.
The hearing examined allegations that approximately 6,600 noncitizens were improperly registered to vote in New Jersey between June 2023 and June 2024.
Terms of Engagement – Does American Politics Have a Nazi Problem?
For decades, racial appeals in American politics were most effective when they could be denied. Today, that carefully maintained distance between coded language and explicit hostility is rapidly eroding. In this episode, Saladin Ambar joins Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to examine what this transformation reveals about American politics and democracy.
