The Issue Brief

Michael Thorning, director of structural democracy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, joins The Issue Brief host Mike Kelley to explain what happens between Election Day and the new Congress on Jan. 3, from how election results are certified to how the Senate runs when it's split 50-50.

On Nov. 3, voters will fill all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats, but the work of deciding who serves does not end when the polls close. Right now, Republicans hold the Senate 53-47, so Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take control. The Senate has been evenly divided only a handful of times, most recently in 2001 and 2021.

Mike and Michael discuss how ballots are canvassed and certified, how certificates of election reach Congress, what happens on the first day of a new Congress, and how disputes and tied races are resolved. Michael also explains what a 50-50 Senate means, how the 2001 and 2021 power-sharing agreements worked, and what staffers should know before their next hearing.

About the guest: Michael Thorning is director of structural democracy at BPC, where his work has spanned democracy, governance, and elections, including creating the Healthy Congress Index and spearheading work to modernize Congress. Before joining BPC, he worked on Capitol Hill for Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Tom Udall (D-NM).

Credits

Host: Michael Kelley, Senior Director, BPC Action

Producer: Chad Kolton

Editor: Tiffany Rocque

Will Adler, research director of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Elections Project, explains how mail ballots are verified and counted, what the Supreme Court's Watson ruling and the Postal Service's ballot mail rule mean, and what voters should know about Election Day.

In two weeks, Americans will vote in the midterm elections, and every state offers some form of mail voting. In 2024, about 103,000 mail ballots were rejected for arriving late, the single largest reason mail ballots are thrown out, according to a Bipartisan Policy Center analysis of federal data. This summer, the Supreme Court ruled that states can decide whether to count ballots that arrive after Election Day, and the Postal Service finalized a ballot mail rule it says it will not enforce this November.

Mike and Will discuss what mail voting is and how it has grown, how ballots are verified before they are counted, and how ballot tracking and curing help voters fix problems. They also cover why official drop boxes are considered secure, why election night results may not include every mail ballot, how post-election audits work, and what the Supreme Court decided in Watson v. RNC. Will explains the Postal Service's ballot mail rule and BPC's concerns about it, why lead time matters when election rules change, and how the election workforce is holding up. He also offers practical advice for voters with a ballot in hand and what staffers should know before their next hearing.

About the guest: Will Adler is research director of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Elections Project. Before joining BPC, he led elections policy work at the Center for Democracy & Technology and worked on technology issues in the U.S. Senate. He previously worked as a researcher at Princeton University on redistricting reform and open election data.

Further Reading:

• Mail Voting is Safe and Secure
• Drop Boxes are Trusted Ballot Return Options
• What Could the Supreme Court's Decision in Watson v. RNC Mean for Mail Voting?
• BPC Public Comment on USPS Proposed Rule on Ballot Mail for Federal Elections (2026-10968)
• Behind the Curtain of Post-Election Canvassing, Audits, and Certification
• Prioritizing Achievable Federal Election Reform
• Election Official Turnover Rates through the 2024 Election
• Federal Register: Ballot Mail for Federal Elections (final rule)
• USPS Election Mail

Credits: Host: Michael Kelley, Senior Director, BPC Action Producer: Chad Kolton Editor: Tiffany Rocque

Jason Fichtner, executive director of LIMRA's Retirement Income Institute, explains how Social Security's cost-of-living adjustment is set and what a 3.5% increase means for retirees and the program.

Later this month, more than 71 million Americans will learn how much their Social Security benefits will rise in 2027. Experts expect a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, of around 3.5%, the largest in three years. But the program's main trust fund is projected to run out in 2032, and a 2025 Bipartisan Policy Center-Public First poll found 71% of Americans worry they haven't saved enough to retire comfortably.

Mike and Jason discuss how the annual COLA is calculated, why the announcement comes in October, which inflation measure the Social Security Administration uses and why, and how alternatives such as chained CPI and CPI-E would change benefits and the program's finances. Jason also addresses the COLA's impact on long-term solvency and what staffers should know before their next hearing.

About the guest: Jason Fichtner is executive director of LIMRA's Retirement Income Institute. He is a former chief economist at BPC and a former acting deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration.

Credits

Host: Michael Kelley, Senior Director, BPC Action

Producer: Chad Kolton

Editor: Tiffany Rocque

The Issue Brief is a new weekly podcast from the Bipartisan Policy Center and Bipartisan Policy Center Action. Host Michael Kelley takes one issue moving through Congress or in the news and breaks it down in 20 minutes or less: what's happening, why it matters, and what comes next. Our first episode, with Jason Fichtner of LIMRA's Retirement Income Institute, arrives October 12. Follow now so it lands in your feed.