Vetted Conversations
Vetted Conversations is a podcast created by We the Veterans & Military Families to help Americans - especially the veteran community - better understand their rights and responsibilities as citizens and how they can get involved to reinforce our constitutional republic and representative democracy. We are focused on bringing Americans together to help create a more perfect union. This podcast was formerly titled Vet our Democracy and was rebranded with the launch of Season 2 to reflect our expanded goals.
Vetted Conversations
Ep. 6: Vet The Vote: How veterans teamed up with the NFL to tackle America's Election Poll Worker Crisis + Special interview with former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and Gen. George Casey, USA (ret.)
In 2022, America faced a significant challenge: we didn’t have enough election poll workers. Each election, around 1.2 million volunteers are needed to set up polling places, verify IDs, issue ballots, tally votes, and report the results.
In this episode, we dive into how a dedicated team of American patriots—both veterans and civilians—stepped up and filled more than half of that need in 2022. We’ll also share how we’re gearing up to launch Vet The Vote 2024 at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada, during the week of February 5, 2024. This year, our mission is to recruit 100,000 election poll workers. Are you ready to join us and serve our nation as a poll worker this year?
For more, check us out at www.wetheveterans.us and at https://linktr.ee/vettedconversations
You know, our clubs are such central figures in the community and they are relied upon and called upon when the community needs them. And we saw that throughout COVID, not only with voting, but we saw, you know, stadiums being set up as hospital facilities and giving out food. And we've seen that in times of disaster and other times that the team facilities and the stadiums are used. And I think we um certainly at the league level and then at the club level always want to be seen and viewed in that light where we are sort of central figures in the community and step up when needed and called upon on whatever issue is really going on locally.
SPEAKER_06:Hello and welcome to the Vet Our Democracy Podcast, created by us, the nonprofit, nonpartisan, pro-democracy group, we the veterans and military families. In this series, we explore what it means to be a citizen, what veterans and military families' roles are in supporting and defending our constitution following military service, and how you can get more involved to help create a more perfect union. We're all in this democracy thing together, and it's important for all of us to know our rights and our responsibilities to each other. As citizens, we need to know how our government is supposed to work so we can engage patriotically and positively to help bring about the best version of America. If you care about America, democracy, baseball, mom, and apple pie, this is the podcast for you. The connection between professional sports and voting is old as a republic. In 1832, horse racing was as popular as pro football is today, and when horses named Andrew Jackson and Nullifier competed in Richmond, thousands of people came to watch and bet on their political favorite. Candidates for political office in the world's only democracy quickly figured out that showing up where crowds already were gathered was an efficient and effective way to reach potential voters. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and maybe many of their contemporaries used sporting events in conjunction with running for office. In fact, the first time the national anthem was played before a ball game was 1862. Athletes like baseball's Jackie Robinson led by example and furthered a national conversation about freedom and fairness that helped make America a more perfect union. And in more current times, Americans like the National Football League's Pat Tillman showed us what it means to be a true patriot, for going millions of dollars to serve in the Army's 75th Ranger Regiment and support and defend our Constitution. Pat Tillman's legacy and example live on in the Pat Tillman Foundation, which is a proud partner in our next topic, the Vet the Vote, Public Awareness, and Election Poll Worker Recruitment Campaign. In 2022, we quickly realized that America had a deficit of about 120,000 election poll workers. Without enough people to serve in the polls on a volunteer basis, there would be fewer polling stations, longer lines at the ones that were open, and less democracy for everybody. So we, the veterans and military families, teamed up with the National Football League to create the vote. And this was to recruit America's next generation of election poll workers. We are proud to report that in 2022, just by asking veterans and their family members to serve their country again, more than 63,500 people responded and closed half, more than half of America's need for election poll workers in the last election. Joining us today is the NFL's Anna Isaacson, who is the senior vice president for social responsibility, and Ken Edmonds, the VP for Public Policy and Government Affairs, both from the National Football League, who have been tremendous, tremendous partners in Vet the Vote. Anna, Ken, welcome.
SPEAKER_04:Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER_06:What part of the world are you in right now? Where are you located?
SPEAKER_04:Well, I I'm in Washington, D.C. I'm looking at my window where we have some snow and we're expecting some more snow later tonight and into Friday morning. So we're trying to stay stay dry and uh but certainly uh pleased to be with with you and Ellen this afternoon.
SPEAKER_06:Awesome. Anna, where are you?
SPEAKER_03:I am in Manhattan in the middle of New York City at the NFL offices.
SPEAKER_06:Greatest city in the world.
SPEAKER_03:Indeed.
SPEAKER_06:Awesome. Love it. Yeah, I hope uh you're a little bit warmer than us at 19 Fahrenheit outside um in the Shenandoah Valley. And I know Ellen's down in Norfolk.
SPEAKER_02:Uh yeah, I'm not going to tell you how much warmer it is down here, but it's warmer.
SPEAKER_06:Awesome. Well, great. Um, I want to kick off with our first question. Uh, why is it important for the NFL to promote voter registration and participation?
SPEAKER_03:Uh Joey, I guess I can start and then throw it over to Ken. I think, you know, the NFL has this incredible long history of taking a stand on social issues and giving back to communities and engaging the public. You know, I think we, you know, pride ourselves on being a unifying force in the country and really trying to bring people together, the country together. And, you know, there's no more important issue than voting and civic engagement and making sure that the American public feels connected to this process and feels like they have a role to play in this process. And I think we are very fortunate to have a big platform where people can find us, can listen to us, and we use that platform to try to move the needle in a positive direction. And we've, you know, along with our players who have really pushed us and pointed out to us that this is important to them, um, we know it's important to the American public, and that's really the main uh reason why we're engaged.
SPEAKER_06:Love it. Yeah, I love especially the part about bringing people together. Ken, your thoughts.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I think Anna said it well. Particularly during this time of uh political polarization and partisan divisions, uh, the league wanted to leverage our platform to promote uh the fundamental values and ideas that uh bind us together as a country, right? And as Americans, we believe that uh for our democracy to work for all of us, it must include all of us. And yet every year, millions of eligible voters are unable to cast a ballot uh or don't cast a ballot. And so NFL votes is aimed at um not only educating everyone within the NFL family, but those outside of our family so that they can participate uh in the democratic process, feel like they have a voice, and then exercise that voice uh through the uh electoral process. So um we're um excited about um entering into our fourth year of the NFL uh votes initiative, and um we're excited about the impact that we will have in in communities around the country.
SPEAKER_06:That's awesome. Absolutely awesome. Before I throw it over to Ellen, I just wanted to bring up a fact. When I was researching for this, America in the last election had a 62.8% of eligible voters actually voted, right? So like if we were getting a collective grade card in high school, we'd get a D, right? Right. So I think you know what you're talking about, Ken, is removing barriers to voting and educating people to invite them to actually uh participate. And I think that's hugely important. Like we really want to see that that go up, uh, just like the NFL does in in 2024. Ellen?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I was saying, I was thinking to myself, I bet the numbers of those same eligible voters who watch uh football every weekend is probably higher. And we we should we should do that comparison. Um but so so so how have you guys done it? Like how has the NFL been involved in in actually promoting voter registration and the awareness of different sort of voting issues over the last few years that you've that you've had this campaign?
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, so when we kicked off the initiative in in 2020, uh during that election year, we we launched the initiative and it had three components, uh the important key elements that um undergird our election process. An education component, a registration component, and then an activation or mobilization component. And the first, that education component, we wanted to give everyone within the NFL family, uh players and legends, club and league personnel, um, as well as fans, the education and tools they needed to cast a ballot. And so we partnered with uh a number of nonprofit organizations that were experts uh in that field and that could provide that education, and then we made that education uh available um uh to those that and it was mandatory for those in the league, and then we um encouraged those um uh outside the league uh to also engage and and consume that education. And then the registration phase, we we encouraged um our players again, our our league and club uh employees, as well as our as our fans to register. And we wanted to give them the tools um to do that, um, and we did that again through through our partners. Um and there were a number of ways that um our clubs uh engaged in in the registration process, um, but it was all designed um to encourage people to take that step and register to vote, and then finally during the mobilization or activation phase, um we wanted to encourage them to take that since they had the education and they got registered to then take that final step and actually and actually cast the ballot um on election day. And so we were pleased that as a result of our activities, um the overwhelming number of our players registered to vote and uh thousands of people around the country um took that step and registered to vote, and then many voted in fact at our um stadiums around the country that we made um that were converted into um election sites uh around the country so that fans could could cast that ballot.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I was gonna ask you about that. Where where like how did that happen? Where where which first of all, which stadiums um, you know, kind of did that uh in the last election cycle, had opened their doors for voters, and then how did that all happen? Like where did that idea come from?
SPEAKER_04:Well, we were approached by uh a number of organizations, and then also within the league, we we certainly wanted to to take part uh and to to turn over our facilities and make them part of the election process, knowing that back in 2020 there were people that were concerned about voting. We were in the middle of a pandemic, and obviously elections provided uh our rather our stadiums provided um really focal points and central locations where people could go and vote in a safe and socially distant manner. And so our clubs reached out to election officials in their area, to the local and state election officials, and offered their stadiums as election sites. And so uh about half of our um stadiums were used as election sites, either as ballot drop-off locations, as voter registration sites, as early voting sites, and in and in some cases election day polling sites. So they were used in a number of different ways, but there were about 16 stadiums that were used in 2020 in this way. Um and I really think it it helped to reinforce that our clubs, our facilities could be important assets in the communities where they are.
SPEAKER_03:And I think just to add to that, I think it's part of that same story we started talking about at the beginning of this, where we are, you know, our clubs are sort of central figures in the community and they are relied upon and called upon when the community needs them. And we saw that throughout COVID, not only with voting, but we saw it, you know, stadiums being set up as hospital facilities and giving out food. And we've seen them in times of disaster and other times that the team facilities and the stadiums are used. And I think we um certainly at the league level and then at the club level always want to be seen and viewed in that light where we are sort of central figures in the community and step up when needed and called upon on whatever issue um is really going on locally.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, it's uh I love that because you both um you and Ken are talking about like the civic involvement of our nation's uh sports teams and leagues, um, the you know, in the military we would call it strategic infrastructure, right? You know, if we do need to do a humanitarian mission in a country or evacuate Americans out of a country that's fallen apart, we're looking for where the stadiums are, right? Because you know, they are great LZs for helicopters and things like that. But in this case, I mean, like you're talking about reducing barriers to voting, enabling uh Americans to execute their fundamental right to choose their elected officials, and and that's happening in sports facilities and stadiums all over the country.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, Joe, and thanks for that. I'm gonna use that term strategic infrastructure. Uh, that's a new way to talk about our stadiums, but I love it.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah. Uh and you know, I think the other thing that you hit on um is like what do we rally around in this country, right? You know, we've got American values that we we espouse and and subscribe to together. We we have our differences, sure, but like, you know, when when people come together to root for a team, you know, nobody's checking political affiliation at the door, right? Everyone's coming there to rally around a team in a sport that they absolutely love, right? And so I think you know, that is a very important reminder that we're the United States and we do our best work when we come together and solve our nation's hard problems. So I think you know, we can come together as teams, um, and also the importance of like competing and and you know, winning or losing in in good spirit, right? You know, like um, you know, I think one thing that's that's lost on some people today um is the ability to lose a game and shake the winning team's hand and be good about it, right? It's the thing we learned in grade school, little league, you know, um peewee football and things like that. And I think um that's an important thing that we need to remember and remind some folks who are leading our country today um uh to take a lesson from, right? So I think just calling Americans back to the center to work for the common good and be good sports about it. Um Ellen.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I mean I it's funny because I was just thinking exactly what you were saying, Joe, that you know, there's people talk about this all the time. There's like few opportunities for Americans to actually live this idea of civics where you know you are you know together, w doing things together with people that are totally different from you, who may even be your neighbors, but that you don't see whether it's in your church or your school, if you don't see them anywhere else, like sporting events are that time. I mean, if you walk through, you know, a tailgate set up at a at a at a football game, um, or you, you know, especially in a stadium, I mean, you see everyone there. And the thing that's unifying them is not you know the the neighborhood they live in exactly or their or their or or their political affiliation. It's literally probably that they're wearing the same shirts. And you know, it's it's so it's such an amazing uh display of sort of cross-cultural civics. Um and and it's cool to see that the the league itself um you know takes that seriously and and sees this you know as as a pet issue. Um so I have a question about, you know, are there specific players or team, you know, teams um across the league that really have taken this on um and taken a prominent role in sort of NFL votes? Or or is it is it you know obviously it's universal, the whole league is doing it, but have you guys seen any specific examples and stories that would be fun to tell?
SPEAKER_04:Well, I I'm um reluctant to call out any specific player or or club. I I will say NFL votes really is a is a league-wide effort. So it included all of our clubs, all all 32 engaged um in some way. Um and they engaged in in in different ways. Not every club um participated in exactly the same the same way. So some might have, as I mentioned, used um their facilities as an election site. Others might have uh produced public service announcements um in their local community, still others might have uh developed through the clubs a voting-related uh microsite where fans in that area could go on the club's webpage and then register um to vote. Others held uh in-person voter registration drives or amplified um messages about the importance of voter participation on social media, and then still others had um on-field activations that they engaged in. And so, in a variety of different ways, um, they contributed to the process, they amplified the message. I will say, and during the process, that several clubs even reported um that 100% of their players were registered to vote, which was uh you know an amazing, amazing feat. Um and that was again back in in 2020. I I will mention um at the risk of contradicting myself, those those those teams there were the Cleveland Browns, the Indianapolis Colts, the Los Angeles Chargers, the San Francisco 49ers, the Seattle Seahawks, and the and the and the Washington Commanders. But again, every team participated um in some way, and and our players um really really led the effort. And we had a number of players that uh participated in public service announcements um and others that uh in their own way uh engaged, and it was again a a league-wide effort, um, and it was great to see.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, it's it's only appropriate that you just have to give a little healthy competition here for you know which which teams are gonna hit that hit that metric going into 2024.
SPEAKER_04:Absolutely, absolutely. Look, we we would love to see all of our teams reach that um 100% threshold. Uh that might be a little ambitious, but um it would be great to see and a great number to keep in mind um to have that level of registration and engagement. And then of course we want to make sure that um uh we're inspiring our fans to do the same, that they're um taking this process seriously, that they're engaging in the process. And if there are opportunities to uh do more, even better. If there are opportunities to volunteer, which you know that the vote is all about, if there are opportunities to help to strengthen the process, to participate in the process, um, and not to remain on the sidelines. As you all know, um we're fond of saying that democracy is is is not a spectator sport. You have to roll up your sleeves and engage, and the more people that do, the better the process.
SPEAKER_06:That's right. That's right. And and what I love, Ken, about you know, the the teams that have 100% registration, and that's like leadership by example, right? So many young people look up to your players and your coaches as like inspirational figures, and what a great opportunity to just say, hey, you know, yeah, this is important too. Like we know football is the exciting thing, and your studies class in high school or Voting might seem a little bit boring, but when you really think about it, it's really, really important. So I think you know anything that you y'all do to promote that is great. You know, like another thing that you know we're keeping our eyeball on, and in 2020, there's a report that came out from the federal voting assistance program that um two-thirds of military members were interested in voting in that election, yet only half were able to vote. And when they looked at the reasons why they weren't able to vote by absentee ballot, um it was because they couldn't complete the process right in time. So, you know, they didn't know about it ahead of time, or uh, you know, because when you're stationed on the far you know corners of the globe, that that ballot's got to get out to you, you gotta request it, it's got to travel, usually in a military transport plane in the US mailbag, get to you, you gotta fill it out, you gotta return it. Um and you know, if you're in remote parts of the world serving your country, that can be a real challenge. Uh, but it is done. And um anything that you can do to help educate uh military viewers uh about absentee ballot voting uh is super, super important and really will make a big difference because you know, like it's safe, secure, time-tested, and absentee voting by mail is actually military innovation that goes all the way back to the Civil War. Like, you know, it it is like military-proven uh effective way of getting business done. So um I just wanted to highlight that. But I think we we ought to talk more specifically about that the vote in 2024. Um, you know, ever since uh Ellen and I and and team first conspired with you on this, I mean it was really relationships between veterans and the NFL that made all this happen because nobody really knew who we were as we the veterans of military families at that point. And through General George Casey, who knew uh Paul Taglibu, who knew Roger Goodell, who knew y'all, like we got you know introduced and started building this thing really on relationships and sweat equity uh at the start and closed more than half of America's need for election poll workers in 2022, right? We needed 120,000, 120,000 nationwide. And together with the NFL, Chamber of Commerce, and 30 plus veteran and civic organizations recruited more than 63,500 election poll workers last time. So, you know, where are we going in 2024 together? Can we talk about that? And then we have some big announcements coming up that's gonna happen during the Super Bowl. Let's go. Let's talk about it.
SPEAKER_03:I mean, I think for us, I mean, you captured most of it, but it's been a really fruitful partnership with Bet the Vote for the NFL. And I think something that struck Ken and I from the beginning is that it was this really awesome combination of so many things that we care about, right? I mean, we have been focused on the military community through our salute to service campaign forever. Um, and we're really focused on not only active duty, but military families, veterans, right? And so obviously that the vote brings that aspect to it. In addition, we are incredibly committed to the voting system, to civics through our Inspire Change campaign, our work on social justice, and really hearing from NFL players how important being part of the process is to them and encouraging fans and other players to be part of the process. And so this was an opportunity for us to sort of bring that work together and bring it even closer together. And so it just felt like a really perfect partnership for the league, for the NFL. And um, yeah, of course, everything is built on relationships. So I think us building those relationships with both of you and your team and our team, I think has made it really come to fruition and then allowed us to maintain it to this day, right? So, you know, I think for us, we are always thinking about okay, the success in 2022 is great, 63,000 poll workers. I think we all believed in the fact that we needed to make sure that Americans trusted the democracy and trusted the voting system. Um, and that was really important to us. And there's no better group to do it, right? You mentioned earlier sort of people looking up to NFL players, but we know that people look up to and respect people who serve our country, right? And so that partnership, I think, felt really perfect and then felt like something that we could continue into 2024 when we know this is going to be such an important presidential election year.
SPEAKER_06:Yes. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, absolutely. And you know what's amazing, what you just said, Anna, is that the irony is voting in the real sense of the experience of going to vote is also built on relationships, which is of course what poll workers are. I mean, you know, there's 10,000, more than 10,000 voting jurisdictions in this country. When you go, you are likely to see people that you have a relationship with, whether or not it's your actual neighbor or someone that you see at the grocery store, and the people that are working as poll workers in those locations are also your neighbors, you know, veterans, uh, many of them, and military families, but also just you know neighbors. And and so what we're trying to remind America is is really that voting is actually about the local relationships making it happen. And then, of course, you're voting for someone who who may seem really distant, but you're also voting for your very local offices. And so um I think that that I love that that story. I mean, um, that's you know, that's that's the the foundation of of getting out there um and and you know and doing this this very important um thing that we all fight for, right? We the the military family and veteran community is fighting to protect this this constitutionally assigned opportunity to vote. Um and so we we just want you know it's it's it's all part of a great relationship with our neighbors and with our country.
SPEAKER_06:And Anna brought up the T-word and she said trust. And I think that is so, so important to highlight because you know what we're doing together and what the NFL is helping helping us do and supporting has greater implications than just here in the United States, right? You know, we are the world's brightest um democracy, we're the oldest democracy, and our elections are, if not among the top two in the world, are definitely I'm biased. They're the best in the world, right? You know, having served as an election official, uh, election judge in Charles County, Maryland, and now an officer of elections in Warren County, Virginia, now that I moved, um it is amazing how well our system works. And you know, yeah, I was just reading in the Hill yesterday about Vladimir Putin sputing off, saying, like, oh, mail-in ballots are bogus, like that you know, Americans bought them for$10 and send in as many as they wanted. And I'm like, you know, every time an American doubts the outcome of our elections, guys like Putin and our other global adversaries win. So there is a national security aspect to reinforcing public trust in our elections because they are good. And if you're skeptical about it, Ellen and I like to say, get involved. Like, because you will go through four hours of training in your county, go through an inch thick book of regulations on how to run, open, administer, close, and report the polls, and walk out of there feeling like you were just trained on you know launching missiles or opening up a secured classified information facility. I mean, it is that redundant. It's marine proof, and oh my God, it like you know, I walked in a skeptic, I walked out of a believer in the quality and uh sanctity and uh just integrity of our election. So uh trust, hugely important. Trust in American institutions, trust in the way our way of life and doing business. Uh I'm getting off my soapbox now. I'll throw it back over to you.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I I mean I listen, we agree, right? I mean, I think we agree, and we know that um we're gonna be in some pretty important places together in 2024. So I know you kind of wanted us to bring it home and talk about what's coming up, but um, you know, listen, we've got a Super Bowl coming up in uh Las Vegas, Namada. Um it's our first Super Bowl there. There's some pretty important um events related to voting happening um at the same time or a similar time. Um and so we're gonna be there on site with you all um and you know, trying to do exactly what you just said is continue to instill trust, continue to make people feel and understand that the process is secure and that they should be part of the process alongside all of us.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, absolutely. Well, well, you know, come to a uh Super Bowl near you, the official launch of Vet the Vote 2024 is happening, uh Super Bowl week, actually, the Monday of Super Bowl week, February 5th, is nine months exactly uh to election day. And so it's a very good time to get Americans in the game around the big game.
SPEAKER_06:Oh, and uh just to announce that more perfect union joined us. So the coalition group I won this week. So we've got a new member group here uh coming on board and a couple others who we're talking to right now that we will not announce yet until we seal the deal. But uh a lot of momentum coming into 2024. Super fired up about the Super Bowl, super fired up about that the vote 2024. Um final thoughts. What's your wish for 2024 as we go into this election cycle?
SPEAKER_04:Well, look, we um we want our mission to be uh successful, right? The mission, your your specific mission about uh recruiting uh more veterans and military family members to serve um as co-workers, that of course helps our elections run more effectively and efficiently, and it serves the larger goal that uh you and Anna and Ellen talked about, and that is reinforcing people's trust and confidence in our election system, and then we want more people to participate. So, Joe, some of those numbers that you talked about about people who are not participating, we hope that through our joint efforts they will be encouraged to learn about the process, to learn about the issues that are confronting our country, and that leads them to register to vote and to cast the ballot and to take part in in our democracy. And by doing that, that'll help to make our country uh stronger and better. And so that's the mission. Um we're we're pleased to have you all as as partners in that mission, and uh and and we're gonna go forward with with that mission in mind and and we'll be successful. Um I'm confident of that.
SPEAKER_06:Lovely, love it, love it, love it. Anna.
SPEAKER_03:I mean, Ken said it well. I think you know, we're really excited about this year. I think for us, you know, it's really important for us to tell young people, to tell people who haven't had access that this is an important part of the process. It always feels easier to do that in a presidential year because people are more aware and paying attention. But then it really sets us up for the future, which is really important to tell people it's not just voting for president, right? But there's all these other people that you need to vote for and how important those people are in the decisions in your life. You know, and a lot of people aren't connected to that. And I think that's part of the work that we know is so important and that we feel that a year like this will help us advance even further.
SPEAKER_06:Absolutely. Everything we can do to keep this experiment in democracy running. Ellen, any final thoughts?
SPEAKER_02:No, I just feel so cool every time we get to say that um we have this partnership with the NFL because uh, you know, as as as much as as cool as the NFL is and as interesting and and uh you know well watched, uh we we all are working together to make sure that our elections have that same sort of, you know, as American as apple pie and football should be the way we feel about um our elections, and and uh it's so great to be working with you to get there.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, you you have totally supercharged this effort. I mean, when nobody knew who we the veterans military families was, um General Casey had faith in us, Commissioner Taglebu had faith in us, Commissioner Goodell had faith in us, and and most importantly, you all have had faith in us and and did something about it. So, you know, you kind of turn this four-door station wagon into a uh McLaren F1 and firing on all cylinders. So this is this is great. We really couldn't be more grateful to each of you for everything that you've done and everyone throughout the NFL family who's who supported this initiative, and we really look forward to working with you in 2024 to make this even better.
SPEAKER_03:Same here. Thank you. Thank you for your hard work on this.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, thank you both. Anna Isaacson, Ken Edmonds of the NFL. Um, we really appreciate it. And to learn more, go to www.vethe.vote to find out how you can get involved in your in elections and supporting the Constitution and uh your community. Now that you've heard from Ken and Anna, our friends at the NFL staff, we have two special guests in studio today who helped us launch Vet the Vote in 2022. They are General George Casey, former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, and former NFL Commissioner Paul Taglibu. We also have U.S. Air Force veteran Anil Nathan, the co-chair of our board, who will be on the ground in Las Vegas for the Super Bowl. Gentlemen, welcome.
SPEAKER_01:Good morning, good afternoon. Nice to be with you, Joe.
SPEAKER_06:It's great to have you here. Well, both of you, I know from our many conversations, deeply care about America. You're both patriotic Americans. My first question to you both is like, what do you see as what's the state of American democracy today?
SPEAKER_01:Well, I think it's healthy, and uh I know that uh other people are uh quite negative, and uh there's some unprecedented challenges that we face as a nation that can uh make you negative. But I'm I'm of the view, and I think you share that view, that uh the the future doesn't happen. It it's shaped by optimistic people who are prepared to work hard and and to have a mission and achieve goals. So from that perspective, I'm I'm very encouraged. I see young people uh coming forth and s w wanting to serve in one capacity or another. I see uh people of all of all walks of life critical of the polarization, critical of the division, and supportive of the people who are trying to unify America and find find out what we have in common, which is more important than what may divide us at a at a certain level. So on balance, I'm an optimist, but I understand that uh that optimism has to be pursued and and and and uh achieved, not just taken for granted.
SPEAKER_06:Excellent. No, thank you, sir. Appreciate it.
SPEAKER_00:General Casey, yeah, I mean I'm I'm maybe not quite as optimistic as Paul is. I I mean I see a lot of the same positive things that he sees, but when we have a situation where uh over a third of the American electorate uh doesn't believe that or believes that the 2020 election results were fraudulent, um that's a real challenge because confidence in the election process uh is is fundamental to a strong democracy. And and given the way that the the primary season is going, it it it it it just looks to me like uh the potential Republican candidate who challenged the last election results is is gonna challenge this election results no matter what happens. And and I think that's something that uh that we all need to work very hard uh to prevent. General, let me follow that up with a uh a question.
SPEAKER_06:We know that democracy is under attack around the world. I mean, we see democracies like Ukraine being attacked by Vladimir Putin and Russia. When Americans doubt the outcome of elections, what does that do for our nation's adversaries?
SPEAKER_00:No, that that that's a that's a terrific point because we we're seen really as a beacon of democracy uh around the world. And when people look at us uh and and see, for example, after the the 2020 elections uh the the friction that that occurred, uh you know, they question the stability of our our of our form of government governance. And and people can take advantage of of that when they when they perceive weakness. And so I think it it we need we we need as a as a nation to to send strong signals that that this the democracy here is effective in working.
SPEAKER_01:And I would add to I would add to that, I think that uh the the business community and the civilian side of our society faces some of the same types of pressures. When people begin to uh engage in violence or encourage violence uh in the in instead of political diagonal. And when they call when some people call what has is clearly violence, they call it valid discourse. That that has a big effect in society. It leads the average citizen to question whether he or she might vote. It leads business leaders and academic leaders to to be conservative and risk averse. And uh and when you're conservative and risk averse because of threats of and intimidation which we have out there, uh that that's very destabilizing and negative, both in the short term and the long term.
SPEAKER_06:Absolutely. And Neil, I see you nodding. What's what's coming up for you?
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, no, I I would love to, Commissioner Tagobu. I mean, uh this concept of the role that the civilian side of the equation plays in strengthening our democracy, we obviously know that the military and people who sign up to defend our country swear an oath to the const to support and defend the constitution. Um, but from the civilian perspective, and particularly from your experience as you know the uh as a leader of one of the most iconic American institutions and uh you know that that exists, the National Football League, you know, what do you see the role at as uh for business leaders and for organizations like the NFL in ensuring that democracy in America is strong?
SPEAKER_01:Well, I think it uh one of the roles is to have uh voting facilities that are safe and secure. But more important, it's to uh have individuals in their community and uh beyond their community to and make certain that the average citizen understands what's at stake. Uh in in some ways we're not here just uh dealing with a traditional election campaign. We're not dealing with Nixon versus Kennedy in nineteen sixty. We're dealing with uh individuals who st who threaten the the underlying premises of democracy, the rule of law, the respect for institutions, whether they're civilian or military institutions. People people are challenging the the validity of those institutions, so so it becomes a a challenge and a contest between democracy and some other form of what some people call anti-constitutionalism or or autocracy. But uh as I look at history and I listen to historians, we've we face this maybe once w in one other circumstance in our nation's history. That was in 1858. It was not Lincoln versus versus Douglas, which we often read about in the great debates, but it was ab abolition versus uh continued uh continuation of of slavery. So people don't understand what when we say there's a fundamental difference now, it's not easy for the average individual who's going to school or going to work every day to understand what we're talking about. I think what your organization is doing, and similar organizations are doing, both civilian and military, are really important in having people understand what what are the candidates' values and and what are the candidates' policies likely to be before they pull the lever in the voting booth.
SPEAKER_06:Absolutely. And and that's a great transition into um one of the institutions around voting is a military absentee ballot, right? And not just for the military, but actually voting by mail for all Americans. Uh, we do know that that's a military innovation, safe and secure, goes all the way back to the U.S. Civil War, uh, where troops were voting for elected officials back home from the battlefield. General Casey, I know that that's uh issue near and dear to your heart, and you're part of a group called Count Every Hero. Could you tell us a little bit about the mission of that group and how it got started and what it aims to do?
unknown:Sure.
SPEAKER_00:Sure, yeah. So Count Every Hero was started uh just prior to the 2020 elections. And it was it was it brought together a group of former service secretaries, uh former service chiefs, and retired uh four-star generals and and admirals uh to advocate uh for our military and veterans' voting rights to ensure that their votes were uh adequately uh represent they were represented and their votes were counted. Um in the sh in the aftermath of that election and in the aftermath uh of uh of the first non-peaceful transfer of presidential power in our history, uh we expanded uh our focus uh to promote um uh civic literacy uh so that more people understood the the the workings of our government and could better contribute. Uh but also to promote effective civil-military relations, relations between the elected civilian leaders and their military uh officers. Uh a relationship that was significantly challenged during that peaceful or non-peaceful transition of power. Um we we and then thirdly, I we we we still uh uh stick to our basic premise of ensuring that the voting rights of our veterans, military, and military families are are protected and their voices are heard. Absolutely. The last piece I'd say is you know, we we are one of the partners uh of vet the vote, and and and we advocate veterans uh signing up to be poor workers as I have done and and a couple of the other members of of Count Every Hero have have done.
SPEAKER_06:And that's a great sorry, that's a great setup for the next part of our conversation around vet the vote. When in 2022, when we the veterans was looking for a way to promote positive and patriotic civic engagement within the veteran community, uh we quickly realized that America was short, about 120 to 130,000 um election poll workers nationwide. And I remember one of the early discussions back then was with you and Commissioner Tagley about how can we take this idea of asking the veteran community to serve their comp uh serve their nation again as an election poll worker and really uh amplify that up to a nationwide public awareness and recruitment campaign. Can you tell us like a little bit about why a program like Vet the Vote, which encourages um veterans and their family members to serve as election poll workers, is important?
SPEAKER_00:Well, you want you want me or Paul? I'll pick it up and then pass it pass it over to Paul. Sure. Um as when when this came up to me, it it was a no-brainer. I mean, because I've I've uh in my military career uh was a party to running uh elections in Bosnia, in Kosovo, and in Iraq. And frankly, uh having not been involved in electoral processes in my own country, I was amazed at the level of detail uh that went into this to produce an outcome where people felt that that they one that they were free to vote, and two, that their vote uh mattered and was heard. And so the opportunity to do the same thing in in my own country uh was was significant, and I took it I took advantage of it. But I I think the the biggest thing to me though is is I look back at at what veterans can can do to continue to contribute to our country. And when you think about the fact that we just celebrated the 50th anniversary of the all-volunteer force, so there's 10 million veterans out there that have volunteered to serve this country, and over the last 20-some years they they did it while while we were at war. So so there are men and women uh of significant uh character who are were willing to commit to something larger than themselves. And and they're they're smarter, they're experienced, they know how to solve hard problems, and they know how to adhere to standards. Uh so I can't think of a a better group that's more qualified to be effective poll workers.
SPEAKER_01:I guess my perspective uh is similar, but um also different in s in some significant ways. Uh I don't want to r spend too much time talking about my age, but I was born in nineteen forty, and in my lifetime there have been three occasions which have marked extraordinary national challenges, violent, unprovoked, unanticipated attacks on our nation, our values, and our freedoms, and our national security. And those dates are December seventh, nineteen forty-one, September eleventh, two thousand and one, and the most recent such situation, January sixth, two thousand twenty-one, which we've already talked a little bit about the violent assault on the Capitol. And what's what it struck me when when w I was first approached about this veterans program was the difference between two thousand and one and two thousand twenty one. Uh in after two thousand one uh the nation pulled together. It was it was an attack from outside of the nation. Then the c conditions uh in in cities like New York w were particularly acute. The Pentagon was hit by the terrorists, Pennsylvania was hit, the uh and and but um people came together in in extraordinary ways. I mean fire departments from around the country came to New York to to help out. When when NFL games were resumed after a brief um period of respect and no games, the the the nation pulled together in incredible ways and and made clear that they were not just cheering, but they were contributing funds and and services to bring us together and get through that difficult time. After 2021, that has not happened in in any way in anything like what happened in 2001. Instead of everyone pulling together, we have elected officials who who run on uh election denier c platforms. We have people who uh have taken a critical position in the immediate aftermath of January twenty-sixth and now say that that was then and this is now, and they uh changed their perspective one hundred percent. So uh when I learned of this opportunity for the NFL and for other businesses to partner with this organization of veterans, I I I viewed it in that perspective of history tells us what we should do and what we should not do. And and I think we're still struggling to figure out why we're divided and why we're polarized and that more determined to be one United States.
SPEAKER_06:Definitely.
SPEAKER_05:Neil, you had a question for the Yeah, no, I I think this is uh I mean Commissioner Tagabot's such a powerful kind of summary of you know your your experiences and what you've seen in terms of challenges to our to our country. And um, you know, maybe going down the thread a little bit of why you were so um supportive and excited to uh to have the NFL uh join our coalition, particularly focused on the better in a military family community as you know a uniting force and something that a group of people where number one, the community itself is a, as um, as you mentioned, General Casey has uh in their previous lives sworn an oath to support and defend the Constitution, right? That is our allegiance, and that is where we have uh committed our uh our service. Um, but also at a national level, the veteran and military family community is one of the most trusted groups that exists, um, you know, across party lines, right? It doesn't matter who you support and what your uh you know policy kind of positions you take, um, you know, veterans and military family members have uh the station in our society. And so, you know, as you thought about the making the connection uh to the NFL and and having them join us as coalition partners, you know, how did you see the power of what the National Football League can do uh to amplify that message and and be a contributor to this really important mission?
SPEAKER_01:Well, uh I guess um I grew up in a family where commitment to service, both civilian and military, was r really important. But when I became commissioner in 1989, 1990, I I started to visit the troops and bring players with me. And I met many times to Launchstuhl where the hospital was in Germany. And um I brought great players from the years past and current players, Jerome Bettis, Michael Strahan, people like that who were current players when I was commissioner. And you know, the idea was that we would visit with those troops, many of whom were uh just coming back from the battlefield and hospitalized, because we could inspire them. And what we learned, you know, we the the premise was that football players could inspire the the men and women in the military. What we learned was that the men and the women in the military inspired the football players, inspired me and inspired other executives of of NFL teams, because they they their commitment was so clearly and so clear and so obvious. It was not just lip service, it was it was a commitment that was a life and death commitment. And I I took I took a lot away from that in terms of what the NFL can do. In addition, in in in the mid-90s and late 90s, I was chairman of the board of the United Way of America, which is a civilian organization that helps people with their needs and addresses the needs of our society. And and w what I found was that I'd go to an NFL game on Sunday and go to a night a United Way organization on Monday in cities all over America. I'd I'd uh Sunday football and Monday United Way. And what I found was that people were committed to helping each other. United Way was a vehicle to bring people together. And and United Way would collaborate with the Urban League, and and it communities were together. Now I go into some of the same communities and the media and the national television uh networks, some of them can be so negative, it it just it just strikes me as not being America. It's it's it's it's a fraudulent version of America that's being peddled by some people in the media and some people in public office, as well as some people in the private sector, which needs to that's the challenge that we need to meet. And I think that we the veterans are doing a great job in meeting that challenge.
SPEAKER_06:Thank thank you, sir, for the for those thoughts. Um I want to follow up with one one last question to you both. So you you both travel the country, you run into a lot of people um in your in your travels. What do you say to folks when they are skeptical about our elections and how they're being run and the validity of the outcomes? What would you say to folks who were like, yeah, I don't I just don't think it's it's running the way uh it should?
SPEAKER_01:Well, what I found was that uh and I was having this discussion with some good friends of mine recently. The best thing to do is to ask people some questions. How what w if you don't believe the election was fair or uh uh accurate, what elections are you talking about? Are you talking about your state? Are you talking about Georgia? Are you talking about Arizona? And and the amazing thing is that people who are election denied, they say, Oh, I can't I can't tell you any specifics, but I just know I've heard that. And then if you follow up with some additional questions, uh do you make decisions well in in the ordinary course about things that you just heard? When uh have you tried to find any facts that would support that conclusion? Well, not really. I just heard it and I believe it, because my my party didn't get didn't didn't get the White House. So uh some of the most sound advice I've heard on this question is fr from friends who say, don't go to combat, don't say what you believe and criticize them for believing what they believe, but ask them why they believe what they believe. And and they they and you together will find out that what they believe is not well grounded. And in some cases, people tend to change their mind if they're exposed to uh questions that they that they can't answer more so than when they have someone just disagreeing with them.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, and I I'd kind of go back to um what we were first talking about here, about the reason one of the reasons Paul was optimistic. But but I would I I tell them, look, the system was challenged but significantly, but it worked. And our democracy w worked as it was supposed to work and preserve the results of a presidential election. And then the second thing I tell them is if you don't like it, get out and participate and do something. And and which again falls right into the reason I signed up to be a poll worker, because it's it's you know, it's the least it's the least I can do to contribute. So if you're gonna talk, don't just talk about it. If you don't like it, get out there and help fix it.
SPEAKER_06:Definitely. In general, you know that that's great advice from both of you. One, I heard don't approach doubt with with hostility or argument, approach it with curiosity. And then the second part is if you run into somebody who's skeptical, one of the first questions you probably had to ask them is, have you ever volunteered to be an election poll worker? And if not, here's your invitation to do that, and I'm part of the process. And I I gotta tell you, like, you know, I'm probably one of the world's greatest skeptics. And when I sat through four hours of training in the state of Maryland to become an election judge, um, I walked out of there with a manual that was an inch thick that was absolutely marine proof. Like, if you could read, you could run a polling station and report the results. And, you know, it's uh I looked over at my wife and I've told the story before. I was like, you know, we launched nuclear missiles here, opening up a secured classified information facility because that it was so detailed with two-party accountability around everything. I walked out of there and being like, you know what, we're really doing business right in the state. And over the summer I moved to the state of Virginia and did the same training out here, and I'm equally convinced that that uh Virginia is doing it right as well. Um, any any any final thoughts for anyone?
SPEAKER_00:No, Joe, I I I I just say you're you're a great example of what veterans can bring to the table as pole workers. They're smart, diversed, committed, and trusted. And I can't think of a better package to help reinforce and move our democracy forward.
SPEAKER_06:Thank you, sir.
SPEAKER_01:I guess that what I would add is that I think that uh uh we're at a disadvantage in some ways because not everyone shares the the concept of national service. And uh whether whether it's the Peace Corps or the military or other national institutions that r require a commitment and service, I think that's an important part of our culture as a nation. And it's it's it's lacking now, and I think a big challenge is is for our society to get back renew the commitment to service, whether it's civilian or military. It should be an obligation that every citizen sees as a requirement and not as a as a choice.
SPEAKER_06:Definitely. Definitely. Anil, final thoughts.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, no, well first off, I just want to say say thanks. I mean, the incredible words of wisdom and um and also just perspectives and thoughts. And I can't think of a better recruiting pitch than what uh both of you just just laid out, right? In terms of service is important, um, and we need as many poll workers, as many patriotic citizens to sign up to be poll workers. And to your point, General Casey, I mean, if you have questions about the integrity of our elections, go be a poll worker and see for yourself, right? Go through the training like uh like Joe did, go spend the time volunteering and being in the mix of it, right? And I think our very, very strong belief from uh you know, from real world, when we've talked to uh veterans of multiple family members from the 2022 campaign who participated as poll workers, they all came out with a stronger conviction in the integrity and strength of our electoral process. And so uh, you know, whether whether you're a skeptic or whether you're you know you already have faith and uh trust in our elections, we need everybody to sign up and be a part of the process. And so um, you know, I can't think of a better, better pitch to get people to get out there for 2024 than than what both of you have just laid out.
SPEAKER_06:Absolutely. And you know, I'm so grateful that both of you came on the podcast to talk to us today. I mean, you really, more than just about anyone in the early stages of this idea, slapped a big ol' honk and turbocharger on the idea of at the vote. And with the NFL's help, you know, in the six core uh groups that we started with that grew to more than 30, ended up you know recruiting more than 63,500 volunteers in 2022. So we together, you know, these these 30 plus organizations, the NFL, Chamber of Commerce, and you uh were responsible for for closing more than half the nation's need in election poll workers that year. And we're gonna do it again in 2024. Our goal is 100,000 this year. Uh our organization is now 36 coalition members, so that's up six from um from last time. And uh, you know, I share General Casey's concern. You know, eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. And I share uh Commissioner Tagliabu's optimism because when we ask Americans' veteran community to respond, they did in a really, really big way and stood up for our democracy once again. So, gentlemen, I just wanted to say thank you all so much, so much for your continued support, your guidance, your mentorship, your wisdom. And uh, we look forward to collaborating with you in 2024 as we kick off Vet the Vote at the Super Bowl this year, week of February 5th. If you want to become involved in election volunteerism, you all you need to do is go to www.vethe.vote, and there you can register to vote, you can check the status of your registration, and you can also volunteer to become an election poll worker. More to follow. Thank you so much for listening. If you found this podcast episode interesting or useful, please share it with the people you know. This episode was co-hosted by Joe Plunzler and Ellen Giftson. The audio and video were edited by Cameron King. Vet Our Democracy is a production of We the Veterans and Military Families, 501c3, non-for-profit, nonpartisan, pro-democracy organization, focused on promoting positive and patriotic civic engagement to strengthen American democracy. Find out more about us at weTheVeterans.us and follow us on social media.
