By the Ballot Podcast

Where Have All the Good Guys Gone?

Virginia redistricting, the Supreme Court of Virginia ruling, and the Hakeem Jeffries court-packing plan that nobody in Richmond asked for. On this episode of By the Ballot, Matt Royer breaks down the 4-3 SCOVA decision that overturned Virginia's redistricting amendment, the Quinn Yeargain proposal in The Downballot to lower the judicial retirement age to 54, and why House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Virginia members of Congress on Monday morning without briefing Governor Abigail Spanberger, Speaker of the House Don Scott, or Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell. Topics covered: Virginia redistricting 2026, SCOVA ruling, Justice Stephen McCullough, Virginia Democrats, Hakeem Jeffries, Abigail Spanberger, Don Scott, Scott Surovell, Suhas Subramanyam, Quinn Yeargain, The Downballot, California redistricting, Texas redistricting, Missouri redistricting, Democratic trifecta states, court packing, constitutional amendment, intervening election, fair maps, 2026 midterms. Matt Royer is a Virginia Democratic digital strategist and the writer of By the Ballot. Read the full piece at bytheballot.com [http://bytheballot.com]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bytheballot.com [https://www.bytheballot.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

What’s Next: Is It Ever Really, Truly Over?

Virginia approved midterm redistricting on April 21, 2026, taking the Congressional delegation from 6-5 Republican to 10-1 Democratic. Host Matt Royer breaks down what the 3-point margin means for the 2026 midterms, traces the $29 million dark-money operation funded by Peter Thiel that nearly defeated the amendment, and argues that the 12-point gap between Abigail Spanberger's November win and the April referendum reveals a Democratic trust problem heading into next year's House races. Topics covered: Virginia redistricting amendment results, Peter Thiel and Per Aspera Policy Inc., Justice for Democracy PAC, Virginians for Fair Maps, Eric Cantor, Jason Miyares, Glenn Youngkin, Scott Presler in Indiana and Utah, the 2026 midterm map, Medicare for All, the PRO Act, ICE enforcement, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and what Democratic delivery actually looks like. By the Ballot is hosted by Matt Royer, a Democratic digital strategist based in Virginia. Subscribe at bytheballot.com [http://bytheballot.com]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bytheballot.com [https://www.bytheballot.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

DoubleSpeak to DoubleThink: The GOP’s Ever-Evolving Belief on Redistricting.

DoubleSpeak to DoubleThink: How the GOP Talks Out of Both Sides on Redistricting Virginia has a special election on April 21st that could determine control of the House of Representatives — and the Republican Party doesn't want you paying attention to it. In this episode, we break down the GOP's ever-evolving position on redistricting: how Donald Trump pressured Texas to gerrymander five new Republican seats, how Scott Presler traveled to Utah to dismantle a voter-approved independent redistricting commission and threatened Indiana Republicans who wouldn't gerrymander aggressively enough — and then showed up in Virginia calling Democratic redistricting an "unconstitutional power grab." We trace the $11.5 million PAC, the Peter Thiel dark money behind the anti-redistricting mailers misusing Barack Obama's image, and why the 2020 Virginia redistricting commission was flawed from the start. We also explain why Virginia's April 21st ballot referendum is not a local civics exercise — it's one piece of the most consequential redistricting fight since REDMAP, and the side that shows up wins the next four years of congressional maps. Topics covered: Virginia redistricting referendum 2026 — Scott Presler hypocrisy — Republican gerrymandering — Justice for Democracy PAC — Peter Thiel dark money — Barack Obama redistricting mailer — Texas gerrymandering 2025 — California Proposition 50 — Virginia Question 1 2020 — REDMAP — Mike Johnson House majority — Adam Kincaid National Republican Redistricting Trust — Louise Lucas — Abigail Spanberger — Vote Yes April 21st This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bytheballot.com [https://www.bytheballot.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Dark Money’s Death Knell for Democracy

They're Buying Your Vote and You Don't Even Know It | Dark Money in American Politics What if the political content you've been trusting online was secretly paid for by anonymous donors with their own agenda? In this video, we expose how dark money groups on both sides of the aisle are spending millions to manipulate elections, silence progressive voices, and manufacture political opinion — all without disclosing a single donor. We break down three major cases: ➤ A Republican-linked PAC that spun up in four days and sent racially charged mailers to Black voters in Virginia — secretly funded by a Koch-linked group out of Des Moines ➤ An anonymous group that paid social media influencers to go negative on progressive congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh days before her Illinois primary — and still hasn't told anyone who was behind it ➤ Chorus — the Democratic-aligned dark money network secretly paying prominent online influencers $8,000 a month to push moderate messaging while contractually forbidding them from telling their audiences about it This is what happens when campaign finance laws have more holes than teeth. And until we get serious about transparency and reform, the people shaping your political opinions will keep doing it from the shadows. 🔔 Subscribe for more investigative political coverage 👇 Drop your thoughts in the comments — who do you think is really behind these campaigns? Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 02:30 Virginia's Dark Money Mailer Problem 12:00 Digital Mercenaries Against Kat Abughazaleh 22:00 Chorus and the Democratic Influencer Machine 35:00 What Real Campaign Finance Reform Looks Like Tags: dark money, campaign finance, Citizens United, 501c4, political influencers, Kat Abughazaleh, Virginia politics, American Future Fund, Sixteen Thirty Fund, Chorus, progressive politics, election interference, campaign finance reform, dark money explained, political corruption 2026 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bytheballot.com [https://www.bytheballot.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

REVISIT: Why We Lose Young Men

Why are so many young men drifting toward the manosphere and right-wing politics? And why are Democrats increasingly struggling to connect with Gen Z and millennial men? In this episode of By the Ballot, Matthew Royer breaks down the cultural, economic, and political forces driving the shift. From the rise of manosphere influencers and podcast culture to the role of Christian nationalism, the DEI backlash, immigration narratives, and culture war politics, this episode explores how insecurity around identity, status, and masculinity has been turned into a powerful political pipeline. Rather than focusing only on economic explanations, this conversation looks at the deeper psychological and cultural dynamics shaping young men’s political identities. How do online influencers transform insecurity into grievance? Why does the fear of replacement resonate so strongly in debates about gender, immigration, and diversity? And how did figures like Donald Trump become a political symbol of validation for many young male voters? Most importantly, the episode explores where progressives may have miscommunicated along the way—and what a healthier vision of masculinity, leadership, and opportunity could look like going forward. If we want to understand the growing gender gap in American politics, we have to understand how identity, belonging, and status shape political behavior. This episode breaks down the insecurity pipeline from the manosphere to the ballot box. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bytheballot.com [https://www.bytheballot.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]