Episodes

  • Dramatic Nevada special session ends with film tax failure, crime bill passage — with reporters Paul Boger, Tabitha Mueller and Eric Neugeboren

    Dramatic Nevada special session ends with film tax failure, crime bill passage — with reporters Paul Boger, Tabitha Mueller and Eric Neugeboren
    Nov 21 2025
    After 7 days, Nevada lawmakers adjourned the state’s 36th special legislative session sine die late Wednesday. The week was packed with unexpected surprises, important policy debates, long lulls in the action and criticism about the lack of transparency. From a rare procedural move that nearly derailed film tax credits on day 1 to lawmakers adding their own bill to the agenda for the first time ever, it was a dramatic special session - which could have major implications for 2026. This episode, host Ben Margiott breaks down everything that happened — floor debates, committee hearings, and behind-the-scenes negotiations — with the reporters who were there every day: Tabitha Mueller and Eric Neugeboren of The Nevada Independent and Paul Boger of KNPR. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    53 mins
  • Washoe County election chief Andrew McDonald on turnover, voter rolls and … paper ballots?

    Washoe County election chief Andrew McDonald on turnover, voter rolls and … paper ballots?
    Nov 12 2025
    In the 2026 midterms, Washoe County will — once again — have someone new running its elections. Andrew McDonald is the county’s new registrar of voters — the 4th person to hold that job since 2022. But McDonald says he’s in it for the long haul and he's got some big goals: moving the registrar’s office to a bigger location, continuing to clean up the voter rolls, and bringing in new voting machines that leave a paper record for every ballot cast in person. In Nevada election quirk, high card draw breaks tie in rural Washoe County trustee contest RGJ: Election security: Pilot program will focus on voter rolls | Clara Andriola Critic of Washoe election integrity turns to praise with new voter roll challenge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    31 mins
  • Taxes, John Doe, special session cost and cereal: Answering your listener questions with Chris Murphy

    Taxes, John Doe, special session cost and cereal: Answering your listener questions with Chris Murphy
    Oct 29 2025
    It's mail time at Ballot Battleground: Nevada. This week, we're digging through the listener mailbag once again with News 4 and Fox 11 morning show anchor Chris Murphy. Host Ben Margiott and Chris answer questions ranging from tax reform and John Doe's identity to open primaries and the cost of a special legislative session. Do you have questions for our next mailbag? Send them to bjmargiott@sbgtv.com and put Ballot Battleground: Nevada in the subject line. Does Nevada need property tax reform? Legislative push renewed amid budget shortfalls Bonus episode: Rep. Mark Amodei on the federal government shutdown Nevada Rep. Mark Amodei on tariffs, Signalgate, DOGE, immigration and moreHow much will Lombardo's special session of Nevada Legislature cost? Here's what we found Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    31 mins
  • Should Nevada reel in Hollywood? Film tax credits to be discussed in special session

    Should Nevada reel in Hollywood? Film tax credits to be discussed in special session
    Oct 15 2025
    Legislators will be headed back to Carson City this fall for another special session of the Nevada legislature — the sixth since 2020. Governor Joe Lombardo announced he wants them to finish some 'unfinished business' in the next few months. So when exactly will that be? What still needs to get done? And why have there been so many special sessions lately? One of the biggest issues likely to come up is whether Nevada should offer new tax credits to attract the film industry to Las Vegas, so we figured we'd bring in two southern Nevada journalists. Host Ben Margiott chats with McKenna Ross, politics and government reporter with the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Steve Sebelius, senior political reporter with KTNV Channel 13. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    31 mins
  • Bonus episode: Rep. Mark Amodei on the federal government shutdown

    Bonus episode: Rep. Mark Amodei on the federal government shutdown
    Oct 10 2025
    It's day 10 of the federal government shutdown and it seems Congress is no closer to an agreement to reopen the government. Amid the partisan standoff, we got the chance to sit down with Northern Nevada's representative in the U.S. House, Republican Mark Amodei. In this bonus episode, we asked Amodei why he opposes extending the Affordable Care Act subsidies, whether he supports the effort to ensure military members are paid and whether he would call out GOP leaders for continuing to use talking points about illegal immigrants deemed 'highly misleading.' GOP misleads with claim that Democrats shut down to give health care to 'illegal immigrants' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    15 mins
  • Why Nevada is refusing to hand over voter data with Sec. of State Cisco Aguilar

    Why Nevada is refusing to hand over voter data with Sec. of State Cisco Aguilar
    Oct 1 2025
    In August, Nevada government agencies were hit with a crippling ransomware attack. Thankfully, Nevada’s election infrastructure wasn’t affected. But against that backdrop — and with concern over Nevadans’ personal information still fresh — the Department of Justice is now requesting driver’s license records and partial Social Security numbers for every registered voter in the state. Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar joins this week to discuss how Nevada’s election systems held up during the cyberattack, why he won’t release voter data to the Trump administration and a first look at initiatives that could appear on Nevada’s 2026 ballot. Nevada Secretary of State concerned about DOJ requests for voter data Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    24 mins
  • Mass deportations in Nevada: Both sides of the debate - part 2

    Mass deportations in Nevada: Both sides of the debate - part 2
    Sep 17 2025
    ICE arrests are surging in Nevada as the Trump administration moves forward with its mass deportation agenda promised in the campaign. In this episode, we go beyond the headlines to hear from both sides of the immigration debate. First, Athar Haseebullah of the ACLU of Nevada explains why his organization is fighting back against what it sees as government overreach. Then, Bruce Parks, chair of the Washoe County Republican Party, makes the case for why he supports mass deportations. Inside ICE arrests in Nevada — Part 1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    40 mins
  • Inside ICE arrests in Nevada — Part 1

    Inside ICE arrests in Nevada — Part 1
    Sep 3 2025
    President Trump’s second term has put mass deportations back at the center of U.S. politics — and Nevada offers a revealing look at what that means on the ground. In part 1 of our two-part series, host Ben Margiott talks to reporter Kim Burrows, who witnessed several ICE arrests during an exclusive ridealong in May. Then, we turn to The Nevada Independent’s Eric Neugeboren and Isabella Aldrete, who crunched the numbers to answer a pressing question: Who is ICE actually arresting in Nevada — violent criminals, or people whose only offense is crossing the border illegally? Analysis: ICE arrests are surging in Nevada — including of people with no criminal record ICE arrests multiple people with alleged criminal pasts during northern Nevada operation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    34 mins