Skip to content 8/25/2026 Elections and Education Measures and a Look at Where Christianity Meets Culture Aug 25 · 54 min ...more
8/25/2026 Elections and Education Measures and a Look at Where Christianity Meets Culture
August 25, 2026 · 54 min
Today’s program digs into key lawsuits involving election processes and the banning of religious materials in schools, news of how expanding several education measures will benefit homeschool families and Christian schools, analyzes both primary races and upcoming general elections, and offers valuable resources for Christians during election season.
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
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August 25, 2026 · 54 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
Today’s program digs into key lawsuits involving election processes and the banning of religious materials in schools, news of how expanding several education measures will benefit homeschool families and Christian schools, analyzes both primary races and upcoming general elections, and offers valuable resources for Christians during election season. ...more Show the full description Show less Today’s program digs into key lawsuits involving election processes and the banning of religious materials in schools, news of how expanding several education measures will benefit homeschool families and Christian schools, analyzes both primary races and upcoming general elections, and offers valuable resources for Christians during election season.
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In this video 0:00 Today's Elections and School Choice Momentum10:15 Supreme Court Backs Election Integrity Order17:35 Empowering Informed Primary Voters27:03 Revolutionizing School Choice Access41:33 Battling Religious Discrimination in EducationComments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
Today's Elections and School Choice Momentum 0:01 From the heart of our nation's capital in Washington, DC, bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation's leaders and0:13 newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Jody Heiss.0:19 1 year ago, as part of the great big beautiful bill, we passed the education freedom tax credit, the largest ever expansion of school choice, and we want thank you.0:32 And we want every parent to have the power to send their child to a high quality school that shares their values.0:40 That was president Trump in the White House Rose Garden yesterday, heralding Republican efforts to expand school choice. Welcome to this Tuesday, August 25th edition of0:52 Washington Watch. I'm your host today, Jody Heiss, filling in for Tony. So glad to have you. We have a lot to cover in the next hour. The Supreme Court has temporarily allowed1:04 president Trump's executive order restricting mail in voting to remain in effect. Hans von Spakovsky at Advancing American Freedom will join us to discuss the1:16 next steps and what this ruling could mean for the upcoming midterm elections. Meanwhile, with elections taking place today in Georgia, Oklahoma, and South Carolina,1:28
1:40 will see on the ballot. Plus, George Triphiotis from the Association of Christian Schools International will be joining me to discuss the expansion of school
1:51 choice that was highlighted by president Trump yesterday in the Rose Garden. So we have a lot to cover, and it's all coming your way on today's edition of Washington Watch.
2:08 We'll start with primary elections happening today. And joining us now to discuss this and get us kicked off is Washington stand reporter, Casey Harper. Casey, thanks for joining us. What are some of the key races
2:20 that we're all tracking?
2:21 Yeah. Thanks, Jody. I'll, run through a few. 1st, in South Carolina, a lot of eyes are on this race where a senate US senate race, voters will decide between senator Darlene Graham and congressman Ralph Norman.
2:33 Now over in Oklahoma, state attorney general get Gittner Drummond is running against a Trump backed opponent, Mike Mose. Now a former state senator in in the race for governor in his own right, over in the
2:45 east in Georgia, 2 Democrats are competing to complete the US house term of David Scott. But these races, Jody, it's worth noting, and you and I have talked about this, they come at a time where Democratic socialism is
2:57 growing in popularity among democrats and in many of these candidates. In fact, here's what New York City mayor Zoran Mamdani said earlier today.
3:05 I'm excited at seeing the number of democrats who've been elected in primaries, whether it's Claire Valdez, Daria Lisa, Avila Chevalier, Brad Lander, others, and now that we could bring that hopefully into a majority.
3:17 He may be excited, but many Democrats in the establishment and plenty of voters are not. But Mamdani made this comment at an event where he debuted, his new New York City Unified Court System, part of his agenda to
3:29 speed up emergency housing cases in the city. But that democratic socialism rise is something, we've been keeping an eye on, Jody.
3:37 Yeah. Certainly is. Well, speaking of voting, the US Supreme Court has actually sided with the White House when it comes to president Trump's executive order regarding mail in ballots. Can you walk us
3:49 through that news and, really, potentially what that might mean for the November midterm elections?
3:55 Yeah. This is a big ruling, but it's probably not the final word. Now the Supreme Court has decided to let president Trump's mail in ballot executive order move forward at least for now. This could have big implications
4:06 for November's midterms. The order would expand federal oversight of mail voting through the US postal service, potentially affecting how ballots are delivered and counting president Trump exerting his authority over the
4:17 postal service there. Now the president directed the Department of Homeland Security to compile citizenship lists for each state and for the US postal service to set guidelines for tracking ballots, who gets the ballot,
4:28 and how do we verify who's a citizen. Now the supreme court's decision appears to leave some space for court challenges in the future that could slow down the president's order, and you can be sure those court and legal
4:40 challenges will come. But Arizona attorney general, Chris Mays, reacted to the high court's decision yesterday during an interview on CNN.
4:48 We have to fight this. We will fight this. The good news is basically the the the because the postal service rulemaking, is now in effect and is ripe, we can go to
5:00 court and challenge it. So, you know, look for that very, very soon because, you know, this is ridiculous. It's outrageous. It's unconstitutional.
5:11 Now it's unclear how much of the president's order is gonna be able to move forward here, but this one's gonna be right back in the courts, Jody.
5:18 Yes. It is. Well, let's turn, real quickly to some other news out of Washington. The Trump administration seems to be getting ready to revoke visas from migrants who have applied for or
5:30 currently seek asylum here in the United States. It looks like an exceedingly large number. What's this all about?
5:37 Yeah. That's right. 200000 migrants are facing the revocation of their visas. That's the largest batch revocation ever. And this is a move that the administration says to target individuals who are claiming to come to
5:49 the US as short term visitors, but then file asylum and stay permanently, something they say is being abused. Now an official from the state department said that the asylum system has been inundated with what they called
5:59 frivolous asylum claims. But since president Trump returned to the White House, the state department has revoked around 175000 visas for individuals accused or convicted of various crimes. So,
6:11 looks like they're gonna ratchet up that number, Jody.
6:15 Alright, Casey. As always, thank you for getting us jump started today. We appreciate it. Let's turn back now and talk about the Supreme Court's decision yesterday that opened the path for president Trump's,
6:26 executive order on mail in voting. And joining
6:29 us now to dive further into this is Hans von Spakovsky. He's a senior legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom,
6:37 and he's also a member of the board of advisors of the US Elections Elections Assistance Commission. In fact, he formally also served as a member of president Trump's advisory commission on election integrity.
6:50 Hans, it's always great to see you. Welcome back to Washington Watch, and, let's begin with this. What is the executive order?
6:59 Well, I have to tell you, you know, you had a clip from the Arizona attorney general. She really ought to be embarrassed about the lawsuit they filed. Let me talk about just a couple things that were in the order that
7:11 they wanted and joined and that they got a lower court to enjoy, the Supreme Court threw out. The order told the Department of Homeland Security to create state
7:23 specific lists of everyone in a particular state who was over the age of 18, therefore eligible to vote, but was a US citizen and to send those to the states. There was
7:34 nothing in in, the executive order telling states they had to use that list, but yet states went to court wanting an injunction saying, we
7:46 don't wanna get that list, a list that could help them find aliens who are illegally registered to vote. They the, executive order also told the justice department, I want you to
7:58 prioritize criminal prosecution of state and local election officials who knowingly provide ballots to ineligible voters. You know,
8:10 someone, for example, who is an alien and the election official knows that and gives them a ballot. Anyway, that's a violation of federal law, and yet they wanted and received an injunction telling the justice
8:22 department it would not be allowed to enforce federal law. I mean, that's just 1 of a number of the provisions in the order, including the ones about the postal service.
8:33 They want it stopped.
8:36 It it's just amazing that how everything turns into a law law suit these days. Now the Supreme Court did not decide on the legality of president Trump's
8:48 order as I understand. Instead, this whole ruling is what you're talking about is states who sued did not have the legal right to challenge it. So what's next? Where is this all going?
9:00 Well, there are gonna be more suits again as as Casey reporter said, but this whole case was based on a lack of standing. In other words, the Supreme Court has long said, you can't bring a
9:12 federal lawsuit unless you can show you had an actual injury. And none of the things that the states were complaining about, had caused them any injuries. At some
9:23 point, when the US Postal Service's, new rulemaking becomes final I mean, it is final now. The states may be back in court, but they're only gonna be able
9:35 to be in court if they can show actual damages. And even there, with the US postal service, you really have to wonder what they're thinking. Again, part of
9:47 the rulemaking was telling the postal service, create a tracking system for mail in ballots. Create a system of barcodes that'll be on the outside of the
9:59 envelope containing a mail in ballot so that it can be tracked. Now why in the world would states not want to be able to track the absentee ballots
10:11 they're sending to, voters and that they're sending back? The the only reason not to want that is because they don't want to know how many of those ballots are
Supreme Court Backs Election Integrity Order
10:23 going to the wrong address or ending up getting stuck at postal services. A tracking system would make things much more efficient and probably much more effective.
10:34 Yeah. It's the old see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil kind of a thing. They just don't wanna know. So what what potential impact could all of this have on the midterm elections, or could
10:46 it in any way?
10:49 Remember, there are a dozen states while all these blue states sued, about a dozen states actually sued to support the president. And what those states are doing, places like your old state of
11:01 Georgia and Texas is they're actually taking advantage of the information being provided to them by the Department of Homeland Security to take people
11:13 who are not US citizens off the voter rolls. That could make a difference in close elections. And and, you know, everybody's predicting that we may have very close
11:25 elections, not just congressional elections, but at the local level too. And that's where even a small number of illegal votes, for example, by aliens could make the difference. And in those
11:37 red states that are using this information, that's a good thing because their voter rolls could be a lot cleaner.
11:46 So, I wanna get to another question. But so, Emma, what what am I hearing from you, Hans? Are you saying that you believe the Trump administration is ultimately gonna win this battle?
11:59 I think they're gonna win almost all of, this case. The executive order, like I said, has many different provisions in them. Most of them, I think, they're ultimately
12:11 going to prevail on, like 1 of the examples I gave of of, telling the justice department to concentrate and prioritize prosecutions. No state has the
12:23 right to tell the justice department, it can't prioritize certain prosecutions. They're certain.
12:30 Right.
12:30 The Trump administration is certain to win on that and I think on many of the other provisions also.
12:37 Okay. We'll be keeping a close watch on it. Real quickly, there's a, we've only got less than a minute. The California sheriff is refusing to return some 650000 ballots he sees, back in November 25 during a
12:48 special election. Your thoughts on that situation real quickly.
12:53 If he has a basis for believing that fraud occurred in that election, then obviously, he does have the right to hang on to the evidence. But it all boils down to, does he have
13:05 a a reasonable suspicion probable cause to believe that a crime was committed?
13:11 Well, you would think 650000 ballots is, at least in a minimal way, kinda fishy. You know? I mean, there's there's reason to
13:21 Yeah.
13:21 Have some suspicion with that vast number of ballots. Alright. As always, thank you so much for joining us, Hans von Sposkowski. Always great to see you, senior senior
13:33 legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom. What what a issue we have going on in this election integrity battle. Stunning that we would even be here. Alright. Stay tuned.
13:44 Coming out, coming up next, we are gonna continue talking about elections, but this time, the importance of Americans participating in the primaries. We've got a special treat for you on how you can
13:56 get informed. Stay with us.
14:02 America, what formed the fabric of our freedom? What stitched together the hearts of those that fasten the stars and stripes? 250 years ago, our founding fathers pinned the invisible
14:14 words woven within every heart that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
14:26 Unite with others who will pledge to defend these eternal truths today at Family Research Council's Pray, Vote, Stand Summit, September 24th to the 26th at Cornerstone Chapel outside Washington,
14:38 DC. In 17 76, our country declared independence in reliance upon divine providence. In 20 26, in the same spirit, we'll declare dependence upon God by
14:50 gathering for a time of prayer, inspiration, and action for faith, for family, for freedom. Register now at pray vote stand dot org.
15:03 1 nation under God, America's undeniable foundation of faith.
15:13 As president of the College of New Jersey, now known as Princeton University, John Witherspoon taught 10 cabinet members, 60 members of Congress, 13 governors, 3 supreme court justices, vice president
15:25 Aaron Burr, and president James Madison. As a Presbyterian minister, Witherspoon was the only active clergyman to sign the declaration of independence. He was a gifted preacher and writer who let his
15:37 faith direct his political activism, often voicing the link between earthly liberty and spiritual liberty. Witherspoon argued there is not a single instance in history in which civil
15:48 liberty was lost and religious liberty preserved entire. President John Adams said of Witherspoon, he was a true son of liberty, but 1st, he was a son of the cross.
16:00 Witherspoon's views on man's sinfulness from birth influenced his belief that self government was only possible with checks and balances, A belief he passed on to his student, James Madison, father of
16:11 the
16:11 constitution. Witherspoon helped form the vision many of our founding fathers held to, no republic without liberty, no liberty without virtue, and no virtue without religion. And with
16:23 that, Witherspoon became a cornerstone in America's foundation of faith.
16:31 Looking for a trusted source of news that shares your Christian values? Turn to the Washington stand, your ultimate destination for informed faith centered reporting. Our dedicated team goes beyond the headlines,
16:43 delivering stories that matter most to believers. From breaking events to cultural insights, we provide clear, compassionate coverage through a biblical lens. Discover news you can trust at the Washington stand,
16:55 where faith and facts meet every day.
17:04 Thank you for joining us. Welcome back to Washington Watch. I'm Jody Heiss filling in today for Tony. And it is hard to believe, but our Prevost Stand Summit is just a month away.
17:16 September 24th through the 26th, Leesburg, Virginia at the Cornerstone Chapel just outside of Washington, DC. We want you to come join us. Go ahead and get some more details and register.
17:28 Text the word summit to 6 7 7 4 2. We look forward to seeing you there. Okay. Voters in 3 states have been headed to the polls today to cast their ballots for
Empowering Informed Primary Voters
17:40 some pretty high profile races as well as some very important ballot measures. And, catch this now. I I've gotta throw this out here. Primary elections
17:51 decide the vast majority of races. They really do. And yet, unfortunately, only about 20 percent of registered voters historically
18:03 participate in primary elections. That's a pretty shocking number. So a very small amount of people at the end of the day are the ones that make huge
18:15 decisions when it comes to elections. Well, thankfully, we have organizations like iVoter Guide who are dedicated to equipping Americans to be informed and to be educated in
18:27 voters. I know of no better place, to accomplish that than iVoterGuide. And there's new research actually that suggests how we can flip the script to drive voter turnout
18:39 this election season. And joining us now to discuss all of this is Debbie Wuthnow. She's the president of iVoter Guide and vice president of AFA Action, which
18:51 is the governmental affairs affiliate of American Family Association and the parent organization of iVoter Guide. Debbie, I know you've gotta be extremely, extremely
19:02 busy these days, but good to see you. Thanks for joining us on Washington Watch. Let's start with today's primary elections. What are some of the races that a lot of people are tracking today?
19:14 Well, and they're beyond primaries. We have a runoff election going on in a primary runoff in Oklahoma. A lot of their Republican races, went to a runoff because they require a plurality. So the top
19:26 2 are running against each other and and, you know, it could it's more than a dozen races, including for governor, superintendent of public instruction. So really important race going on in Oklahoma. And, you know,
19:37 1 point you talked about 20 percent of people turn out to vote in primary elections. When we make it to a runoff election, that number drops by 60 to 70 percent. So a tiny number of people
19:49 participate. So if you live in Oklahoma, I would urge you to get to the polls today, but check out those candidates 1st at ivoterguide dot com. You did mention other elections going on. There is a,
20:02 a runoff going on for a special seat in Georgia, and there's also the, special primary runoff for the seat that was held by Lindsey Graham going on in South Carolina. Okay. So I do
20:13 mention information about I love those. Yeah.
20:16 Yes. We're gonna get to our voter guide because I wanna underscore that, several times for our viewers and listeners. But you did mention the low voter turnout, and I think it's important for us from that
20:28 perspective to discuss why it's so important for Americans to vote in the midterm elections, even in in party primaries. That's an extremely important vote at the end of the
20:39 day, isn't it?
20:41 Well, in because of many of these seats are for legislative seats, so they may be congressional seats, they may be, you know, state senate, state house seats. And those are drawn in such a way
20:53 that the party who wins in the primary election is the 1 that's, you know, overwhelmingly gonna get be successful in November. That's why the big fight for just redistricting has been going on this year so that we
21:05 can, you know, hopefully give an edge to 1 party over the other. So the real choice happens in the primary where, as you said, 20 percent or less of voters are making that choice, and it is typically,
21:16 you know, the the party activists. So it's the opportunity for people who, you know, share your values or what you it's your opportunity to vote for a candidate that will represent you best, and that happens in the
21:28 primary. And even more so in the runoff, you know, a lot of times in the primary, there'll be 3 or 4 or more candidates that are running. And in states that require, 50 percent to be able to go to the general,
21:40 they have that runoff election. And when when turnout drops from 20 percent of registered voters and you drop that, it'll be, you know, 4 or 5 percent of voters, and it will be hundreds of votes that will be the winning
21:51 margin and the difference. And so every vote is worth even more. It's worth a lot in a primary and even more in special primaries and the runoffs, which is what's going on today. This is the day to get out and vote if
22:02 you live in those states that have elections right now.
22:06 Yes. And every vote, as you say, carries super weight right now. Let's talk about iVoter Guide. I don't know of any resource. I don't know how many people I have referred to use iVoterGuide,
22:18 over the years. I love it. A powerful resource. Tell us more about that.
22:24 Well, you know, we believe at iVoterGuide that, peep all voters need to know more than just the names of the people running. They need to know what they stand for, what policies they're going to promote, what they
22:36 believe, and what they'll do with power. So I voter guide does the deep research on those candidates, not just looking at what they say they're going to do, but actually looking at what they've done, what they've done
22:47 with money, what they've done with votes. If they've ever been a legislator, either at the state house or in Congress, that's the best predictor of what they'll do with power. So when you've got somebody running for
22:58 governor in Oklahoma who was a legislator or a congressman, we look at those votes as a predictor of what they'll do with power and, add to that candidate surveys and who's endorsed the candidate,
23:10 really just gathering and doing all the research that, you know, most voters don't have the time or the inclination to do, but yet it's important for voters to be informed. An informed electorate is really the foundation
23:21 of our republic, but too few people have the time or the resources. IVoterGuide is the largest candidate research organization out there used by millions of voters and we not only gather all the
23:33 research, give you the sources to check it out for yourself, but give you a rating so that you know where the candidates stand on the political spectrum. And even in these Republican primaries, those ratings are not
23:44 identical. Not every Republican is cut from the same cloth or receives the same ratings. In these runoffs in this, you know, going on today, we have candidates from verified conservative all the way over to
23:56 liberal ratings and moderate and in between. So it's really important for voters to know what those candidates stand for. Go to I voter guide dot com. It is free, and we enter your ad you enter your address. We'll give
24:08 you a personalized ballot so you can know what the people that you're gonna check the box next to are gonna do with the power you're giving them with your vote.
24:17 And FRC Action is proud to be a partner of iVoter Guide. We appreciate so much what you do. Alright. Debbie Westdow, president of iVoter
24:29 Guide, thank you so much for joining us. By the way, if you'd like to access iVoter Guide, she just told you, you can go to iVoter dot, guide dot com, but also you can go to f r c action dot org. We have it there
24:41 available there for you as well. Tons of information that is exceedingly valuable with elections. That's at f r c action dot org. Alright. Stay with us. Coming up, we'll discuss school
24:53 choice and the efforts to expand it and also the obstacles to restrict it. So stay with us. We'll be right back.
25:03 When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for 1 people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another,
25:10 and to assume among the powers of the earth
25:12 The separate and equal station to which the laws of nature
25:16 And of nature's god entitle them.
25:18 A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes
25:23 which impel them to the separation.
25:26 We hold these truths to be self evident.
25:28 That all men are created equal.
25:31 That they're endowed by their creator. With certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.
25:42 Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Happy 250th. Happy 250th.
25:50 Happy 250th.
25:52 Happy 250th birthday, America.
25:54 May God bless America.
26:00 Stand on the Word is a simple yet powerful daily bible reading plan designed to center our hearts, homes, and culture on scripture. This free resource invites you to read a couple chapters a
26:12 day to grow in biblical understanding and be equipped to frame current events through the ever relevant lens of scripture. Stand on the word is transforming how thousands engage with God's word.
26:23 We're enjoying, learning, and growing so much as a family with Stand on the Word.
26:29 I like how you lay things out and dive deeper into each chapter.
26:33 I am gleaning much critical political and cultural insight from a biblical worldview that is grounded in God's word. This devotional study is phenomenal. It's like being in a small group every
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26:53 To join these and countless others, visit frc dot org slash bible.Show more
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