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The Purple Zone
Welcome to The Purple Zone (formerly Our Kids Our Schools).
Bridging the Gap between Public Policy, Practice & People.
The Purple Zone explores what it really means to align how we govern, how we educate, and how we show up for our communities.
Hosted by Alexis — a PhD student in public policy and administration, and longtime educator and advocate for kids, communities, and the systems that shape our lives. This podcast connects the dots between policy and practice, without the politics or platitudes.
It’s about naming what often goes unsaid — and making space for a more honest, human approach to systems that impact all of us.
How systems shape our communities, from policy on paper to action in practice. + Thinking Out Loud as a PhD Student
The Purple Zone
Federalism, Elections, and the Constitution: Who Actually Has the Power?
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Who actually has the power over elections in the United States — the federal government, the states, or the president?
Alexis takes you go back to the Constitution itself. Because here’s the truth: many adults have never been taught (or have near forgotten) how the Constitution is structured, where power is assigned, or why federalism exists in the first place. (This is a super basic/quick overview). When we don’t understand that structure, modern debates about elections can feel confusing, emotional, and disconnected from reality.
Alexis walks through the basics most people missed:
- how the Constitution is organized
- what the Articles actually assign to Congress, the President, and the courts
- where federalism lives in the text
- how the Bill of Rights — especially the 10th Amendment — draws a clear line between federal and state power
From there, she gets concrete about elections: who runs them, who sets guardrails, and why the president has no constitutional authority to administer or centralize elections.
To help frame today’s tensions, she puts two books into conversation — The Divided States of America by Donald F. Kettl and American Covenant by Yuval Levin — exploring whether federalism is a system that’s breaking down… or one that’s doing exactly what it was designed to do.
This episode isn’t about personalities or partisan talking points. It’s about structure, limits, and why understanding the Constitution changes how we see current events.
Because policy isn’t abstract. It’s personal. And federalism is where our disagreements are meant to live.
Find Alexis on Instagram and JOIN in the conversation: https://www.instagram.com/the_idaho_lady/
JOIN the convo on Substack & STAY up-to-date with emails and posts https://substack.com/@theidaholady?r=5katbx&utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-page
Send Alexis an email with guest requests, ideas, or potential collaboration.
email@thealexismorgan.com
Find great resources, info on school communities, and other current projects regarding public policy:
https://www.thealexismorgan.com