Erin GEiger Smith

Hi. I’m a reporter and author. My non-fiction books, Thank You for Voting and the Thank You for Voting Young Readers’ Edition, were published by HarperCollins in June 2020. (Yes, in the middle of the pandemic! The book tour was from my bedroom.) Thank You for Voting covers the history of voting in America, current voter suppression and how to fight it, innovative get out the vote movements, how businesses can support democracy, and explainer chapters of voting topics that confuse even the most educated voters: news literacy, polling, gerrymandering, and the Electoral College.

I provided voting and election commentary on programs including CNN’s Reliable Sources and Good Morning America, many national and regional NPR stations and shows, and podcasts like Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert . I regularly speak to audiences of all ages (kids age 5 to college are my favorite!) about protecting democracy, increasing voter turnout, and news literacy. I currently talk about all those topics in my weekly Thank You for Voting Substack, which aims to keep you politically informed and politically motivated, as painlessly as possible!

I do discuss topics other than democracy! I’ve also written dozens of feature stories for publications including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Among the topics I've covered are the classic books even the most accomplished readers skipped, corporate sponsorships at children's museums (baby Bank of America!), how online clothing retailers get inside your head, the cult following for Mexican Coke, the cult following for certain bright, young greeting card-makers (okay, I was the cult follower there), and how super Type A planners conquer Disney World. I frequently talked to creative executives about their decorating desires and favorite places to escape.

Before freelancing, I worked at Reuters and Business Insider covering legal news. I graduated from Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism, The University of Texas School of Law, and the University of Texas at Austin. I grew up in Liberty, Texas and now live in Manhattan with my husband Bryan and our 9-year-old son Reed.