Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • ♪ ♪ ♪ >> Stephen: SO WHAT ARE YOU

  • DOING AFTER THIS?

  • OH, HEY.

  • WELCOME BACK.

  • THIS WAS AN HISTORIC ELECTION IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE.

  • TODAY, WE FOUND OUT THAT JOE BIDEN HAS BROKEN PRESIDENT

  • BARACK OBAMA'S POPULAR VOTE RECORD SET 12 YEARS AGO.

  • BARACK OBAMA, OR AS I'M NOW CALLING HIM, THE GUY WHO KNOWS

  • JOE BIDEN.

  • SO IT'S CLEAR WHO GOT THE MOST VOTES.

  • WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHO'S GOING TO BE PRESIDENT.

  • WHY'S THAT, YOU ASK?

  • WELL, LIZ, IT'S BECAUSE OF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE.

  • WHAT'S THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE, YOU ASK?

  • FIRST, YOU NEED TO STOP ASKING SO MANY QUESTIONS OF YOUR

  • TELEVISION, LIZ.

  • IT MAKES YOU LOOK CRAZY.

  • AND SECOND, WE'VE CREATED A SHORT FILMSTRIP TO EXPLAIN.

  • ♪ ♪ ♪ >> THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE AND

  • YOU.

  • EVERY FOUR YEARS, JOHN AND JANE Q. PUBLIC HAVE THE SACRED DUTY

  • TO PICK AMERICA'S NEXT PRESIDENT, BUT NOT SO FAST,

  • JANE.

  • THE FOUNDERS WERE TOO WISE TO ENTRUST SOMETHING AS IMPORTANT

  • AS DEMOCRACY TO THE PEOPLE, LIKE YOU.

  • INSTEAD, THEY CREATED THE MIRACLE OF THE ELECTORAL

  • COLLEGE.

  • BECAUSE IF THERE'S ONE THING EVERYONE ASSOCIATES WITH

  • COLLEGE, IT'S GOOD DECISIONS.

  • WITH THE MIRACLE OF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE, WHEN YOU

  • VOTE, YOU'RE ACTUALLY VOTING FOR A SLATE OF ELECTORS, APPOINTED

  • BY YOUR STATE'S LEADERSHIP, WHO THEN VOTE FOR YOU WHILE YOU JUST

  • SIT BACK AND ENJOY IT.

  • BEN FRANKLIN EXPLAINED IT THIS WAY: I LIKE TO WATCH.

  • THERE ARE 538 ELECTORS, ONE FOR EVERY MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF

  • REPRESENTATIVES, AND TWO FOR EACH STATE'S SENATORS, NO MATTER

  • HOW SMALL THAT STATE IS, GUARANTEEING THAT THE MILLIONS

  • OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN LOS ANGELES CARRY LESS WEIGHT

  • THAN KEN, THE ONLY CITIZEN OF KEN, NORTH DAKOTA.

  • HE'S WORLDLY, HE MET AN HISPANIC ONCE.

  • THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA GETS THREE ELECTORS, BUT U.S.

  • TERRITORIES, LIKE AMERICAN SAMOA, GUAM, AND PUERTO RICO,

  • GET ZERO ELECTORS FOR REASONS SCIENCE HAS NEVER DISCOVERED.

  • IT'S A MYSTERY, LIKE ANCIENT ASTRONAUTS AND THE SASWATCH.

  • OH, ALSO, THE SASCWAWCH GETS A VOTE.

  • THE WINNER TAKES ALL THE, LECTORS IN EVERY STATE, EXCEPT

  • MAINE AND NEBRASKA, BECAUSE...

  • NO REASON.

  • NONE OF THIS MAKES ANY SENSE.

  • THE STARS BLINDLY RUN.

  • SELL ALL YOUR POSSESSIONS AND LIVE IN A CAVE.

  • THERE IS NO GOD.

  • WHERE WAS I?

  • OH, YEAH, THANKS TO THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE, THE CANDIDATE

  • WHO GOT THE MOST VOTES DOESN'T ALWAYS WIN, GIVING US HISTORY'S

  • GREATEST PRESIDENTS, LIKE JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, RUTHERFORD "B"

  • HAZE, GEORGE W. BUSH, AND DONALD TRUMP, A REAL WHO'S WHO OF WHO

  • YOU DIDN'T VOTE FOR.

  • THANK YOU, ELECTORAL COLLEGE.

  • BUT DON'T FEEL BAD ABOUT YOUR VOTE NOT MATTERING.

  • CHANCES ARE YOUR ENTIRE STATE'S VOTE DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE

  • THANKS TO THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE, CANDIDATES CAN IGNORE MOST OF

  • THE STATES AND FOCUS ON THE ONES THAT TRULY REFLECT EVERYDAY

  • VOTERS, LIKE FLORIDA.

  • IT'S FULL OF AVERAGE AMERICANS, LIKE GATOR PETE, AND THIS

  • 100-YEAR-OLD BILLIONAIRE MOUSE THAT LIVES IN A CASTLE.

  • OUR ELECTIONS FOCUS ON FLORIDA IS WHY AMERICA HAS POLICIES LIKE

  • THE CUBAN EMBARGO, AND THE ABILITY TO WRITE OFF YOUR JET

  • SKI AS A HOME OFFICE SPACE.

  • SO THE NEXT ELECTION YOU FIND YOURSELF SAYING, "HOW IN THE

  • HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?" REMEMBER, IT'S NOT HELL.

  • IT'S THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE.

  • BECAUSE THERE'S NO "U" IN DEMOCRACY.

  • BUT THERE IS A WYYYYY!

  • >> Stephen: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH A PERFORMANCE BY LEON

  • BRIDGES AND LUCKY DAYE.

♪ ♪ ♪ >> Stephen: SO WHAT ARE YOU

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it