Jelani Cobb - History of the Electoral College & a Healthy Journalism Diet | The Daily Show

[@AwesomeFish12]

Rational level headed conversations are something the world can never run out of.

[@patrickmaline4258]

do you mean “that the world can never have too much of.” or, “never get enough of” ? if people keep voting for tax cuts, undermining public education, rational conversations could go the way of the dodo 🦤. there’s an excellent documentary that highlights this issue. it’s called “idiocracy”. 🤭 ☮️❤️🌎🌏🌍

[@yolibart]

Wish more Americans cared about this. I wrote my thesis about constitutional gridlock and the political injustice of the electoral college back in the day.

[@montrealmaaan6237]

This is an excellent interview. Both the person being interviewed and the interviewer did a fantastic job.

[@catdad626]

Amazing interview, learned something from Prof Jelani. Also man's shoulders are immense and look great in that baby blue suit.

[@sharonk1734]

This gentleman, Jelani Cobb, is such a well spoken and informative guest. Great interview.

[@emilyt9966]

I love you Jelani Cobb!!! Thank you for your incredible articulation and knowledge

[@jackson857]

Michael is a great interviewer. He's doing a great job hosting.

[@spring15tt69]

Fantastic, informative interview.

[@ayanasarver4059]

I love Jelani's voice! It was like melted caramel 🥰

[@marysullivan3881]

I had an awesome 8th gr Civics and history teacher. She taught us the Declaration and Bill of Rights, the Constitution and Amendments and the Electoral College. It was fascinating and in depth. I thank her to this day. My college class was nothing compared to her teaching.

[@sandhyapadiyar120]

Excellent interview! Loved it.

[@Mr.MBarrett]

It's always a pleasure to indulge in Jelani Cobb's insights. I highly recommend the One Person, One Vote documentary. It breaks down the Electoral College most effectively and argues for a National Popular Vote system.

[@markybob_bassplaya1462]

Appreciate the comment, but I have to disagree. I am for Article 1 and Amendment 10 of the Constitution, separation of state and federal power, making sure we all have a voice.

[@myqueerplantfamily]

@@markybob_bassplaya1462 We don’t all have a voice under the Electoral College! My vote for president has NEVER mattered because I’ve lived in states that vote differently than I do. Democracy is the voice of the people, not of state government.

[@aorihanazari524]

@@markybob_bassplaya1462 Sorry this thinking disenfranchises people who live in big states. Why does votes of people in smaller states matter more electorally than those of big states? It should be one person, one vote. Otherwise, you'll have to ensure that all minorities on local and state levels have electoral college as well; otherwise, how can you trust that the majority will take care of you? (Hint: you can, for example, the city vs farm/rural is an artificial divide pushed by conservatives to obscure their power grabs. City folks more than others tend to love farmer markets, small farms, and tend to be against big agro that does everything in its power to take advantage of small farmers)

[@Tulkame]

Without the electoral college, the president would always be decided by a few cities. These cities would have more voting power than a large majority of the rest of the United States. The electoral college ensures that Wyoming actually has a say and not just New York City and LA.

[@myqueerplantfamily]

@@Tulkame Why should Wyoming get a say for president when no one chooses to live there? If most people choose to live in big cities why do their votes need to be watered down and the votes of rural people weighted?

[@foppishdilletaunt9911]

Mr Cobb has the voice of an emperor.

[@KOKO-uu7yd]

I'm also noticing HE'S *HUGE!!* 😮

[@wandapease-gi8yo]

Replacement for James Earl Jones?

[@gloriaf6971]

No. ​@@wandapease-gi8yo

[@frmtheBkstore]

@@wandapease-gi8yo these comments are hilarious since I know him🤣😂

[@eKh79]

@@frmtheBkstoreDoes he sing? That volume in combination with that clear pronunciation is fascinating

[@Usapropaganda-t7h]

Plato said one of the markers of a failed society is when the government & laws no longer make sense.

[@bobbobofalberta9058]

Like when they created the Electoral College? Is that when it failed?😀

[@Enders90]

Plato also felt that the elite should rule over the workers who he felt were illiterate and dumb.

[@rap4880]

​@@Enders90-touché.

[@mj.ray0898]

I actually had a civics class and learned about the electoral college, at least in theory. This is the first time I've heard about the use of slaves to boost their census to earn more political power, and I can't be the only one. Why aren't we taught these things?

[@stayclassysd31]

Depending on the state in which you took civics, that part can be omitted from the textbook and curriculum. Even in blue states it may not have been in the curriculum in the not too distant past.

[@SLF-o2w]

Another historical fact that is omitted from this period is how and why the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882 by a You scratch my back I’ll scratch yours deal between California politicians like Leland Stanford and Southern politicians like plantation owners. Read Forbidden Citizen by Martin Gold.

[@mori1bund]

You probably know why we aren't taught these (and many other) things... :(

[@Eloraurora]

It's often distanced a little bit. They'll mention the 3/5ths compromise, but not really dig into _why_ it was made.

[@only1muppet]

I grew up about a mile from DC went to school in the 70’s and 80’s. Even today I still remember learning some of the details about the 3/5ths rule and why it was written. I don’t doubt that many other students that grew up the same time I did, were taught some of that, but I’m sure many only paid attention to what actually interested them. I know I was taught a lot of things that I truly never retained because I wasn’t interested in it 😁

[@57sitruc]

Why is this being talked about on a comedy show? Why isn’t it the major theme of News Media? This is insane.

[@dredknots]

Strange times indeed that we get entertainment from News Media and journalism from Comedy Shows (& increasingly from individuals on youtube) but thank goodness we're getting serious information from somewhere.

[@jaefrmbk2k]

all the reasons. & not citizen-serving ones

[@jennyjennyjenny3210]

Great interview!! Please do more!!

[@peterkotara]

The United States needed to start upon the path of electoral reform 50 years ago.

[@Lionesse-z41553]

At least!

[@deborahchasteen3206]

At least 100

[@michaeldonovan3959]

When there was a prayer of amending the Constitution.

[@nessunodorme3888]

Whew! Thank goodness we got that derailed before anybody wasted time trying to improve things now!

[@patchez058]

The electoral college is a main reason I didn't vote, until I started voting to vote against trump. The fact he won despite losing the popular vote stung extra hard then. 😢

[@Marionettetc]

It's definitely a relic of an abominable era of US history but I'm glad you're voting now despite it.

[@sdspecto]

Thank you for voting!

[@deborahchasteen3206]

Uhhhhhh, that makes no sense. My vote doesn’t count, until you decide it does?

[@patchez058]

@@deborahchasteen3206 no, I didn't vote because I didn't think my vote counted. All my state's electoral votes went to the other candidate. Even though my candidate won the popular vote. Without the ec my vote would have counted towards the country's total. Like every other democracy.

[@Donetravlin]

No vote matters. This is not a democracy its a constitutional Republic that has been taken over by zionist who care about Israel, not America. 1st Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, America is in full breach of its contract! It's no longer a valid constitutional Republic & has zero authority whatsoever until order is restored.

[@cccro6228]

Oh what a lesson to be learned from Mr. Cobb's. You did a great job Mr. Cobb.

[@Sunluvr1]

Makes me laugh while I’m learning !!! Unusual but welcome .

[@anamariaguadayol2335]

I find it amazing that I, as a person who came to this country as a 20-year-old and had to learn English before I started college, knew about the perils of the Electoral College back in the 70s.

[@tylerhackner9731]

Love him

[@mekl9]

This is great.

[@sipp4238]

I love this Brother here, He always speak Facts

[@JamesSimmons-d1t]

New Yorker my fave mag, 65 years...politics gets better over time, very broad based, interdisciplinarian. Always fun to see writer whose work I have studied. I annotate what I read in pen. On PAPER.

[@farahdormanesh4690]

This is crazy. How can it be fixed

[@moniqueengleman873]

People have tried to get rid of the electoral count. This should absolutely be won by the person with the highest popular vote. Hillary Clinton beat tfg by 6 million votes. Still dump was in the white house. Insanity 😤😤😤😤

[@ChiTownGrmRepr]

National Popular Vote Compact. States give their electors to whoever wins the national popular vote. No change in the Constitution necessary.

[@deborahchandler1815]

Im 65 and am just learning about the history of it

[@RandomDudeDrawz]

Never understood why the US needs something like the EC...well...at least now i know why they have it. But the supposed necessity is still rather questionable.

[@t.j.3101]

It made more sense before the Reapportionment Act of 1929 messed everything up. The equation is just essentially supposed to be Electoral College = House (tied to population) + Senate (2 for each state). And the House/population portion of that equation is supposed to grow every 10 years (i.e. continually overshadow the "Senate" portion of the equation over time). And the mechanism to grow the House (and therefore Electoral College) is supposed to be the Census each decade, which worked before the Reapportionment Act of 1929 that artificially capped the House of Representatives at 435 members (which directly artificially capped the Electoral College at 538 EC votes from 435 + 100 Senators + 3 EC votes for Washington DC). Seriously, the House wasn't always 435 members--that's just the size that was determined the House based on the 1910 Census! And the best part about all of this is that, unlike trying to abolish the Electoral College which would require a Constitutional Amendment--this is just a dumb law that can be repealed by simple majority votes in Congress.

[@RandomDudeDrawz]

And here i was thinking Germans have a lot of unnecessary bureaucratic nonsense going on 🤣

[@dredre1696]

This is information i was looking for, thinking of, thank you.

[@only1muppet]

You could’ve easily googled it a long time ago. Just saying 😁

[@alisonmaillard5341]

Absolutely fascinating !

[@infotime9151]

Outstanding interview, Thank you Mr. Cobb and of course Michael

[@bobbobofalberta9058]

Wow!...such an important interview and at the right time.

[@maryfagundes6520]

Love it!

[@johnlarson111]

I leaned all this in 8th grade in conn in 1960. Dredd scot descision .

[@brendajerez2235]

Great and to the point content. Thank you. 💙💙💙💙💙

[@adriancarroll2926]

Saw the doc it was very insightful. Thanks for the follow up interview.

[@polygraphliedetector]

great interview

[@katboss4886]

Love Jenali. Watch him on MSNBC all the time!

[@ianhoag5100]

Nicely done! This is a great intro about the electoral college. I just wish Jelani had talked more about the "winner-take-all" system used by most states. The electoral college wouldn't be as problematic if most or all states would split their votes the way Maine and Nebraska do. Gerrymandering would still be a problem, though.

[@Anders1949-hof]

Voting can prevent unwanted precidency 💞💙🌊🇺🇲 Vote blue ballot up and down the ballot 💞💙🌊🇺🇲 Vote blue in local elections it matters 💞💙🌊🇺🇲 Volunteer 💞💙🌊🇺🇲 Donate💞💙🌊🇺🇲

[@lauraw.7008]

7:34 I actually think “newsflash: we’ve researched this thoroughly, and this politician is actually working in the best interests of the citizens” would be an excellent headline.😊 but I guess that’s just me.

[@erinmac4750]

IKR I was thinking that, too. That would be something that catches people's eye in the sea of dystopian Enquirer style headlines. 🤔

[@markgigiel2722]

We need MORE parties and RANKED CHOICE voting an NO Electoral College. But, This is 'Merica and half of us vote against our own best interests.

[@rietosee05]

Go Jelani Cobb with all your pertinent information🎉

[@ConceiveBelieveAchieveTarot]

Thank you, Michael & Jelani for that informative talk. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 I actually was a co-teacher in the history class and we don’t teach that.

[@Meanwoman666]

Thank you sir you're a gentleman and a scholar thank you for your straight shooting honesty I like the way you tell people how to learn how to critically think it's priceless

[@un2mensch]

Dude looks & sounds like Uncle Phil. That's pretty awesome

[@MuddyRavine]

The US needs needs to abolish the electoral college. We need to open elections to more parties, having only two parties does not work on multiple levels. The only number that two parties is better than is one, but its worse than every other number. And we need to have true or full proportional representation. In what other country can someone win an election by almost 3,000,000 votes but still lose the presidency/premiership/prime minister?

[@dusty4047]

This guys knowledge is something all Americans should have.

[@wandapease-gi8yo]

Not only do I dislike the Electoral,College, but I hate the idea that my State has at some time decided to throw its Electoral votes to one candidate ignoring the will of those who voted for a different candidate! Time for US to realize that it is completely possible for one Citizen, one vote to be the decision.

[@ateamfan42]

Tell your state legislators to support the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact

[@sinyenling2454]

Jelani always speaks truth to power!

[@jamesdaviddupre99]

This is an informative discussion. The 'Founding Fathers' had little faith that the average voter was sufficiently informed or educated to decide who should win an election. As a result, electors came into being. Then there was the fact that non-voting slaves were counted as a significant percentage of the population number that determined the number of electors for any state. Then there's the argument that less-populated states should have an equal say as the more populous states. Perhaps that has some merit; however (even if I exaggerate) 2 cowboys & 1 cow receiving federal subsidies maybe shouldn't have quite so much political influence as the rest of the country. Some may disagree, but most countries with free & fair elections use the popular vote to determine the winner of any election.

[@mirfjc]

excellent summary. and it’s even worse than that. prior to 1828, the voting mandate was basically the same as it has been in Britain since the early 1700’s- basically only land owning white men. and those are the voters the framers of the constitution still didn’t think bright enough to know how to vote. forget ordinary americans of the day. i think a huge mistake people make in looking at the structure we have is in back protecting today’s values and beliefs in democracy back onto the late 1700’s. everything was setup to give the landed gentry the same rights in running the country that their very recently countrymen in Britain already enjoyed. that the UK and US are now so much vastly better democracies than they were then is due to everything people did to fix and bodge up creaky systems we inherited in the 1800 and 1900’s. the framers in the late 1700’s were absolutely not visionary futurists who knew exactly what to do. that’s a lie that keeps us stuck with these systems. including crazy senate where you can make laws with votes representing significantly less than 50% of the country. there’s reasons for that too that also were eminently sensible to british colonial gentry of 1700’s. if britain has moved on decades ago, surely we can at least catch up.

[@only1muppet]

You are not far off in the assessment that the average voter wasn’t well informed. Back then mail took weeks, very few could actually read 😂 and even if they did, news was typically only printed one a week and maybe printed by two newspapers 😂 Our entire voting system needs to be updated to fit the current way of life, along with the constitution. Sadly it’ll likely take decades or a disaster to get republicans to agree.

[@elizabeth9134]

Can we please have a shout out for librarians and public libraries?

[@Go4PlanB]

more please

[@robincostner5707]

Great interview!

[@pmwiky]

3:37 WHY?! because that would mean the death of the republican party as currently constituted...they and their corporate partners, and cristo-facists would NEVER EVER let that happen.

[@jamesheuer5139]

I get my news from Comedy Central, Jimmy Kimmel, and Stephen Colbert!👍👍

[@JamesOfEarth]

KZbin Station, taking the nation!

[@DrewFlowers-l6b]

You're on KZbin, too! Don't forget, Mr Cobb!

[@justincalderon9307]

Ranked Choice Voting!!!

[@californiacloud1036]

In 1971-72 my teacher purposely impressed on our minds that the president was and had always be been decided by the popular vote. Period. That was what made America great. Not until Bush Jr. election did I ever hear of an electoral college. Does anyone else remember our history this way? Or have I slipped from some parallel universal timeline?

[@alexwixom4599]

SUPPORT TEIRED VOTING!

[@JeffErdmann]

Until meaningful campaign reforms are enacted corruption will be part of politics. 1. Eliminate all campaign donations and solicitations, including Super PACs. 2. Open Primaries to Independent voters (the majority) nationwide. In 2022, 43% of U.S. adults identified as independents, 27% as Republicans, and 27% as Democrats. 3. No more gerrymandering political maps. 4. Eliminate the Electoral College that gives 538 - “chosen individuals” the power to choose our president.

[@MayorBri96]

Michael Kosta is obviously hilarious - but he is often so silly that I forget how brilliant he is. This interview is a great reminder of his intelligence.

[@justincastillogayray]

It also affects you if you don't vote.

[@ElusiveSasquatch]

Ranked Choice Voting would be awesome

[@sdlstr91]

I had to listen to his explanation 3 times, but surely cause it’s not before 6am?

[@vincentwu2848]

My civics class described the electoral college as something like a formal mechanism, there was no mention at all about slaves giving some states more voting power...

[@brendajerez2235]

To begin changing the political landscape abuse, we MUST do away with Citizens United, Electoral College, time limits for Supreme Court Justices, and the STRONGEST consumer protection infrastructure in the WORLD Amongst others. In addition to changing the tax code. Corporations, millionaires, and billionaires must pay according to their profits.

[@michaelbuehler3897]

Some people have a bad habit of just blindly following whatever news they watch.

[@MindyI0628]

Electoral college for president is outdated and needs replaced with the popular vote, like all other elections! I’m a blue dot in a blood red state. I still vote but my vote should actually count!

[@ateamfan42]

Tell your state legislators to support the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact

[@born2doitright]

Finally, a clear explanation!

[@oliveinpeace9627]

I still don't get it. It doesnt sound like it serves us today. It should probably go away.

[@brucebennett5338]

Tyranny of the minority.

[@timf7679]

People in swing states probably thinks it serves them because it makes their vote feel much more impactful. Whereas when I vote Democrat in Missouri, it feels very ceremonial with little chance of ever seeing it make a difference. Doesn't make voting in those kind of states any less important, but there is a certain sense of "why even bother" that I have to push back internally while people in Pennsylvania can literally be deciding the presidency with their vote.

[@AoifeBheag]

​@@timf7679Speaking as a PA voter on AOC's side of the Democratic party, I WHOLE-HEARTEDLY agree with you that PA and the handful of other swing states SHOULD NOT wield the outsized power in elections which they do. One person, one vote!

[@erinmac4750]

​@@timf7679 I hear that! Here in Cali, people just assume things are going to swing Democrat. But, when Schiff ran all those negative ads about his relatively unknown repug opponent, he paved the way for that guy to possibly pick up our second Senate seat. While our system is still so dysfunctional with the Electoral College, huge donors, repug lawsuits, Heritage Foundation, etc, none of us should assume anything is set. Btw I heard rumors that Harris was going to tap an American Express executive for Treasury.... hopefully it's just a rumor. The DNC doesn't need to copy tfg's stocking the swamp, nor should they become the repug lite party, betraying all of us.

[@peterschairer488]

It would be nice if cable news would include this on how they report on the election.

[@Elizabeth-gr2nn]

I love to hear Island Cobb speak.

[@Krueger444]

Counter to what this interview said, most countries with parliamentary systems (at least english colonies) have an analogous system to the electoral college. People vote for their local member of parliament (like a representative) and then the leader of the party with the most seats becomes Prime Minister. Canada's Liberals have lost the popular vote in the last two elections but still formed a government.

[@pn312]

The electoral college serves the interests of a minority of the population… Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. -- Frederick Douglass

[@only1muppet]

But the electoral college does actually balance out the vote to this day. Just because Montana only has 1.2 million people, their votes shouldn’t count any less than NY. I think the college system needs to consistent in each state though. Some states don’t pick electors the same way that others do.

[@pn312]

@@only1muppet Hillary had 3 million more votes than Trump… those 3 million people’s votes were essentially ignored.

[@pmwiky]

The electoral college, a system where the politicians pick their voters instead of the voters picking their politicians.😅

[@mori1bund]

You cn say the same thing about Gerrymandering.

[@pmwiky]

@@mori1bund they go hand in glove

[@musicauthority674]

The electoral college needs to be abolished. in fact it should have been a long time ago.

[@redfoxx0930]

Solid 💪🏾

[@alexaales7937]

there is only one solution: GET RID OF IT!!!!! use the popular vote like everybody else, so that all voices can be heard!

[@ericcarlson6822]

In the Federalist Papers, Hamilton asserts that the Electoral College is a great way to reduce the amount of turmoil in an election. In fact, it does the opposite.

[@ethor7676]

this guy was very well spoken and intelligent.

[@only1muppet]

I’m sure you didn’t intend it, but the way your comment reads. It sounds like you almost ended that sentence with “for a black guy”.

[@teddyfurstman1997]

Abolish the Electoral Collage. 🗳️

[@JamesJones-kb2tw]

The electoral college system is actually similar to other federal representative democracies. In Australia as in the US, different states came together to form a country. It therefore makes sense for each state to exercise its own sovereignty by casting its 'vote' for a national leader (on behalf of its state citizens) at a federal election.

[@villagebadger]

Al Jazeera is a great balanced news source

[@ericcarlson6822]

In the Federalist Papers, there are a number of reasons why the Electoral College is said to be an excellent system. It fails all of them.

[@nogmo100]

End electoral college

[@Bane-l7h]

I have a feeling this is the first time a lot of people realized what the EC is and how it plays a role in the power (or lack thereof) their individual vote holds. Public education has failed a lot of this country.

[@gailoverholt6498]

Personally, I think the “he’s not corrupt” congressman would be a great story!

[@gloriaf6971]

The slate of electors is not needed. We should get rid of this system.

[@solomonshv]

i went to public school in NYC in the late 90s to the mid 2000s. graduated high school in 2006. i learned about the electoral college TWICE, in junior high (PS 209) then again in high school (john dewey HS). we were taught about electors, 3/5 compromise, and that both were designed to get the sparsely populated southern states to agree to join the union. i learned that we are not an actual democracy, we are a republic. not sure where (or when) he went to school in NYC and not learn it

[@djalmamartins1772]

You are still a democracy. Why do Americans think those are mutually exclusive? You are a democratic republic, same as France and other countries.

[@mylarus]

It will never change while it favours one side or the other. Getting 2 thirds of Congress to do this is virtually impossible.

[@moniqueengleman873]

Winner takes all!

[@christopher5731]

We can learn a lot from young uncle phil

[@Mkg888-n9g]

Agree

[@christopherbedford9897]

It requires a great deal of skill and craft to be able to go into an environment you might not be familiar with to find out what's going on[...] *=OR=* - if you don't have that much journalistic integrity, you can in deed just _make stuff up_ and that's what loads of reporters just don't get. They have a deadline, they see something, they think they understand it, they use poetic licence and *bingo!* They have an article. Never mind that half - or even only 2% - of what you wrote was made up on the spot, if it isn't the truth it can make a *huge* difference to the impact of the report. So can you explain that to your students, please, Prof Cobb? 🧐 Hmm?

[@chriswhite821]

People need to find the courage to open their minds and avoid parking in a confirmation bias information silo.

[@nhgsmithnhgsmith1312]

I get my news from the comedy channel

[@the.masked.one.studio4899]

Legacy news outlets really dropped the ball on Palestine and price gouging (just to mention recent events). There are some amazing outlets like dropsite news but it takes a lot of digging to find them. Always be skeptical and look into what you read. There are so many great scholars on every subject, its worth seeking them out.