Curious About Election Day

In episode 107, we learn about election day and how it works.  What are the requirements to be president?  Who are the nominees for president?  What is the electoral college and how does it work?  We break it all down in this episode so that everyone is prepared for Election Day coming up on November 3rd. 

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Transcript

PODCAST 107: CURIOUS ABOUT ELECTION DAY

RELEASE DATE:  OCTOBER 18TH, 2020

CURIOUS KID PODCAST THEME MUSIC

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  NEXT MONTH, ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3RD, AMERICANS WILL VOTE FOR PRESIDENT.  FOR MANY OF OUR YOUNG LISTENERS, THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME YOU CAN FOLLOW THE RESULTS AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING THAT’S HAPPENING TO PREPARE YOU FOR THE BIG ELECTION.  

O:  THIS WEEK, WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT ELECTION DAY.

D:  IT MAY SOUND BORING, BUT TRUST ME WHEN I TELL YOU, IT’S NOT BORING AT ALL.  THE UNITED STATES IS A DEMOCRACY, WHICH MEANS THAT WE GET TO CHOOSE OUR LEADERS.  OUR CHOICES HAVE PAVED OUR PATH FROM THE FOUNDING FATHERS THAT PUT TOGETHER THE FRAMEWORK FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY ALL THE WAY TO OUR LEADERS OF TODAY.  IF YOU NEED EVIDENCE OF HOW IMPORTANT OUR CHOICES FOR PRESIDENT HAVE BEEN, YOU NEED TO CHECK OUT OUR PRESIDENTIAL MINI-EPISODES ON ALL THE PRESIDENTS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, STARTING WITH GEORGE WASHINGTON.  EACH EPISODE IS LESS THAN 10 MINUTES LONG AND THEY ARE ALL FILLED WITH FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT EACH PRESIDENT.  IF YOU LISTEN TO THEM, YOU WILL CERTAINLY COME AWAY UNDERSTANDING HOW IMPORTANT OUR PRESIDENTS HAVE BEEN IN POSITIONING THE UNITED STATES FOR SUCCESS OR FAILURE THROUGHOUT OUR HISTORY.  OKAY OLIVIA, WHAT’S THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK?

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, AT LEAST HOW OLD DO YOU HAVE TO BE TO BE PRESIDENT?

D:  THAT’S AN INTERESTING ONE.  DO YOU THINK YOU ARE OLD ENOUGH TO BE PRESIDENT?

O:  I JUST TURNED 7 YEARS OLD THIS MONTH, BUT I FEEL LIKE I MIGHT STILL BE TOO YOUNG TO BE PRESIDENT.  

D:  JUST HANG OUT FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES AND WE WILL FIND OUT IF YOU ARE RIGHT.  SO, THE CURRENT PRESIDENT IS DONALD TRUMP.  HE IS A REPUBLICAN AND HE IS THE 45TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

O:  HE IS CALLED THE INCUMBENT, BECAUSE HE IS THE CURRENT PRESIDENT. 

D:  PRESIDENT TRUMP IS CURRENTLY SERVING HIS FIRST 4 YEAR TERM WHICH STARTED IN 2017.  IF HE WINS ON NOVEMBER 3RD, HE WILL EARN A SECOND AND LAST 4 YEAR TERM THAT WILL START ON JANUARY 20TH.

O:  HIS SECOND TERM WOULD BE HIS LAST, BECAUSE PRESIDENTS ARE ONLY ALLOWED TO SERVE 2 FOUR YEAR TERMS.

D:  THAT’S RIGHT.  GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS OUR FIRST PRESIDENT.  HE WAS VERY POPULAR, AND IF HE WANTED TO, HE COULD HAVE BEEN THE PRESIDENT UNTIL HE PASSED AWAY.  HE DECIDED TO STEP AWAY FROM THE PRESIDENCY AFTER 2 FOUR YEAR TERMS FOR AN IMPORTANT REASON.  HE WANTED TO SET A TRADITION FOR FUTURE PRESIDENTS TO PEACEFULLY STEP DOWN FROM OFFICE AFTER NO MORE THAN 8 YEARS AS PRESIDENT.          

O:  ONLY ONE PRESIDENT HAS SERVED MORE THAN 8 YEARS, FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT.

D:  FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT WAS THE 32ND PRESIDENT.  HE WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT 4 TIMES.  WHEN HE DID THIS, THERE WAS NO RULE AGAINST RUNNING FOR MORE THAN 2 FOUR YEAR TERMS.  AMERICA WAS INVOLVED IN WORLD WAR 2 AT THE TIME PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT RAN FOR A THIRD TERM, AND AMERICANS WERE WORRIED ABOUT CHANGING PRESIDENT AT SUCH A CRUCIAL TIME, SO HE WAS EVENTUALLY ELECTED FOR A 3RD AND EVENTUALLY A 4TH TIME.  SHORTLY AFTER HIS TIME IN OFFICE WAS COMPLETE, CONGRESS APPROVED THE 22ND AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION, WHICH OFFICIALLY LIMITS PRESIDENTS TO 2 TERMS OF 4 YEARS EACH, JUST AS PRESIDENT GEORGE WASHINGTON INTENDED.  

O:  WHO IS DONALD TRUMP RUNNING AGAINST ON ELECTION DAY?

D:  HIS BIGGEST CONTENDER WILL COME IN THE FORM OF DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE JOE BIDEN, WHO SERVED AS VICE PRESIDENT FOR 8 YEARS UNDER THE 44TH PRESIDENT, BARACK OBAMA.  

O:  DONALD TRUMP REPRESENTS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND JOE BIDEN REPRESENTS THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

D:  THAT’S EXACTLY RIGHT.  POLITICIANS WHO BELONG TO THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OFTEN AGREE ON MANY OF THE SAME THINGS, AND THE SAME GOES FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.  

O:  IS ANYONE ELSE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT?

D:  ABSOLUTELY.  THERE ARE OTHER POLITICAL PARTIES BESIDES THE REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS.  FOR EXAMPLE, THERE IS THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY.  JO JORGENSEN IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT AS A LIBERTARIAN, MAKING HER THE FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE OF THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY.  THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT REPRESENTING LOTS OF DIFFERENT POLITICAL PARTIES, ALTHOUGH THE FAVORITES ARE DONALD TRUMP AND JOE BIDEN.

O:  ALL OF THE PRESIDENTS IN THE LAST 150 YEARS HAVE BEEN REPUBLICANS OR DEMOCRATS.

D:  IF DONALD TRUMP OR JOE BIDEN WIN ON ELECTION DAY, A FIRST WOULD TAKE PLACE.

O:  TRUMP WOULD BE THE FIRST PRESIDENT FROM FLORIDA AND BIDEN WOULD BE THE FIRST PRESIDENT FROM DELAWARE.

D:  WHEN PRESIDENT TRUMP RAN 4 YEARS AGO, HIS OFFICIAL HOME WAS IN NEW YORK.  HE RECENTLY MOVED HIS HOME TO FLORIDA, SO A WIN WOULD MAKE HIM THE FIRST PRESIDENT FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA.  LIKEWISE, JOE BIDEN WOULD BE THE FIRST PRESIDENT WITH A HOME STATE OF DELAWARE.    

O:  IF ELECTION DAY IS IN NOVEMBER, WHY DOESN’T THE TERM START UNTIL JANUARY?

D:  THAT’S A GREAT QUESTION.  IF TRUMP WINS, HE WILL JUST CONTINUE BEING PRESIDENT, BUT IF SOMEONE ELSE WINS ON ELECTION DAY, THAT PERSON WON’T BECOME PRESIDENT UNTIL INAUGURATION DAY, WHICH IS JANUARY 20TH 2021.  WHY IS THERE 11 WEEKS IN BETWEEN ELECTION DAY AND INAUGURATION DAY?  WELL, THE TRUTH IS THAT IT USED TO BE LONGER THAN THAT.  THE INAUGURATION OF GEORGE WASHINGTON, FOR EXAMPLE, DIDN’T TAKE PLACE UNTIL APRIL 30TH.  THE REASON FOR THAT IS SO THAT ALL OF THE ELECTION WINNERS, INCLUDING THE NEWEST MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, COULD TRAVEL TO THE CAPITAL IN TIME FOR THE INAUGURATION.  BACK IN THE 1700’S, IT TOOK WEEKS TO TRAVEL FROM THE WEST COAST TO THE EAST COAST.  SINCE THEN, INAUGURATION HAS MOVED UP TO MARCH, AND THEN UP AGAIN TO JANUARY.    

O:  SO, LET ME GUESS.  ON ELECTION DAY, WHOEVER GETS THE MOST VOTES WINS.  IS THAT RIGHT?

D:  THAT WOULD BE TOO SIMPLE, BUT THAT’S NOT THE CASE.  WHAT YOU ARE SUGGESTING IS CALLED A POPULAR VOTE.  IN OTHER WORDS, LET’S SAY YOU HAD 9 FRIENDS OVER AT THE HOUSE.  SOME OF YOUR FRIENDS WANT TO PLAY TAG AND SOME OF THEM WANT TO PLAY HIDE AND SEEK.  YOU DECIDE THE FAIR THING TO DO IS TO SEE WHICH GAME IS MORE POPULAR, SO YOU ASK YOUR FRIENDS TO VOTE. 

O:  5 FRIENDS WANT TAG AND 4 WANT HIDE AND SEEK.  IT LOOKS LIKE WE’RE PLAYING TAG.

D:  WHAT YOU JUST DID WAS CALLED A POPULAR VOTE.  THAT’S NOT HOW ELECTION DAY WORKS THOUGH.  IN FACT, THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL TIMES IN OUR HISTORY THAT THE PRESIDENT THAT WON THE POPULAR VOTE DID NOT ACTUALLY WIN ON ELECTION DAY.  IN FACT, IT HAPPENED IN 2016 WHEN DONALD TRUMP DEFEATED HILLARY CLINTON.  HILLARY CLINTON EARNED ALMOST 3 MILLION VOTES MORE THAN DONALD TRUMP BUT LOST THE ELECTION.  THERE ARE 4 OTHER TIMES IN HISTORY THAT THE CANDIDATE WITH THE MOST POPULAR VOTES DIDN’T WIN THE ELECTION.  

O:  HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?

D:  IT’S BECAUSE WE USE SOMETHING CALLED THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE TO VOTE FOR PRESIDENT.  LET ME EXPLAIN, BECAUSE IT’S ACTUALLY REALLY INTERESTING.  THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE IS REQUIRED BASED ON ARTICLE 2, SECTION 1, CLAUSE 2 OF THE CONSTITUTION.  THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE SELECTED BY EACH STATE THAT ELECT OUR PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT.  THE PEOPLE THAT SELECT OUR PRESIDENT FOR US ARE CALLED ELECTORS.  IN TOTAL, THERE ARE 538 ELECTORS IN THE UNITED STATES.  

O:  THAT’S A WEIRD NUMBER.  WHY 538?

D:  IT REPRESENTS THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.  435 REPRESENTATIVES + 100 SENATORS + 3 ELECTORS FOR WASHINGTON D.C.

O:  THAT ADDS UP TO 538.  HOW DO THEY DECIDE HOW MANY ELECTORS EACH STATE GETS?

D:  THE MORE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN A STATE, THE MORE ELECTORS THEY GET.  HERE IN NEW JERSEY, WE HAVE 14 ELECTORS.  SO, IF MOST OF NEW JERSEY VOTES FOR DONALD TRUMP, HE WILL BE AWARDED ALL 14 ELECTORS.  IF MOST OF NEW JERSEY VOTES FOR JOE BIDEN, HE WILL BE AWARDED ALL 14 ELECTORS.  

O:  AND THE FIRST CANDIDATE TO GET TO 270 ELECTORAL VOTES WINS.

D:  EXACTLY… YOU CAN EVEN THINK OF ELECTORAL VOTES AS POINTS.  NEW YORK HAS MANY MORE PEOPLE THAN NEW JERSEY DOES, SO NEW YORK IS WORTH 29 ELECTORAL VOTES COMPARED TO 14 FOR NEW JERSEY.

O:  CALIFORNIA HAS THE MOST ELECTORAL VOTES UP FOR GRABS, WITH 55.  

D:  SO, ON ELECTION DAY, IT’S GOING TO BE A RACE TO 270 POINTS, OR 270 ELECTORAL VOTES.  THE FIRST CANDIDATE TO GET THERE WILL WIN A 4 YEAR TERM AS PRESIDENT STARTING IN JANUARY.  

O:  WHY DO WE DO ELECTORAL VOTES INSTEAD OF POPULAR VOTES?

D:  THERE IS A VERY GOOD REASON WHY OUR FOUNDING FATHERS DID THIS.  THE UNITED STATES IS A MASSIVE COUNTRY.  OVER 328 MILLION PEOPLE LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES.  THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT THOSE 328 MILLION PEOPLE ARE NOT SPREAD OUT EQUALLY AROUND THE COUNTRY.  FOR EXAMPLE, THE BIGGEST STATE, IN SIZE, IN THE UNITED STATES, IS ALASKA.  ALASKA IS MORE THAN TWICE AS BIG AS THE NEXT BIGGEST STATE.  EVEN THOUGH ALASKA IS HUGE, LESS THAN 800,000 PEOPLE LIVE IN ALASKA… THAT’S LESS THAN A QUARTER OF ONE PERCENT OF THE TOTAL POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES.  THE NEXT BIGGEST STATE, IN SIZE, IS TEXAS, AND THEY HAVE ALMOST 29 MILLION PEOPLE LIVING THERE.  FOR THAT REASON, ALASKA GETS ONLY 3 ELECTORAL VOTES, WHEREAS TEXAS GETS 38.  

O:  IS THIS BETTER THAN JUST DOING A POPULAR VOTE?

D:  IN MANY WAYS, IT IS.  THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE SYSTEM MAKES SURE THAT CANDIDATES DON’T IGNORE THE PARTS OF THE COUNTRY THAT AREN’T HIGHLY POPULATED.  IF THE ELECTION WAS DECIDED BY POPULAR VOTE, POLITICIANS WOULD BE ENCOURAGED TO IGNORE PLACES LIKE ALASKA, PARTS OF THE MIDWEST, OR OTHER AREAS THAT HAVE LOW POPULATIONS BECAUSE THEY ARE GOING TO FOCUS ON PLACES LIKE CALIFORNIA, TEXAS, NEW YORK, AND FLORIDA, WHICH ARE SOME OF THE MOST POPULOUS STATES IN THE COUNTRY.  IN THIS ELECTORAL COLLEGE SYSTEM, IF YOU ARE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT, AND YOU IGNORE A PART OF THE COUNTRY JUST BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE DON’T LIVE THERE, IT COULD COST YOU ON ELECTION DAY.        

O:  DOES EVERYONE’S VOTE COUNT ON ELECTION DAY?

D:  ABSOLUTELY.  EVERY SINGLE VOTE COUNTS.  IT IS MUCH EASIER TO IMPACT THE RESULT IN A STATE, WHERE YOUR VOTE MAY BE ONE OF A FEW HUNDRED THOUSAND OR A FEW MILLION THAN IT WOULD BE TO IMPACT A POPULAR VOTE IN A COUNTRY OF 328 MILLION PEOPLE.  MANY PEOPLE BREAK THE STATES UP INTO SAFE STATES AND SWING STATES.  A SAFE STATE IS A STATE THAT IS EXPECTED TO VOTE EITHER DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN AND PEOPLE DON’T ANTICIPATE IT BEING VERY CLOSE.  NEW JERSEY, FOR EXAMPLE, IS AN EXAMPLE OF A DEMOCRAT SAFE STATE.  SWING STATES ARE STATES WHERE THE VOTING IS EXPECTED TO BE REALLY CLOSE.  CANDIDATES USUALLY SPEND A LOT OF TIME TRYING TO WIN OVER VOTERS IN STATES THAT ARE CONSIDERED SWING STATES.  

O:  EXAMPLES OF SWING STATES INCLUDE ARIZONA, WISCONSIN, MICHIGAN, PENNSYLVANIA, NORTH CAROLINA, AND FLORIDA.  

D:  THOSE ARE SOME OF THE STATES THE EXPERTS THINK WILL BE VERY CLOSE ON ELECTION DAY.  EVEN IF YOU LIVE IN A STATE THAT IS CONSIDERED A SAFE STATE, YOUR VOTE ABSOLUTELY COUNTS.  THROUGHOUT HISTORY, STATES HAVE OFTEN SHIFTED BETWEEN PARTIES.  TAKE THE STATE WE LIVE IN, NEW JERSEY, FOR EXAMPLE.  IN 2016, 55.45% OF VOTERS IN NEW JERSEY VOTED FOR THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE, HILLARY CLINTON.  ONLY 7 STATES SHOWED MORE SUPPORT FOR HILLARY CLINTON THAN NEW JERSEY.  NEW JERSEY HAS VOTED FOR THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FOR 7 CONSECUTIVE ELECTIONS, DATING BACK TO 1992, BUT GUESS WHAT?  PRIOR TO THAT, THEY VOTED FOR THE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE IN 6 CONSECUTIVE ELECTIONS, SO THINGS CHANGE.  THERE ARE SURPRISES IN EVERY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. 

O:  DON’T STAY AT HOME BECAUSE YOU THINK YOUR VOTE DOESN’T COUNT.  GET OUT THERE AND VOTE.

D:  IF YOU ARE OLD ENOUGH TO VOTE, PLEASE DO.  IF YOU AREN’T OLD ENOUGH YET… YOU HAVE TO BE 18… PLEASE TELL YOUR PARENTS AND CARETAKERS TO VOTE.  THE POWER TO VOTE IS ONE OF THE GREATEST POWERS WE HAVE AS AMERICANS AND WE SHOULDN’T TAKE IT FOR GRANTED.  OKAY, LET’S ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  IN ORDER TO BECOME THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, YOU NEED TO BE BORN IN THE UNITED STATES, BE A RESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR AT LEAST 14 YEARS, AND BE AT LEAST HOW OLD?

O:  YOU NEED TO BE AT LEAST 35 YEARS OLD TO BE THE PRESIDENT.

D:  THAT’S RIGHT, AND WE CERTAINLY DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT THIS YEAR.  WHEN DONALD TRUMP TOOK OFFICE BACK IN 2017, HE WAS THE OLDEST PRESIDENT ON HIS FIRST INAUGURATION DAY, AT THE AGE OF 70 YEARS AND 220 DAYS OLD.  IF JOE BIDEN GETS ELECTED NEXT MONTH, HE WILL BE 78 YEARS OLD ON INAUGURATION DAY.  THESE ARE THE OLDEST AND SECOND-OLDEST MAJOR PARTY NOMINEES IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.  

O:  LEARNING ABOUT ELECTION DAY WAS REALLY INTERESTING.  ENJOY WATCHING THE RACE TO 270 NEXT MONTH.

D:  WATCHING THE T.V. AS EACH OF THE CANDIDATES WINS ELECTORAL VOTES TRYING TO GET TO THE MAGIC NUMBER OF 270 IS LOTS OF FUN.  THE RESULTS FOR THE STATES COME IN ONE-BY-ONE, MAKING FOR A VERY SUSPENSEFUL NIGHT.  WE HOPE YOU ENJOY IT.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEKS EPISODE.

O:  107 - ELECTION DAY

D:  GREAT JOB, OLIVIA.  IF YOU HAVEN’T DONE SO ALREADY, YOU CAN GET MORE ACCESS TO CURIOUS KID PODCAST BY FOLLOWING US ON SOCIAL MEDIA OR SUPPORTING US ON PATREON.  ALL OF THE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND IN THE SHOW NOTES.  ALSO, DON’T FORGET TO SEND US AN E-MAIL TO LET US KNOW WHAT YOU’RE CURIOUS ABOUT, AND WE JUST MIGHT READ YOUR E-MAIL IN AN UPCOMING EPISODE.  SEND YOUR E-MAIL TO CURIOUSKIDPODCAST@GMAIL.COM.  YOU CAN EVEN GET YOUR VOICE ONTO THE PODCAST, BY LEAVING US A VOICEMAIL AT 856-425-2324.  WE LOVE HEARING YOUR VOICEMAILS AND PLAYING THEM ON THE PODCAST FOR EVERYONE TO HEAR.  NEXT WEEK, WE WILL BE BACK TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT RATS FOR A LISTENER FROM VIENNA, AUSTRIA, JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.