Unbiased University: Presidential Elections and the Electoral College Explained

UNBIASED Politics

Jordan Berman

Education

4.8 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 2 April 2026

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

UNBIASED University is in session! While Jordan is on maternity leave, she’s breaking down the most critical aspects of the United States government — the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the three branches of the federal government, presidential elections, the evolution of political parties, and more. In this episode of UNBIASED University, we break down Presidential Elections and the Electoral College from start to finish. How did presidential elections come about, what do elections look like today compared to the early days, what happens on Election Day, and why does the United States use the Electoral College instead of a direct national popular vote? We walk through the constitutional framework for presidential elections, how electors are chosen, what happens if no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, and the rare but important scenarios that most Americans are unaware of. We also explore the historical reasoning behind the Electoral College, the major criticisms and defenses of the system, and how it continues to shape modern campaign strategy and voter turnout. Whether you have always found the Electoral College confusing or simply want a clearer understanding of how the president is chosen, this episode provides a straightforward, nonpartisan explanation of one of the most debated features of the American political system. SUBSCRIBE TO JORDAN'S ⁠SUBSTACK. ⁠Watch⁠ this episode on YouTube. Follow Jordan on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:28.7	welcome back to unbiased your favorite source of unbiased news and legal analysis
0:35.8	welcome back to unbiased politics and to the Unbiased University series.
0:41.5	This episode is all about presidential elections in the United States.
0:46.0	Did you know that a 2023 Pew Research Study found that only 40% of Americans know who chooses
0:53.7	the president if the electoral college is tied.
0:58.1	In older 2008 study found that only 43% of Americans knew that the electoral college is a
1:05.2	constitutionally mandated assembly that elects the president. The other 57% did not know what the electoral
1:13.0	college is. Did you also know that when you cast a ballot at the poll, you are actually
1:19.1	casting a ballot for a slate of electors rather than the actual presidential candidate?
1:25.9	There is a lot that the average American does not know. So today we are
1:29.0	going to make sure you know everything that you should. Now, I say this at the beginning of every episode,
1:34.9	but in this unbiased university series, my goal and the way I designed it is that it functions as a
1:42.4	condensed law school education. Okay. I want you to imagine every time
1:46.8	you're tuning into one of these episodes, you are sitting down in a law school class with me as
1:50.1	your professor. We talk about Supreme Court cases that have, you know, shaped all of these
1:55.3	concepts that we talk about. We, we talk about laws, we talk about all kinds of things so that by the end of this series,
2:03.2	you will have obtained your imaginary degree from Unbiased University, which means that you will be
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