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Civics 101

Why You Should Vote (Even When They Don't Want You To)

Civics 101

NHPR

History, Government, Society & Culture

4.22.6K Ratings

🗓️ 26 July 2022

⏱️ 23 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The United States is a representative democracy. The idea is that we’re a government "by the people" (we vote officials into office) and "for the people" (the officials in office are supposed to represent our interests). But it’s not so straightforward around here.  LOVE OUR WORK? Please donate to help us continue it! Click here to chip in. When you take that golden idea and add restrictive voter laws, billions of dollars, and a whacky electoral system,  representation takes on a whole different hue. But...you should vote anyway. This episode explains why.  Featuring: Nazita Lajevardi, assistant professor, political scientist, lawyer. Lajevardi teaches at Michigan State University Kim Wehle, professor of law at the University of Baltimore School of Law  Andrea Hailey, CEO of vote.org CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR AWESOME NEWSLETTER, EXTRA CREDIT! CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! To see Civics 101 in book form, check out A User's Guide to Democracy: How America Works by Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodice, featuring illustrations by Tom Toro. Check out our other weekly NHPR podcast, Outside/In - we think you'll love it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

The machine itself is kind of bizarre looking and frankly does not look all that simple,

0:28.1

but in order to sell it, they compare it to paper ballots.

0:44.0

And it's just voter after voter.

0:51.8

And I'm watching this thing and thinking, that just sounds an awful lot like voting

1:04.0

in America today.

1:09.9

For the first time in a presidential election, nine more states are enforcing new laws

1:14.0

requiring eligible voters to present a government-issued photo ID at the polls.

1:18.7

The next point out that there have been few instances of voter fraud in the U.S.

1:23.5

and that in Texas where the state once blocked African-Americans and Hispanics from voting,

1:29.0

it's more important to encourage voter participants.

1:31.9

As we've already seen in the primary season, the right of the black man and woman to vote

1:37.3

is still not against.

1:38.3

Laws across the U.S. are being passed to make it harder, not easier to vote.

1:43.3

This is the only advanced democracy on Earth that goes out of its way to make it difficult

1:50.8

for people to vote.

1:52.8

I was at a few BLM protests and at these protests, I get really curious and I ask people,

1:57.9

you know, you're really upset, I'm going to vote.

1:59.5

This is a Nizita Lijavardi.

2:01.5

I am a lawyer and also a political scientist.

2:04.6

I teach at Michigan State University.

2:07.7

I teach political science, mostly focusing on American politics, studying how racial and

2:14.6

ethnic groups fare an American democracy, whether or not they're facing discrimination,

...

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