Today is November 6, 2012–Election Day in the United States. Four years ago American citizens over the age of eighteen elected President Barack Obama. But what did the first election look like over 200 hundred years ago? How have voting rights changed over the years? How are the lines of voting district lines drawn? How are those lines sometimes manipulated by the parties in power to gain a political advantage? How exactly does the Electoral College work? And why in the world do we vote on Tuesdays?
A group of political scientists, activists and historians (and the animators that brought their words to life) explore nuanced answers to each of those questions in this TED-Ed election playlist…
This playlist isn’t exhaustive of everything there is to learn about electoral politics in the United States. It also clearly doesn’t account for the numerous electoral systems employed in countries throughout the world.
So, if you know of a great election related video on YouTube, we encourage you to use TED-Ed to flip that video into a L
1. Search for that video or paste it’s link here.*
2. Create a Lesson around it using the “Flip this Video” tool.
3. If you’re proud of the Lesson you create, and you think others could learn from it, nominate your lesson to be featured in the Best Flips section of TED-Ed.