'Pod Save America' Hosts Answer Democracy Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED

'Pod Save America' hosts Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor join WIRED to answer your burning questions about American democracy and elections. Does the United States have honest elections? Could we have a 51st state by the time we have our 51st president? What's Project 2025 and why are we hearing more about it? Are technology and social media undermining democracy? How can a presidential candidate win the popular vote but still lose the presidency? Jon and Tommy answer these questions and many more on Democracy Support.


Check out Pod Save America at:

0:00 Democracy Support with Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor
0:13 America is the greatest democracy in the world…right?
0:48 Presidents and speechwriters
1:42 Undecided voters
3:10 Fundraising texts from everywhere
3:57 How do I strategically pick where to donate?
4:52 Holding former heads of state legally accountable
5:30 Is technology undermining democracy?
6:07 Does the USA have honest elections?
7:03 Why are candidates permitted to spend unlimited funds on their campaigns?
8:33 Win the popular vote, still lose the election? That’s the Electoral College
10:02 WTF is ‘Project 2025?’
11:06 Why reforming US gun laws is so difficult
12:00 Do you think we will have a 51st state by the time we have our 51st president?
12:53 Could Election Day become a national holiday?
13:27 Does “election integrity" = voter suppression?

Director: Lisandro Perez-Rey
Director of Photography: Ben Dewey
Editor: Richard Trammell
Talent: Jon Favreau; Tommy Vietor
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Associate Producer: Brandon White
Production Manager: Peter Brunette
Production Coordinator: Rhyan Lark
Talent Booker: Paige Garbarini
Camera Operator: Caleb Weiss
Sound Mixer: Sean Paulsen
Production Assistant: Cerina Shippey
Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin
Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant
Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen
Additional Editor: JC Scruggs; Paul Tael
Assistant Editor: Andy Morell


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[jwhydes]

The problem is that elections are 2 years long. Tommy just said it. Trim this whole thing down to 3-5 months. No fund raising until June. Primaries in July and August. Conventions in September.

[mclartychannel]

America is Number One among countries that call themselves Number One.

[samfisher]

Regarding undecided voters, I remember reading somewhere something I think is very smart. Politics isn't an Uber, it's a bus stop. You don't vote for someone whose beliefs are identical to yours, you vote for the person whose values are closer to yours, just like how you get off at the bus stop _closest_ to where you are going.

[Malavander]

If we had 49 states, Puerto Rico would've been made a state a long time ago. Never underestimate the motivational power of psychologically satisfying round numbers.

[Dadzgrl]

Could you imagine what could be changed if a 100% of the US population that was registered to vote actually voted?? I would love to see that. I would also love to see term limits for Congress. The president can only do two terms why not Congress?

[zoeolsson]

Aussie here -.
To vote is one of the four obligations of being a citizen - as defined in our constitution.

Because voting is an obligation of every citizen. The process has to be made easily accessible to all.

There's no suppression of the vote. And this is why i think compulsory voting is really awesome. Because that means no part of the electorate can be ignored by the parties wanting power and no part of the people's vote can be surpressed.

Voting is held on a Saturday and those who can't vote on the day can vote earlier or with a postal ballot.

We have preference voting.


We don't have primaries we just leave all that stuff to factional and branch level politics.

Also we have an independent electoral Commission that determines electrorate boundaries and runs the election.

Our system works for us

[TheFireGiver]

Ranked choice voting isn't a magic bullet, but it would solve several of the main issues in the US. It would lead to less extreme candidates and would lead to congress actually doing their job more. The primary system as we currently have it and the 2 party system as we currently have it are destroying the country slowly. As an example, if the US had ranked choice voting Trump would probably have lost in 2016.

[lindsayduplessis]

It's not a public holiday on voting day?! It is in South Africa... It's just common sense.

[mariannerady]

Friends of the POD!! Great you're doing this, guys!

[shanesauby]

The bias of the Electoral College could be blunted (but not eradicated) by a federal law forcing proportional EC votes instead of winner take all. No Constitutional Amendment needed. And all the Republicans in CA and Democrats in TX would suddenly matter.

[穆天宁]

Asking as a non-American, why is the presidential election cycle so long? No other country does this. I don't see anyone benefitting other than cable news organizations.

[QueenSis]

Everyone should share this video to friends and family that are either uninformed, misinformed, or undecided. The breakdown and delivery of this information is perfect!

[ahillmann]

It's so nice to live in a country which is not in perpetual election mode. The candidates are announced six weeks before the election, then they start campaigning. After the election, we wait for almost six years before the next election starts. Unlike in the US in which the campaign for the next president starts the very next day after the election.

[ushere]

i wish they had discussed gerrymandering. it's one huge reason republicans get away with acting against the public's wishes and best interests all the time.

[aacedo]

I love Pod Save America. Their podcast meets people where they are about politics/government and never speaks pretentiously or biased about them. So happy they did this.

[NekoMouser]

To elaborate on the 51st state issue...a 51st state means a minimum of ONE new representative and TWO new senators (probably 1 rep for DC, but 5 for Puerto Rico).
And—oh, yeah—both of those locations tend to lean blue.

In a Senate that seems perpetually gridlocked with 51/49 or 50/50+VP splits (or a brief 52/48 if you are REALLY lucky)...there is simply no way that the GOP will EVER willingly hand 2 or 4 very-likely-blue senators—and thus a solid numerical advantage in the Senate—to the Democrats. Period. It is just that simple. D.C. and Puerto Rico can make the best case in the world for statehood, but acceptance will remain a 100% political calculation.

It is not about what is right.
It is not about what is best for our country.
It is not about what is best for the people that live in those places.
It is about power and who will gain or lose it if those get added as new states. And the GOP is most likely to lose ground and so they will vehemently defy and oppose this in every way they can.

[Kausan]

29th in the democracy index says it all really

[snf]

I feel like the question at 6:04 was more whether an honest election is possible in the context of gerrymandering and voter suppression rather than outright vote-stealing... in which case I'd say it's still an open question

[victoriafrank]

This was so refreshing. The internet needs more common sense content like this. 🧠

[TimpanistMoth_AyKayEll]

The whole concept of needing to "register to vote" is SO baffling to many of us non-USans.