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Did you know that to become a UK citizen you just have to have 5 million pounds? You don't have to pay them, you just have to have that much ready to invest somewhere in the UK.
Oh Lorance, you need to make a video on how people get registered to vote and how absentee voting are very different. Another video could be how immigrating to the US is very different from immigrating to the UK. I have a friend that immigrated from the US to the UK. I think he replaced you so you better find out why you relatives aren't communicating with you anymore.
I adopted my kitten on Guy Fawkes' Day, last year. I named her Fawna Fawkes. No matter what happens this election day, I'll still have a reason to celebrate. 😸
That's been UK law for a century, not just the past 20 years. The 2003 Communications Act just tweaked and consolidated that law. There has never been a political ad on UK radio or TV.
We do have Party Political / Election Broadcasts on TV, which on the surface can look a lot like traditional adverts. But these are tightly regulated and limited in both duration and expenditure and, in theory at least, all parties get an equal opportunity to make use of them. These days most direct political campaigning is done on social media platforms where the rules are more relaxed and/or difficult to enforce (especially on _that_ one) and the engagement with many demographics is much higher than on traditional broadcast TV.
Yes, the collective sigh among British folk when the telly announcer says “and now, a party political broadcast from the **** party”…😂. Sunak’s one with the white board made us laugh though - whether you like him or not it was truly cringeworthy.
@@chrislampe6397 isn’t there also a ‘popular vote movement’ where by (some) states are trying to reach a situation whereby they allocate their electoral college voters to the national popular vote winner?
@@doctorscootrepublicans would never support a popular vote bc they’d literally never win. They haven’t won the popular vote since Bush bc the country WANTS to be progressive but conservative have gerrymandered everything so badly bc it’s their only chance of preserving their grasp on power.
A 43 day election period with no tv ads? Sign me up! The thing I like about UK government, is even though you have "major" parties, coalitions are forced to get along to pass stuff they want. Here, sadly, in recent times, "crossing the aisle" and "compromise" is a death knell to re-election...
Coalitions are super rare in UK politics. There’s only been one coalition government since WWII in the UK. Almost always a single party has an outright majority in their parliament, with there being occasional minority governments. So, crossing the aisle in UK politics is almost never necessary.
To me it seems wrong that the incumbent often has to spend an entire quarter of their term just campaigning for their second one, instead of you know, doing president things. The Presidents time is already considered one of the most valuable things on Earth, and a much smaller campaign time would be a lot better
Regarding Grover Cleveland, my mom was a Cleveland, and Stephen is a very common name for Cleveland men. Nearly all of them used their middle names in daily life so as not to be confused with their father, uncle, cousin, etc. My parents very wisely decided to give my siblings and me unique first names, and have our middle names be a family name. Hence, my middle name is Stephen, which was my uncle's name on my mom's side. He, in turn, was named after his 2x-great uncle Stephen, whose middle name was Grover -- yes, *that* Grover.
Cool! I'm a Clark, and no president has been elected by that name. It is interesting (perhaps only to me), but I am a very distant cousin of president William Howard Taft! And an even more distant cousin of King Charles III. I have so many cousins, that you might be one yourself!
@@cyberherbalist I wouldn't doubt it. I've discovered cousins in Canada who don't even spell our last name like we do who are fairly close cousins. My mom liked to joke that we were descended from William the Conqueror. I've never been able to trace the genealogy that far back, but by now I think nearly everybody of English descent is descended from William the Conqueror.
@@christopherstephenjenksbsg4944 Ha ha - my cousin got an ancestry investigation done years ago, I think they were too eager to please, they told her a distant ancestor was the Emperor Charlemagne! Some village girl had an accident and just told everyone it was the emperor to shut them up- my theory!
Election season here in the US is getting longer (and more expensive for candidates) every year. It's exhausting for everyone. And with politics being so divisive nowadays, it doesn't lead to a peaceful atmosphere!
My first experience with UK elections was that one episode of Blackadder the Third. It blew my mind to see the results of a real one a couple years later and be all "Woah, that's really how they do it there!" The craziest thing to me is how the candidates have to be in a room together as the results are read. Can you imagine American politicians having to do that? And their supporters? No one would get out alive. It's the same reason they put Detroit and Cleveland in different NFL conferences. 😊
You could say we came pretty close. Al Smith ran for president 1928. Harding won the election. Shortly after this the stock market collapsed, and the country slid into the Great Depression. Would it have been different under Al Smith? Probably not. But at least we would’ve had a president Smith..
it hasn't happened in a while but I used to get the polling calls, they never seemed to like it when they asked how I was going to vote And I told them "by secret ballot" 😁
As a Newly minted US Citizen, born in the UK, I too will be voting in a US General election on November 5th. I have already voted in the Primary election held some three months ago.
@@generalgrant2003 obviously for trump. The DNC didn't allow for a primary vote and didn't allow for a delegate vote either. Any dems who thinks for themselves should be embarrassed. You can't fight fascism with fascism.
As an American I hate how long election season is. When I was a kid Presidential election season lasted for the entire year, which was already ridiculous enough, but now the next election season begins as soon as the current one finishes. It's just a neverending vortex of politics.
I think it could be shortened, but I also think the UK's is too short. Start about a year early, do a group of revolving primaries based on previous vote totals (no state should always go first, or last), and establish universal voting rights for all
The day after the November 1998 election, Gov Jay Carnahan filed to run for US Senate (D-MO) in 2000. He won, in part because John Ashcroft suspended his campaign when Gov. Carnahan died in October 2000.
It's mostly Trump's fault, because even more than having power he wants to always be the center of attention. So for two election cycles in a row he's started running as soon as the previous election was over, and in the second case his presumed opponent was an incumbent, so the media acted like they could cover both candidates right away. I don't remember any previous election, even 2016's, starting before the fall of the previous year.
@@66zebulon UK election campaigns are usual about six weeks, but by law can be as short as 3 weeks. Even then you have people complaining about how boring it is...
@@AndrewBlucher indeed, it is literally impossible to be unbiased and to claim that you are is disingenuous. They get their ratings from three different external companies who don't reveal their biases making the whole thing a case of "trust me bro" They also have an awful lot of money to sponsor RUclipsrs despite not being beholden to monied interests (and their biases) It's a shame because I like what they're trying to do but they're not being honest enough for me
Just as a note, American elections are not just about the POTUS. That's just the only office that most people are moved to go down to the polls for/pay attention to. We technically have a primary (parties pick their horses) and general (people pick the winning horse) election every year, but the offices tend to be different. US Representatives are elected every 2 years, US Senators every 6 years (Staggered for each state. Theoretically lends stability.) Then we have our State governors, senators and representatives, and other elected offices. The even years are mostly federal offices, the odd years are considered municipal/local elections, with a sprinkling of ballot questions/initiatives now and then. Each State manages their own elections, and most states let the counties handle their areas' stuff. Given all the rules and laws surrounding how to get onto the ballot, the ballots themselves, etc, and that the states have to pay for the equipment, manpower, and voting materials, we could never have "snap" anything. Even special elections can get expensive in time and money.
At least for federal elections, many states have a requirement in their laws that the ballots must be sent to the printers no later than 90 days from the time of the election. No further changes are allowed after that point. This has resulted, on a few occasions, with dead candidates actually winning elections (they died after that cutoff point and couldn't be replaced on the ballots).
If your state permits it, go to wherever you can check your voter registration and sign up to be sent a mail ballot for every election automatically. It's a good way to make sure you don't miss an election, no matter how minor. Also, you can sit at a computer and research lesser-known candidates on the internet while filling it then, if for whatever reason you forget to send it off or don't trust the mail, you can just carry it over to the ballot box on election-day and the election workers will just escort you to the front of the line to drop it in the ballot box. (at least, they did for me, and the workers themselves made every intention that this was standard practice.)
I'm glad us Brits aren't bombarded by political ads for a whole year. And, even better, our campaigns don't last a whole year. They last a few weeks or a couple of months at most
It must be so exhausting! Probably part of the reason Americans are so polarised by politics now too. Brits tend to be more fluid with their vote (and sometimes tactical) and less likely to end friendships or cut off family members over politics. Re fluidity, for e.g. I've voted in 3 elections since I became a UK resident. 2019 general election I voted Labour, 2024 local & mayoral election I voted Green x2 and 2024 general election I voted independent (the latter is the only time my candidate actually won 🥲). However, if I lived in the US, I'd just vote a straight blue ticket every single time, even if I didn't like the candidates.
Lawrence mentioned that he's been living in the US for the past 16 years (so he has seen elections) but this is the FIRST in which he can vote as he only recently became a US citizen.
As a Canadian, I'll go with a Robertson! A few years ago I noticed that that most American of icons, the Atlantic City Boardwalk, is held together with Robertson screws! I asked a guy who was working on it, why and he said that no one has those screw drivers!
@@renekelly4199 47 Presidents, but unless I've miscounted it will be the 59th Presidential election. So it could, in theory, be only the 59th craziest so far.
@@bradleyheck7204 I miss the version of that we had here in Australia when I was younger. They called it Rubbery Figures, they could not have picked a better name.
Depending on the person, it could either be considered a great honor or incredible diss, to have a muppet named for you. Unless you truly love US politics, when one says "Grover" most people here would assume the Sesame Street character.
Sorry, mate, but I think I'm gonna stick with counterpoint, seeing as how I'm a big fan of Bach and all that. Not that I'm planning to vote for Bach for President, or anything. (He's not running. Or a US citizen. Also, he's dead.)
@@tallactordude People being very polite in a forced manner, because that's the best they can muster to keep civil, with little actual kindness or care, merely the facade that politeness so often is. (Or would that be bridled disharmony?)
Non-Partisan Fact that most Americans should really be upset about: As a common U.S. citizen, your odds of being able to get an in-person meeting with your local Congress Critter(tm) are worse than your odds of traveling to Iceland and getting an in-person meeting with *both* its President and Prime Minister.
Given that your congressperson represents around 700K people (2018), and the population of Iceland is less than 400K people (2022), that seems at least somewhat appropriate.
Yeah I'm pretty young, and I've already met my current MP, and my MP in my previous constituency, just during random walks. Both times we had a pretty long conversation at my request.
I was on vacation in the UK over the election, and apart from seeing lots of newspapers and my husband turning on the BBC on the 4th, it was a blessing not to see or hear ads all the time.
To quote from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "The major problem - one of the major problems, for there are several - one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them. To summarize: it is a well known fact, that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem."
When members of the Senate were appointed by the state legislatures and the House was directly elected....back when we were a Republic.....there was a difference. Now there isn't, democracy is great!
Yes, Chicago is claimed to have polling places near cemeteries; but it was Missouri who elected a corpse as a senator (Mel Carnahan) thereby allowing his wife, who was appointed to replace him by the governor (Wilson) prior to the election, to hold his seat and get a pension for doing so.
@@everettputerbaugh3996 WOW ! I've heard of dogs being elected mayor , but this was bizarre ! Looking forward to reading more about this . Thanks for sharing . Decades ago in our county , the elected sheriff & treasurer swapped positions each election ; the treasurer's son was in my senior h.s. class & I went to sr. prom w/ the sheriff's son . Remember " campaigning " for both dads . 😂
5:18 slight correction, Maine and Nebraska are the only states able to split their Electoral College votes by districts. in 2020, Maine cast 3 for the Democrats and 1 for the Republicans, and Nebraska cast 1 for the Democrats and 4 for the Republicans.
Small correction. Two of the fifty states, Maine and Nebraska, allocate electoral votes by district, rather than winner-take-all. The two at-large electoral votes are awarded to the statewide majority winner. In Nebraska, it is possible for one candidate to win two of three electoral district votes, but lose the statewide election, and thus the two at-large votes represented by the Senate delegation. In fact, some are predicting that is precisely what is going to happen this fall. NE2 is going to Harris by a wide margin, while NE1 is considered a toss-up. Meanwhile, NE3 will go to Trump by an enormous margin - easily enough to offset the combined advantage to Harris in the other two. Fun fact for the day.
@@marcusbrown188 There are some Election maps where this is important. In fact in this upcoming election. If Trump takes every state in the sun belt as well as Nebraska's second District it would be a tie at best for Democrats.
The Electoral College was written into the Constitution as part of the Federal Compromise. Before the Constitution, states considered themselves sovereign, while joined in a federal union. The Constitution increased the power of the federal government, and ended state sovereignty. The Federal Compromise gave disproportionate power to states with small populations, by giving each state two senators regardless of size, and by giving them a small edge in the Electoral College. Because it is Constitutional, it is difficult to change. Some of the small states would have to agree to giving up their edge. There was also a practical reason for the Electoral College. The nation was large and communication slow in the early years of the Republic. The indirect method of electing the President was more practical than direct election. The British system did not directly elect its head of government either, so the Electoral College was not a radical break from British precedent. Even the Senators were usually not ellected at first. The United States became more democratic in time. By the way, the Unit Rule, which gives one candidate all the electoral votes of a state, is not an intrinsic part of the Electoral College but is only state policy. Two states, Maine and Nebraska, do not use the Unit Rule.
@@ML-ie1heIndirectly. The Census determines the number of Representatives each state will have; the number of Representatives plus Senators determines the number of Electors.
I've heard many arguments why the Electoral College is no longer valid in the US. They're all things like "it's old" and "it's not democratic" (as if we are a democracy). Complaining about the EC being undemocratic is like complaining about stop signs for slowing down traffic.
@@tomservo75 It a speed bump in their way but if it aided them then they would want it to stay. I say we need to take a more Chesterton’s Fence mindset.
The Electoral Collage is one of the most brilliant ideas ever to grace any government. The nation is the United States of America. Not the Federal Government of America and as such, the only way to maintain the checks and balances of the individual states all consenting to a union was the Electoral Collage. It's amazing that Presidential candidates must campaign all over the country and convince all voters to their side rather than just focusing on 5 major cities. it's a blessing that the rural voter gets represented.
I Remember when he was very old, and would be wheelchaired into the Senate Chamber covered with a blanket up to his neck. He never blnked, never moved, never said a word. After he voted without moving a muscle, he was then wheeled out. Years later his death was announced.
@@tarrynlea Strom Thurmond's career was marked by extreme racism. In 1948 he reacted to the inclusion of a civil rights plank in the Democratic Party platform by creating his own party, called the "States Rights Party," and ran against Truman and Dewey. Many people called his party the "Dixiecrats." He won four states outright by appealing to southern segregationists, and a faithless elector from Tennessee voted for him as well. He continued to oppose civil rights legislation for the rest of his career. He switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party in 1964 over this issue. He clung to his Senate seat until he was over 100 years old, and at the end he was mentally incompetent. After he died it came out that he had groped and forcefully kissed many women who had the misfortune of being alone with him, including reporter Cokie Robers and even Senator Patty Murray.
Most British people don't even seem to understand that they're only voting for their local representative and not for the government or the PM, so you now have a better understanding than most.
@@robertszynal4745 tbf, i think most of us know that we are voting for our local MP, but also understand that, by doing so, we are effectively voting for the leader of that MPs party to be PM
@@robertszynal4745 I mean, we are technically only voting for our local MP, but by extension we are voting for the political party and by extension of that the PM, so I wouldn't really say we're only voting for our local MP 😂 Unless you're Islington North (congratulations to Corbyn!) The parties release a full manifesto, so you are also voting for the full parties policies, which is often also why people vote for the party they prefer and not necessarily the local candidate. I did that because I thought there would be no hope to dethrone Michael Fabric*nt, but I'm very glad I was wrong!
Very funny. I love the updated production value. Remember that your audience is not just living in the UK. There’s so much that you can explain to Americans about how the United Kingdom works
Liz Truss, was not a Portillo moment, its when someone who is likely to be elected to party leader, fails in the election to be an MP. I don't think Liz Truss was ever likely to be re-elected as leader of her party, though I think the lettuce might stand. Just the tip of the Iceberg 😁
One (I am assuming) difference not mentioned, our elections have a bunch of random state and local ballot initiatives mixed in with voting for the POTUS / representatives.
For Lawrence there are only three in Illinois and they aren’t referendums they’re just advisory initiatives. Basically we get to recommend what we think they should do but there’s no binding resolution based on the vote. I just went and looked at what’s on the ballot and it’s actually quite short. President, house representative, state representative plus the three advisory ballot initiatives. The presidential vote for Illinois is a bit of a nothing burger since we aren’t a swing state.
@@YorickReturns question, so how do local like city or county? develop new laws that the people would like in the us petittion to vote on, or is that not a thing?
@@BladeX11883 It's not really a thing. The UK is very centralised compared to the US. Even when Scotland had an independence referendum, it was because the UK Parliament passed a law to allow it (they did this because the Scottish National Party won a majority of seats at the Scottish Parliament, the first time that the SNP or any party had done so).
Illinois and Missouri also have judicial retention on the ballot. Should Jerome Dixon be retained as circuit judge for the sixth judicial circuit? If he doesn't get 50% of the vote, he's out, and the governor appoints his replacement.
It must have taken an incredible amount of time and effort to research and create this video. Thank you Tara and Lawrence, for putting all your energy into this channel. Well done!
One of my favorite British TV shows was the old Yes, Minister/Yes, Prime Minister comedy series. I've always wondered how accurate it is to the way the British government works.
Pretty accurate, and it was not just accurate for the UK but quite similar to how things work where I am in Australia. Loved Yes Minister/Prime Minister
Every Civil Servant in the UK could laugh at this show, as it reflected real life in the British government , and the way the Civil Service really runs the country!
As an American I have to say one thing I do like about UK elections is how quickly one can be called for and how quickly a new prime minister and party can be elected to take over.
@@TheSignofJonah777 True, but I think that might be to our detriment, today. Given how quickly events happen today, and how quickly the world changes, we may need to make reforms on that. We need to be able to adapt, and the way the system is set up now is just cumbersome, and can actually be a problem.
@@tricitymorte1 war can still be declared quickly but things like desegregation took a decade meaning that segregation would take just as long. Meaning we do the right thing but it is often delayed. And if it is so important it would get both parties support and quickly be passed. Look at Europe in the blink of an eye they had pretty crazy Covid restrictions over all of Europe. But in the US it was a states decision. Yes the federal gov tried to push it but it wasn’t as easy a task as in Europe.
I love that about our elections too. If a prime minister loses a general election he gets turfed out of No 10 the next day, none of this hanging on for three months as a lame duck.
In my state, many years ago, they used to pull jury duty candidates fron the voter registration. Now they pull from the driver's license and state ID lists
To understand politicians you have to look to the UK. See "Yes Minister" and "Yes Prime Minister" to see how. Sir Humphrey explains it all and is very universally correct! 👍🇬🇧🇨🇦
There used to be limits to how much politicians and PACs could spend on running for office. The US Supreme Court opened the floodgates in its Citizen United decision in 2010, determining that money = speech, and the First Amendment guarantee of free speech prohibits limitations on money in politics. It was tortured reasoning to achieve a desired result.
Thanks for the video!! As an American, I've always wondered what was with the Parliament meeting/event/uh...roast? This is when the MPs stand up, get yelled at by the sitting MPs around them, all while carrying a binder of some sort to a podium. Public TV in the US would carry these years ago, and it was wild watching them and not knowing the rules/etc.
This is Prime Minister's Questions. Each week the Commons is sitting the PM has to answer questions from MPs for half an hour. It requires the PM to be on top of all government policy and defend difficult decisions. It is something many other world leaders are relieved to not have in their own countries.
I really appreciate this video, thank you! We need stuff like this on PBS or BBC, the editing and inforgraphics here are farr better than the aforementioned
When my grandmother died, I inherited her collection of family history items. In those boxes, I found a newspaper from 1896 containing my great-great-grandfather's engagement announcement. He was actually publisher of the paper. But what was also interesting were editorials on the upcoming election between Republican William McKinley and Democrat William Jennings Brian, as well as a sharp commentary on the gold standard, which was one of the hot issues at the time. Aside from that, the ads for wagonsmiths and undertakers were also fascinating.
The reason why more Americans vote today than they did in the 1990s has to do with the growth of early voting and vote-by-mail. Back in the 1990s, the vast majority of Americans had one real option to vote - on Election Day you would go to your precinct, wait in line for however many hours it took, and then vote. Because it could (and usually did) take literally hours to get to cast your ballet, a lot of people - especially people who work in retail, restaurants, and the service industry and get paid by the hour - couldn't afford to miss that much work to go vote. That began to change in the 2000s with the introduction of Early Voting. Each state handles early voting differently, but in general you now have the option to go to designated Early Voting sites anywhere from like a month before the election to a week before the election and cast your ballot. Early voting is so much faster and gives voters a lot of flexibility - you can even vote on the weekend in some states - and it a big reason why the percentage of Americans who vote has gone up over the past 24 years.
That was an amazing job staying out of all the things that people would attack you for Lawrence! I just generally don't like to attack people over political beliefs but there are plenty who will, and that was an amazing job of dodging them!
And then (presumably) there is the difference in the sheer length of a ballot in the U.S. vs. the U.K. Where I live (California) a typical November ballot will include the following offices: President, Senator, Congressman / Congresswoman, Governor, Attorney General, plus various state, county and local offices, not to mention any number of “ballot initiatives.” The mail-in (yes) ballot can be 6 to 8 pages long. In advance, voters are mailed thick booklets by the state and county, which serve as guides to the upcoming election. The county-issued booklet includes a sample ballot, for practice.
Looking forward to Shasta County, a red stronghold, hand counting their ballots taking several days, while the rest of the state using machine tabulators will have most counted on election night, including UOCAVA (military and US citizens living overseas). For Jonthink--- CA vote by mail is modeled on another vote by mail state..... Utah.
There would be yes, but the other difference is there is no electing the Governors in the UK they do not have states nor electing an Attorney General. Or miscellaneous measures (initiatives). In my corner of the globe Australia the Premier (equivalent of a Governor) is simply the leader of the Parliamentary Party that wins the most seats(electorates). The Attorney General is just one of those elected members of Parliament and is appointed.
In the UK "ballot" means the process not the thing you vote on. Each election and referendum comes on a separate ballot paper (the entitlement to vote - or franchise - can vary between elections, mainly that overseas voters can't vote for local councils and European Union citizens resident in the UK can vote for local councils but not Parliament - a negotiated continuation of rights from when we were in the EU) and as well as voting for much less we also often vote for different offices on different days. So this year in London we had the elections for the Mayor of London and the London Assembly at the start of May, the election for the national Parliament at the start of July and a by-election ("special election") for a new member of my local council in mid July.
"Marginals" sounds a bit insulting. "Swing States" sounds more lighthearted and fun. Political parties, at least in the US, don't generally want to offend those that they think can be persuaded to vote for them instead.
The no ads is an interesting idea since it would make attacks less frequent (minus the media) and force merit of performance/position at debates (in an ideal world)
I lived in Edinburgh during one of the general elections and got involved to meet more people and learn about the political process. At the time I was more conservative than I am now, so I got involved with the Scottish conservative party in support of John Major. That didn't go so well. The conservatives LOST every seat they had in Scotland! By the time the smoke cleared there wasn't a single conservative MP in Scotland. I guess I wasn't much help. LOL I learned a lot and met a lot of great people though.
Over in New England (New Hampshire) we have a fringe candidate named Vermin Supreme. He wares a black boot on his head and runs for president. He stands for A pony for everyone (National Pony Identification you must have it with you at all times) and Alternative power by zombies among other things as well.
In America we used to have a 6 to 8 month political season every 2 years, Howard Dean decided that a continuous political season like Europe. His political party started doing that, the other party had to keep up, and that’s how we got the eternal political season.
Very nice election overview, Lawrence. I'm an American who had a British mom, and that regularly brings me to your highly entertaining and informative channel. In regards to the "S" thing: two winning U.S. presidents come to mind who had a middle initial "S" as part of their full name. Ulysses S. Grant's middle name was Simpson, which is his mother's maiden name. Harry S. Truman, ambiguously, had a middle initial that was . . . well . . . nothing more than the 19th letter in the alphabet. A bit more sleuthing determines that it was an amalgam of his two grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young. Notably, for most of his life, the 33rd president didn't sign his full name with a period after the middle initial "S" and, that in my mind, makes his use of the letter rather unique and forward.
Just a point on the electoral college votes - the states don't have to award them all to the winner, they could apportion them based on total votes for each candidate, or even just ignore the vote completely and hand them to the loser. They *tend* to give them all to the winner (and there are some states that have exceptions to how they give electoral college votes), but for the most part they are under no obligation to follow how the people have voted. Yes, it's mental.
The state doesn’t choose the votes. It’s an elector the state legislature chooses people the verify the vote and apply the electoral votes. This prevents people similar to classic dictators from getting into power. It’s a great system.
Not the first time that's happened in my life time. The Last time Nov 5th fell on the first Tues of the month during an election year was in 1996. Clinton won... sadly. Prior to that was 1968(year I was born), Nixon won.
Tbf, I used to hate the two party system in the United States, but given how I have found multiple instances in parliamentary states cooking everything up far worse than what we can manage i think we will keep it
The reason why political advertising cannot be banned in USA 🇺🇸 is because it would infringe on the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Also, let’s get real, there is a lot of money 💰,as in hundreds of millions, to be made by the media.
It would also give those already in government power the ability to use official channels to unfairly get only their narrative across to the voters during the majority of the year.
Well, that's the RULING anyway. In reality the assertion that money is the same as free speech is a very, very shaky (requiring legal gymnastic to take the constitutional amendment protecting former slaves and turning it into a justification for money to be seen as speech) and rather corrupt one.
@@MrGadfly772 Buckley vs. Valeo, the SCOTUS ruling that established this principle, has been used by conservatives (and corporatist Democrats to make a whole large enough to drive a truck through. Did you see all the luxury boxes at both conventions? You can pay up to $5 million to stay in one of those. And yes, there are governors, senators and other politicians who will come and see you. Disgusting!
Not only that, a station can't refuse a political ad because of content. A Congressional candidate in downstate Illinois in 2012 ran on an anti-abortion platform so she could air ads describing the process.
That was the biggest problem, the Constitution specified the senators were appointed by the individual state, but it did not specify whether the governor or the legislature made the decision, and several times no one was appointed because the legislature and the governor could not agree about who had the authority
Technically state senators, state representatives or assemblymen make up the State Legislature. The body of people that elected the 2 Senators from the pool of Elected legislators. It was an indirect vote really. People would vote for their various state senators, reps, and assemblymen and HOPE the rest picked the right guys. :) That is until the 17th Amendment came along in 1913. A result of some State Legislatures not electing any Senators to go to congress.
@@tomhalla426 yes I meant legislature. The senate was designed to represent the individual states and the house of representatives was designed to represent the people.
A'reyt Laurence. The first person I met at university and watched "Yes Minister" comedy on TV with, later became an MP and then a minister himself. He retired at the last election having become Sir Alok Sharma.
Also, there's the slogans. Oh... such slogans! My first time voting in a US presidential election was in 1972. Richard Nixon was running for a second term. I was in my first year of college. In the student union was a sign: "Don't change Dicks in the middle of a screw. Vote for Nixon in '72."
I love your humour! And of course your country of origin. I lived in the UK for a number of years and the people there are generally better educated and pleasant, at least on the surface. I love our mother country and it will always be more mature & likely more sophisticated. Keep bringing your extremely fun and entertaining videos. 😅 Thanks!
Go to ground.news/lost to stay fully informed on the US, UK and more with clarity and context. Save 40% on the Ground News unlimited access Vantage plan with my link.
Did you know that to become a UK citizen you just have to have 5 million pounds? You don't have to pay them, you just have to have that much ready to invest somewhere in the UK.
@@LungsOutJem Not true. I know someone the immigrated to the UK and all he had to do is apply, waited and took a test which was relatively easy.
Oh Lorance, you need to make a video on how people get registered to vote and how absentee voting are very different. Another video could be how immigrating to the US is very different from immigrating to the UK. I have a friend that immigrated from the US to the UK. I think he replaced you so you better find out why you relatives aren't communicating with you anymore.
Ever wondered bout coke -Cola look t the documentary New Coke debacle on 1984!
@@terryrodbourn2793 Ever wonder how Coca Cola got its name? If you think is sounds similar to something else that is because there is a connection.
Still can’t get over the fact that this year our election is on Guy Fawkes’ day and the UK’s was on July 4th.
I did not know that - very cool.
That's like an infinite logic loop
We’re matching 💕💕
And both days were about sticking a middle finger up to British rule, lol!
I adopted my kitten on Guy Fawkes' Day, last year. I named her Fawna Fawkes. No matter what happens this election day, I'll still have a reason to celebrate. 😸
The idea of an election without political ads is a dream ive long had. Little did i know that it has been happening for 20 years in the UK
That's been UK law for a century, not just the past 20 years. The 2003 Communications Act just tweaked and consolidated that law. There has never been a political ad on UK radio or TV.
Meh. Like all advertising, it's easy enough to ignore.
We do have Party Political / Election Broadcasts on TV, which on the surface can look a lot like traditional adverts. But these are tightly regulated and limited in both duration and expenditure and, in theory at least, all parties get an equal opportunity to make use of them. These days most direct political campaigning is done on social media platforms where the rules are more relaxed and/or difficult to enforce (especially on _that_ one) and the engagement with many demographics is much higher than on traditional broadcast TV.
Yes, the collective sigh among British folk when the telly announcer says “and now, a party political broadcast from the **** party”…😂. Sunak’s one with the white board made us laugh though - whether you like him or not it was truly cringeworthy.
Political ads was one of the biggest reasons I stopped watching TV. And pay for YT Premium.
“Unbridled harmony in the comment section” 😂😂😂
The US would do well to adopt the UK standard of limiting $$$ in elections.
We can thank the Supreme Court for that. It’s the Citizens United case that really messed up our elections. Or at least made them so much worse
Yeah you really didn't think that comment through, did you...
I would be in favor of that.
That'd be nice
no its more fun this way
I like how you kept switching between blue and red glasses. Very diplomatic.
When he puts on a pair of WHITE ONES we will know he is doing the Union Jack!
Nebraska and Maine split their Electoral College votes instead of winner-take-all.
@@chrislampe6397 isn’t there also a ‘popular vote movement’ where by (some) states are trying to reach a situation whereby they allocate their electoral college voters to the national popular vote winner?
@@doctorscootYes. Once they get 270 electoral votes, it'll go into effect. (Maybe, it's probably going to be challenged In court)
@@doctorscoot So we always elect whomever New York and California want, and Wyoming can just go pound sand. Great idea.
@@doctorscootrepublicans would never support a popular vote bc they’d literally never win. They haven’t won the popular vote since Bush bc the country WANTS to be progressive but conservative have gerrymandered everything so badly bc it’s their only chance of preserving their grasp on power.
@@eyekanspalwerds7824 The "National Popular Vote" electoral count currently stands at 209.
A 43 day election period with no tv ads? Sign me up! The thing I like about UK government, is even though you have "major" parties, coalitions are forced to get along to pass stuff they want. Here, sadly, in recent times, "crossing the aisle" and "compromise" is a death knell to re-election...
The thing I like about the UK government is how they jail their citizens for criticizing the government...oh wait...
Coalitions are super rare in UK politics. There’s only been one coalition government since WWII in the UK. Almost always a single party has an outright majority in their parliament, with there being occasional minority governments. So, crossing the aisle in UK politics is almost never necessary.
To me it seems wrong that the incumbent often has to spend an entire quarter of their term just campaigning for their second one, instead of you know, doing president things. The Presidents time is already considered one of the most valuable things on Earth, and a much smaller campaign time would be a lot better
Regarding Grover Cleveland, my mom was a Cleveland, and Stephen is a very common name for Cleveland men. Nearly all of them used their middle names in daily life so as not to be confused with their father, uncle, cousin, etc. My parents very wisely decided to give my siblings and me unique first names, and have our middle names be a family name. Hence, my middle name is Stephen, which was my uncle's name on my mom's side. He, in turn, was named after his 2x-great uncle Stephen, whose middle name was Grover -- yes, *that* Grover.
Cool! I'm a Clark, and no president has been elected by that name. It is interesting (perhaps only to me), but I am a very distant cousin of president William Howard Taft! And an even more distant cousin of King Charles III. I have so many cousins, that you might be one yourself!
@@cyberherbalist I wouldn't doubt it. I've discovered cousins in Canada who don't even spell our last name like we do who are fairly close cousins.
My mom liked to joke that we were descended from William the Conqueror. I've never been able to trace the genealogy that far back, but by now I think nearly everybody of English descent is descended from William the Conqueror.
@@christopherstephenjenksbsg4944 Ha ha - my cousin got an ancestry investigation done years ago, I think they were too eager to please, they told her a distant ancestor was the Emperor Charlemagne!
Some village girl had an accident and just told everyone it was the emperor to shut them up- my theory!
@@cyberherbalist The only president with my name is Richard Nixon. Yay.
@@richardcope5066what were your parents thinking?
Election season here in the US is getting longer (and more expensive for candidates) every year. It's exhausting for everyone. And with politics being so divisive nowadays, it doesn't lead to a peaceful atmosphere!
Nope it's not exhausting for everyone. Please don't speak for people.
My first experience with UK elections was that one episode of Blackadder the Third.
It blew my mind to see the results of a real one a couple years later and be all "Woah, that's really how they do it there!"
The craziest thing to me is how the candidates have to be in a room together as the results are read.
Can you imagine American politicians having to do that? And their supporters?
No one would get out alive. It's the same reason they put Detroit and Cleveland in different NFL conferences. 😊
Ah yes, the Dunny in the Wold by election, won by Mr S. O. Baldrick.
Smith is the most common last name in the United States, yet we've never had a President named Smith.
It is as the vast majority of presidents have been of british heritage
You could say we came pretty close. Al Smith ran for president 1928. Harding won the election. Shortly after this the stock market collapsed, and the country slid into the Great Depression. Would it have been different under Al Smith? Probably not. But at least we would’ve had a president Smith..
On it. 😂
Al Smith was discriminated against in 1936 because he was Catholic.
1928
it hasn't happened in a while but I used to get the polling calls, they never seemed to like it when they asked how I was going to vote And I told them "by secret ballot" 😁
That was always my answer as well. Haven't been polled in a while either.
I’ve never participated in polling calls. But that probably would require me to answer my phone for a number I don’t recognize
@@m.r.6264It's generally around 1,000 people and generally in swing states 99% of the population has never been polled.
I'll take a black pen and fill in the oval.
Brilliant. Going to use that one.
No matter who (whom?) you support, if you're a fan of Lawrence and LITP, then you and I have common ground. Hello, my friends.
👍
I was sweating for him this entire video lol, man jumping over land mines like he was storming the beaches of Normandy bless him.
Who. And I agree. (Whom generally follows a preposition)
It's good to put a moniker to a friendly... er, moniker!
I don't know who voted for whom
As a Newly minted US Citizen, born in the UK, I too will be voting in a US General election on November 5th.
I have already voted in the Primary election held some three months ago.
Who for if I may ask?
Did you escape the UK because of wokeness infecting the western world? If you came to the US or Canada, sorry, but you are too late.
@@generalgrant2003 obviously for trump. The DNC didn't allow for a primary vote and didn't allow for a delegate vote either. Any dems who thinks for themselves should be embarrassed. You can't fight fascism with fascism.
You're already ahead then. Majority of Natural born Americans don't even bother voting in the Primaries.
Based on your name, I welcome you as a Hoosier.
As an American I hate how long election season is. When I was a kid Presidential election season lasted for the entire year, which was already ridiculous enough, but now the next election season begins as soon as the current one finishes. It's just a neverending vortex of politics.
Do your remember when they also weren't meant to be ENTERTAINMENT, too?
I think it could be shortened, but I also think the UK's is too short. Start about a year early, do a group of revolving primaries based on previous vote totals (no state should always go first, or last), and establish universal voting rights for all
The day after the November 1998 election, Gov Jay Carnahan filed to run for US Senate (D-MO) in 2000. He won, in part because John Ashcroft suspended his campaign when Gov. Carnahan died in October 2000.
It's mostly Trump's fault, because even more than having power he wants to always be the center of attention. So for two election cycles in a row he's started running as soon as the previous election was over, and in the second case his presumed opponent was an incumbent, so the media acted like they could cover both candidates right away. I don't remember any previous election, even 2016's, starting before the fall of the previous year.
@@66zebulon UK election campaigns are usual about six weeks, but by law can be as short as 3 weeks. Even then you have people complaining about how boring it is...
Ground News is also useful in highlighting which stories the other side is avoiding, for whatever reason.
It’s also good to show which sources are repeating Kremlin talking points. SUPER HELPFUL!
It's definition of right and left is interesting ...
@@AndrewBlucher indeed, it is literally impossible to be unbiased and to claim that you are is disingenuous.
They get their ratings from three different external companies who don't reveal their biases making the whole thing a case of "trust me bro"
They also have an awful lot of money to sponsor RUclipsrs despite not being beholden to monied interests (and their biases)
It's a shame because I like what they're trying to do but they're not being honest enough for me
Darn good point. What thing in the news does a particular side wish would go away is as telling as the narrative they want to push.
Or, depending on how you look at it, one side is making up.
Just as a note, American elections are not just about the POTUS. That's just the only office that most people are moved to go down to the polls for/pay attention to. We technically have a primary (parties pick their horses) and general (people pick the winning horse) election every year, but the offices tend to be different. US Representatives are elected every 2 years, US Senators every 6 years (Staggered for each state. Theoretically lends stability.) Then we have our State governors, senators and representatives, and other elected offices. The even years are mostly federal offices, the odd years are considered municipal/local elections, with a sprinkling of ballot questions/initiatives now and then. Each State manages their own elections, and most states let the counties handle their areas' stuff. Given all the rules and laws surrounding how to get onto the ballot, the ballots themselves, etc, and that the states have to pay for the equipment, manpower, and voting materials, we could never have "snap" anything. Even special elections can get expensive in time and money.
At least for federal elections, many states have a requirement in their laws that the ballots must be sent to the printers no later than 90 days from the time of the election. No further changes are allowed after that point. This has resulted, on a few occasions, with dead candidates actually winning elections (they died after that cutoff point and couldn't be replaced on the ballots).
One-third of the U.S. Senate seats are staggered every two years. Precisely, 33, 33, and 34.
All true. Which is why a national contest for just the presidency would help reduce money in politics, if done right.
The only comment I have is: VOTE! It's the only way to make ur voice heard!
Thanks again, Laurence Brown✅
lol😄
Strongly agree!
If you don't bother to vote, you cannot whinge about the result!
I always vote. It hasn’t worked yet, but it’s free, so why not.
If your state permits it, go to wherever you can check your voter registration and sign up to be sent a mail ballot for every election automatically. It's a good way to make sure you don't miss an election, no matter how minor. Also, you can sit at a computer and research lesser-known candidates on the internet while filling it then, if for whatever reason you forget to send it off or don't trust the mail, you can just carry it over to the ballot box on election-day and the election workers will just escort you to the front of the line to drop it in the ballot box. (at least, they did for me, and the workers themselves made every intention that this was standard practice.)
I'm glad us Brits aren't bombarded by political ads for a whole year. And, even better, our campaigns don't last a whole year. They last a few weeks or a couple of months at most
I don't know for the rest of Canada but it's been very similar in Quebec as well.
@@MsVilecat you must be a bit nervous with the orange menace being right on your border 😬
It must be so exhausting! Probably part of the reason Americans are so polarised by politics now too. Brits tend to be more fluid with their vote (and sometimes tactical) and less likely to end friendships or cut off family members over politics. Re fluidity, for e.g. I've voted in 3 elections since I became a UK resident. 2019 general election I voted Labour, 2024 local & mayoral election I voted Green x2 and 2024 general election I voted independent (the latter is the only time my candidate actually won 🥲). However, if I lived in the US, I'd just vote a straight blue ticket every single time, even if I didn't like the candidates.
@@tarrynlea This year's general election was my first one and I voted for Labour
This is your FIRST Presidential election? Well, you certainly picked a crazy one to start with. 😆 🤣
he just became a citizen
Lawrence mentioned that he's been living in the US for the past 16 years (so he has seen elections) but this is the FIRST in which he can vote as he only recently became a US citizen.
I mean, the last time we didn't have a crazy election was 2012.
Let's be fair - it's been crazy for the last 24 years. Got to start sometime!
He achieved citizen status in 2022. Prior to that he was ineligible. Only US citizens can vote
There are days when I feel that arguing over political parties is like arguing Phillips versus flathead - either way, you're screwed.
😂😂😂
😂😂😂😂😂😂
As a Canadian, I'll go with a Robertson! A few years ago I noticed that that most American of icons, the Atlantic City Boardwalk, is held together with Robertson screws! I asked a guy who was working on it, why and he said that no one has those screw drivers!
People argue for flatheads? I thought they were universally hated? Torx on the other hand, now that I can get behind.
bad vs terrible ( the screws i mean)
"Unbridled harmony" may be the best RUclips writing of the year
Thanks for keeping this video unbiased. I get so sick of this nonsense
Better than unbiased, it is the nerdy but needed factual review...
Sorry we horrify you. We horrify ourselves too.
Love it about the Independence Day/Guy Fawkes Day irony.
This is certainly one of the top 50 craziest US Presidential elections so far.
It’s also one of the top 5 most recent. ;)
Considering that the winner this fall will be the 47th president, I'd say that you are right.
@@renekelly4199 47 Presidents, but unless I've miscounted it will be the 59th Presidential election. So it could, in theory, be only the 59th craziest so far.
@@stephengray1344 that's true. I missed the part about # of elections, not presidents.
Thanks for the info, Lawrence. When I saw the video title, I thought "oh oh, divisive comments are incoming." But you navigated it well.
As an American, I'd say I’m sorry for the mess, but I didn’t make it.
Nope, wealthy conservatives did.
@@Andy_Babb Gee, glad I'm not wealthy. Far from it.
Me neither
😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
different clowns, same circus.
"Muppet's in Parliament" ... they weren't supposed to take that literally, but they did. lol
It's more like Spiting Image every year.
Ours are critters in Congress :)
@@bradleyheck7204 I miss the version of that we had here in Australia when I was younger. They called it Rubbery Figures, they could not have picked a better name.
Every time I look a what's happening in Britain, I feel bad for the populace.
Depending on the person, it could either be considered a great honor or incredible diss, to have a muppet named for you. Unless you truly love US politics, when one says "Grover" most people here would assume the Sesame Street character.
Here for the "unbridled harmony" I was promised...
It’s a hard knock life, for us….
42 seconds in and I am in love with the idea of "unbridled harmony" 😂
Unbridled harmony, people! I want to see unbridled harmony here!
Sorry, mate, but I think I'm gonna stick with counterpoint, seeing as how I'm a big fan of Bach and all that. Not that I'm planning to vote for Bach for President, or anything. (He's not running. Or a US citizen. Also, he's dead.)
What would bridled harmony look like? 🤔
Good luck with that! You do know that Santa Claus isn’t real, don’t you?
*Kentucky intensifies*
@@tallactordude People being very polite in a forced manner, because that's the best they can muster to keep civil, with little actual kindness or care, merely the facade that politeness so often is.
(Or would that be bridled disharmony?)
Non-Partisan Fact that most Americans should really be upset about: As a common U.S. citizen, your odds of being able to get an in-person meeting with your local Congress Critter(tm) are worse than your odds of traveling to Iceland and getting an in-person meeting with *both* its President and Prime Minister.
Given that your congressperson represents around 700K people (2018), and the population of Iceland is less than 400K people (2022), that seems at least somewhat appropriate.
It´s President, Prime Minister and a Troll.
We need way more reps then the current number
There are LOTS of non-partisan facts that Americans should be upset about. Lots…
Yeah I'm pretty young, and I've already met my current MP, and my MP in my previous constituency, just during random walks. Both times we had a pretty long conversation at my request.
I was on vacation in the UK over the election, and apart from seeing lots of newspapers and my husband turning on the BBC on the 4th, it was a blessing not to see or hear ads all the time.
I would love it if I never saw another political ad.
Those that seek public office should be regarded with suspicion.
And banned from it.
To quote from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
"The major problem - one of the major problems, for there are several - one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.
To summarize: it is a well known fact, that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem."
They are all actors and liars.
Those who gain money after being in public office should be questioned
Billy Connolly said it best, "The desire to be a politician should bar you for life from actually ever becoming one."
Technically, a Congressperson could be a Senator or a Representative. Congress consists of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
I think he meant to say Illinois has 2 senators and 17 representatives. As all are members of Congress.
Senators are generally called Senator, House of Representatives are generally called congressman/woman.
@@eyekanspalwerds7824 I refer to the latter as Representatives, since, again, a Congressperson could be a member of either house.
Yeah, you really didn't think that comment through, did you?
When members of the Senate were appointed by the state legislatures and the House was directly elected....back when we were a Republic.....there was a difference. Now there isn't, democracy is great!
" Vote early and vote often . " Quote attributed to Al Capone or Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley . Love Illinois politics !!
Yes, Chicago is claimed to have polling places near cemeteries; but it was Missouri who elected a corpse as a senator (Mel Carnahan) thereby allowing his wife, who was appointed to replace him by the governor (Wilson) prior to the election, to hold his seat and get a pension for doing so.
@@everettputerbaugh3996 WOW ! I've heard of dogs being elected mayor , but this was bizarre ! Looking forward to reading more about this . Thanks for sharing . Decades ago in our county , the elected sheriff & treasurer swapped positions each election ; the treasurer's son was in my senior h.s. class & I went to sr. prom w/ the sheriff's son . Remember " campaigning " for both dads . 😂
Yeah Lawrence gets the honor of voting more than once. Unfortunately the multiple votes only count for a specific political party.
@@drsch In the movie " Chicago " , lawyer Billy Flynn ( Richard Gere ) summed it all up w/ the single line : " That's Chicago ! " . 😂
5:18 slight correction, Maine and Nebraska are the only states able to split their Electoral College votes by districts. in 2020, Maine cast 3 for the Democrats and 1 for the Republicans, and Nebraska cast 1 for the Democrats and 4 for the Republicans.
Well, every state is *able* to do that, they're just the only two that do.
Burned out on politics.
Lesser of 2 evils brother. Never complain about your financial life unless you vote.
I agree. We should bake cakes instead.
At least you get to eat those.
Shoutout to the Ground News 📰 sponsorship. That’s a really good one!
Small correction. Two of the fifty states, Maine and Nebraska, allocate electoral votes by district, rather than winner-take-all. The two at-large electoral votes are awarded to the statewide majority winner.
In Nebraska, it is possible for one candidate to win two of three electoral district votes, but lose the statewide election, and thus the two at-large votes represented by the Senate delegation. In fact, some are predicting that is precisely what is going to happen this fall. NE2 is going to Harris by a wide margin, while NE1 is considered a toss-up. Meanwhile, NE3 will go to Trump by an enormous margin - easily enough to offset the combined advantage to Harris in the other two.
Fun fact for the day.
NE1 is far from a toss up, it's going to Trump. NE2 is the toss up. I live there.
Both of these states are not important and tried to be different to get attention
@@marcusbrown188 There are some Election maps where this is important. In fact in this upcoming election. If Trump takes every state in the sun belt as well as Nebraska's second District it would be a tie at best for Democrats.
@@siegelink9549 dems just have to win the Midwest and boom they win
If only all states did this.
The Electoral College was written into the Constitution as part of the Federal Compromise. Before the Constitution, states considered themselves sovereign, while joined in a federal union. The Constitution increased the power of the federal government, and ended state sovereignty. The Federal Compromise gave disproportionate power to states with small populations, by giving each state two senators regardless of size, and by giving them a small edge in the Electoral College. Because it is Constitutional, it is difficult to change. Some of the small states would have to agree to giving up their edge.
There was also a practical reason for the Electoral College. The nation was large and communication slow in the early years of the Republic. The indirect method of electing the President was more practical than direct election. The British system did not directly elect its head of government either, so the Electoral College was not a radical break from British precedent. Even the Senators were usually not ellected at first. The United States became more democratic in time.
By the way, the Unit Rule, which gives one candidate all the electoral votes of a state, is not an intrinsic part of the Electoral College but is only state policy. Two states, Maine and Nebraska, do not use the Unit Rule.
Doesn’t the number of electorals per state also have to do with the census?
@@ML-ie1heIndirectly. The Census determines the number of Representatives each state will have; the number of Representatives plus Senators determines the number of Electors.
I've heard many arguments why the Electoral College is no longer valid in the US. They're all things like "it's old" and "it's not democratic" (as if we are a democracy). Complaining about the EC being undemocratic is like complaining about stop signs for slowing down traffic.
@@tomservo75 It a speed bump in their way but if it aided them then they would want it to stay. I say we need to take a more Chesterton’s Fence mindset.
The Electoral Collage is one of the most brilliant ideas ever to grace any government. The nation is the United States of America. Not the Federal Government of America and as such, the only way to maintain the checks and balances of the individual states all consenting to a union was the Electoral Collage. It's amazing that Presidential candidates must campaign all over the country and convince all voters to their side rather than just focusing on 5 major cities. it's a blessing that the rural voter gets represented.
At least you have some stability in the form of Larry the #10 cat!
I remember Strom Thurmond. I wish I didn't, but I do.
Same.
I Remember when he was very old, and would be wheelchaired into the Senate Chamber covered with a blanket up to his neck. He never blnked, never moved, never said a word. After he voted without moving a muscle, he was then wheeled out. Years later his death was announced.
same!
Idk anything about him but the name alone has big Nazi energy 👀
@@tarrynlea Strom Thurmond's career was marked by extreme racism. In 1948 he reacted to the inclusion of a civil rights plank in the Democratic Party platform by creating his own party, called the "States Rights Party," and ran against Truman and Dewey. Many people called his party the "Dixiecrats." He won four states outright by appealing to southern segregationists, and a faithless elector from Tennessee voted for him as well. He continued to oppose civil rights legislation for the rest of his career. He switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party in 1964 over this issue. He clung to his Senate seat until he was over 100 years old, and at the end he was mentally incompetent. After he died it came out that he had groped and forcefully kissed many women who had the misfortune of being alone with him, including reporter Cokie Robers and even Senator Patty Murray.
Thank you, after 65 years I finally understand British elections.
I still don't understand US elections!
Most British people don't even seem to understand that they're only voting for their local representative and not for the government or the PM, so you now have a better understanding than most.
@@robertszynal4745 tbf, i think most of us know that we are voting for our local MP, but also understand that, by doing so, we are effectively voting for the leader of that MPs party to be PM
@@robertszynal4745 It's our media who misrepresent it.
@@robertszynal4745 I mean, we are technically only voting for our local MP, but by extension we are voting for the political party and by extension of that the PM, so I wouldn't really say we're only voting for our local MP 😂 Unless you're Islington North (congratulations to Corbyn!) The parties release a full manifesto, so you are also voting for the full parties policies, which is often also why people vote for the party they prefer and not necessarily the local candidate. I did that because I thought there would be no hope to dethrone Michael Fabric*nt, but I'm very glad I was wrong!
Very funny. I love the updated production value. Remember that your audience is not just living in the UK. There’s so much that you can explain to Americans about how the United Kingdom works
I don't think he gives a damn about his UK subscribers, he does livestreams at about 2 am UK time!
@@Phiyedoughif you have any questions about the election I’m a great admirer of our founders so ask away.
As a yank, I was SO glad to watch Sky News' coverage of this last UK election live: from the exit poll to the Liz Truss "Portillo moment"!!
If you are frm New England more power to you, but I am not a "Yank".
Liz Truss, was not a Portillo moment, its when someone who is likely to be elected to party leader, fails in the election to be an MP.
I don't think Liz Truss was ever likely to be re-elected as leader of her party, though I think the lettuce might stand.
Just the tip of the Iceberg 😁
Loved this video Laurence - Congratulations on casting your first American ballot this year! 🎉🇺🇸
One (I am assuming) difference not mentioned, our elections have a bunch of random state and local ballot initiatives mixed in with voting for the POTUS / representatives.
Referendums are very rare in the UK, but when they happen, they are major, e.g. Scottish independence or Brexit.
For Lawrence there are only three in Illinois and they aren’t referendums they’re just advisory initiatives. Basically we get to recommend what we think they should do but there’s no binding resolution based on the vote. I just went and looked at what’s on the ballot and it’s actually quite short. President, house representative, state representative plus the three advisory ballot initiatives. The presidential vote for Illinois is a bit of a nothing burger since we aren’t a swing state.
@@YorickReturns question, so how do local like city or county? develop new laws that the people would like in the us petittion to vote on, or is that not a thing?
@@BladeX11883 It's not really a thing. The UK is very centralised compared to the US. Even when Scotland had an independence referendum, it was because the UK Parliament passed a law to allow it (they did this because the Scottish National Party won a majority of seats at the Scottish Parliament, the first time that the SNP or any party had done so).
Illinois and Missouri also have judicial retention on the ballot. Should Jerome Dixon be retained as circuit judge for the sixth judicial circuit? If he doesn't get 50% of the vote, he's out, and the governor appoints his replacement.
It must have taken an incredible amount of time and effort to research and create this video. Thank you Tara and Lawrence, for putting all your energy into this channel. Well done!
Glad to see you, Laurence. How's Arthur and Kafka?
Every campaign season should be like our present abbreviated one.
With REAL limits on campaign spending as well.
One of my favorite British TV shows was the old Yes, Minister/Yes, Prime Minister comedy series. I've always wondered how accurate it is to the way the British government works.
@Lostinthepond-v7z SCAM ALERT!
It's close to being a documentary!
Pretty accurate, and it was not just accurate for the UK but quite similar to how things work where I am in Australia. Loved Yes Minister/Prime Minister
Every Civil Servant in the UK could laugh at this show, as it reflected real life in the British government , and the way the Civil Service really runs the country!
It was far more efficient than the real thing.
The 2017 UK election was one of my favorite. From Elmo to Lord Buckethead, that election was crazy.
As an American I have to say one thing I do like about UK elections is how quickly one can be called for and how quickly a new prime minister and party can be elected to take over.
Many parts of the US are designed to be unchanging or slow changing. Such as the judicial system.
@@TheSignofJonah777 True, but I think that might be to our detriment, today. Given how quickly events happen today, and how quickly the world changes, we may need to make reforms on that. We need to be able to adapt, and the way the system is set up now is just cumbersome, and can actually be a problem.
@@tricitymorte1 war can still be declared quickly but things like desegregation took a decade meaning that segregation would take just as long.
Meaning we do the right thing but it is often delayed. And if it is so important it would get both parties support and quickly be passed.
Look at Europe in the blink of an eye they had pretty crazy Covid restrictions over all of Europe. But in the US it was a states decision. Yes the federal gov tried to push it but it wasn’t as easy a task as in Europe.
Also, a prime minister can be ousted with a vote of no confidence.
I love that about our elections too. If a prime minister loses a general election he gets turfed out of No 10 the next day, none of this hanging on for three months as a lame duck.
In my state, many years ago, they used to pull jury duty candidates fron the voter registration. Now they pull from the driver's license and state ID lists
To understand politicians you have to look to the UK.
See "Yes Minister" and "Yes Prime Minister" to see how. Sir Humphrey explains it all and is very universally correct! 👍🇬🇧🇨🇦
And the readers of the "The Sun".
There used to be limits to how much politicians and PACs could spend on running for office. The US Supreme Court opened the floodgates in its Citizen United decision in 2010, determining that money = speech, and the First Amendment guarantee of free speech prohibits limitations on money in politics. It was tortured reasoning to achieve a desired result.
You say "tortured", intelligent people say "logical"
Your videos are always enjoyable. Thank you.
Thanks for the video!! As an American, I've always wondered what was with the Parliament meeting/event/uh...roast? This is when the MPs stand up, get yelled at by the sitting MPs around them, all while carrying a binder of some sort to a podium. Public TV in the US would carry these years ago, and it was wild watching them and not knowing the rules/etc.
This is Prime Minister's Questions. Each week the Commons is sitting the PM has to answer questions from MPs for half an hour. It requires the PM to be on top of all government policy and defend difficult decisions. It is something many other world leaders are relieved to not have in their own countries.
Hi. I'm here to deliver unbridled harmony to the comments section.
This is your obligatory Kumbaya response.
I really appreciate this video, thank you! We need stuff like this on PBS or BBC, the editing and inforgraphics here are farr better than the aforementioned
When my grandmother died, I inherited her collection of family history items. In those boxes, I found a newspaper from 1896 containing my great-great-grandfather's engagement announcement. He was actually publisher of the paper. But what was also interesting were editorials on the upcoming election between Republican William McKinley and Democrat William Jennings Brian, as well as a sharp commentary on the gold standard, which was one of the hot issues at the time. Aside from that, the ads for wagonsmiths and undertakers were also fascinating.
Im amazed you managed to touch this topic and it remained wholesome and neutral. Way to go by keeping it very abstract and big picture
"... words that should bring about unbridled harmony in the comments." 😆😅😂🤣 I'm dying.
Peace and ❤️
We should pass a law here banning tv and radio advertising for elections like Britton did
The reason why more Americans vote today than they did in the 1990s has to do with the growth of early voting and vote-by-mail. Back in the 1990s, the vast majority of Americans had one real option to vote - on Election Day you would go to your precinct, wait in line for however many hours it took, and then vote. Because it could (and usually did) take literally hours to get to cast your ballet, a lot of people - especially people who work in retail, restaurants, and the service industry and get paid by the hour - couldn't afford to miss that much work to go vote. That began to change in the 2000s with the introduction of Early Voting. Each state handles early voting differently, but in general you now have the option to go to designated Early Voting sites anywhere from like a month before the election to a week before the election and cast your ballot. Early voting is so much faster and gives voters a lot of flexibility - you can even vote on the weekend in some states - and it a big reason why the percentage of Americans who vote has gone up over the past 24 years.
That was an amazing job staying out of all the things that people would attack you for Lawrence! I just generally don't like to attack people over political beliefs but there are plenty who will, and that was an amazing job of dodging them!
On election day, I will be thinking about Guy Fawkes Day/Night.
His attempt to impose a foreign theocratic dictatorship on England, you mean?
@@silgen And thus, said effigy of Fawkes is burned that night.
650mp's?!?!?!?! WHAT THE FRIGGIN HECK!
I never noticed the lack of Presidents with names that start with s 'till you pointed it out, lol.
I don't think that any British politician could survive an American political campaign.
Yeah!!! He's back!
Forget the movie kids!!!
I think you need to repeat this basic civics lesson many more times, a few different ways. Most Americans don’t know this, and you did a great job!
Thanks! Always fascinating content. Keep it up. One thing I found particularly interesting was that no other country uses the Electoral College.
And then (presumably) there is the difference in the sheer length of a ballot in the U.S. vs. the U.K. Where I live (California) a typical November ballot will include the following offices: President, Senator, Congressman / Congresswoman, Governor, Attorney General, plus various state, county and local offices, not to mention any number of “ballot initiatives.” The mail-in (yes) ballot can be 6 to 8 pages long. In advance, voters are mailed thick booklets by the state and county, which serve as guides to the upcoming election. The county-issued booklet includes a sample ballot, for practice.
Now we know why CA is so F'd up.
Looking forward to Shasta County, a red stronghold, hand counting their ballots taking several days, while the rest of the state using machine tabulators will have most counted on election night, including UOCAVA (military and US citizens living overseas). For Jonthink--- CA vote by mail is modeled on another vote by mail state..... Utah.
There would be yes, but the other difference is there is no electing the Governors in the UK they do not have states nor electing an Attorney General. Or miscellaneous measures (initiatives). In my corner of the globe Australia the Premier (equivalent of a Governor) is simply the leader of the Parliamentary Party that wins the most seats(electorates). The Attorney General is just one of those elected members of Parliament and is appointed.
In the UK "ballot" means the process not the thing you vote on.
Each election and referendum comes on a separate ballot paper (the entitlement to vote - or franchise - can vary between elections, mainly that overseas voters can't vote for local councils and European Union citizens resident in the UK can vote for local councils but not Parliament - a negotiated continuation of rights from when we were in the EU) and as well as voting for much less we also often vote for different offices on different days. So this year in London we had the elections for the Mayor of London and the London Assembly at the start of May, the election for the national Parliament at the start of July and a by-election ("special election") for a new member of my local council in mid July.
Thanks for this video.
I really like your channel.
Never heard the term "Swing seats" in UK. They're called Marginals.
"Marginals" sounds a bit insulting. "Swing States" sounds more lighthearted and fun. Political parties, at least in the US, don't generally want to offend those that they think can be persuaded to vote for them instead.
I’ve never heard of marginals, it was always swing seats for us. Maybe a regional thing?
The no ads is an interesting idea since it would make attacks less frequent (minus the media) and force merit of performance/position at debates (in an ideal world)
I lived in Edinburgh during one of the general elections and got involved to meet more people and learn about the political process. At the time I was more conservative than I am now, so I got involved with the Scottish conservative party in support of John Major. That didn't go so well. The conservatives LOST every seat they had in Scotland! By the time the smoke cleared there wasn't a single conservative MP in Scotland. I guess I wasn't much help. LOL I learned a lot and met a lot of great people though.
Answering your questions: yes and yes. Subbed. For that extra dry Anglo wit.
Over in New England (New Hampshire) we have a fringe candidate named Vermin Supreme. He wares a black boot on his head and runs for president. He stands for A pony for everyone (National Pony Identification you must have it with you at all times) and Alternative power by zombies among other things as well.
In America we used to have a 6 to 8 month political season every 2 years, Howard Dean decided that a continuous political season like Europe. His political party started doing that, the other party had to keep up, and that’s how we got the eternal political season.
As it happens, I saw a snake in a shrub outside my front window, yesterday. So yeah, maybe.
Very nice election overview, Lawrence. I'm an American who had a British mom, and that regularly brings me to your highly entertaining and informative channel. In regards to the "S" thing: two winning U.S. presidents come to mind who had a middle initial "S" as part of their full name. Ulysses S. Grant's middle name was Simpson, which is his mother's maiden name. Harry S. Truman, ambiguously, had a middle initial that was . . . well . . . nothing more than the 19th letter in the alphabet. A bit more sleuthing determines that it was an amalgam of his two grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young. Notably, for most of his life, the 33rd president didn't sign his full name with a period after the middle initial "S" and, that in my mind, makes his use of the letter rather unique and forward.
Just a point on the electoral college votes - the states don't have to award them all to the winner, they could apportion them based on total votes for each candidate, or even just ignore the vote completely and hand them to the loser. They *tend* to give them all to the winner (and there are some states that have exceptions to how they give electoral college votes), but for the most part they are under no obligation to follow how the people have voted.
Yes, it's mental.
The state doesn’t choose the votes. It’s an elector the state legislature chooses people the verify the vote and apply the electoral votes. This prevents people similar to classic dictators from getting into power. It’s a great system.
yeah, I know those electors are known as faithless electors.
I appreciate your unbiased approach
Our election is on Guy Fawkes Night?! OH NO! 💥🔥💥🔥
Not the first time that's happened in my life time. The Last time Nov 5th fell on the first Tues of the month during an election year was in 1996. Clinton won... sadly. Prior to that was 1968(year I was born), Nixon won.
There's a reason for that...we're still waiting for Guy to show up.
Remember, remember, the 5th of November …
I hope it’s not too memorable 😬
Tbf, I used to hate the two party system in the United States, but given how I have found multiple instances in parliamentary states cooking everything up far worse than what we can manage i think we will keep it
The reason why political advertising cannot be banned in USA 🇺🇸 is because it would infringe on the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Also, let’s get real, there is a lot of money 💰,as in hundreds of millions, to be made by the media.
It would also give those already in government power the ability to use official channels to unfairly get only their narrative across to the voters during the majority of the year.
Well, that's the RULING anyway. In reality the assertion that money is the same as free speech is a very, very shaky (requiring legal gymnastic to take the constitutional amendment protecting former slaves and turning it into a justification for money to be seen as speech) and rather corrupt one.
perhaps as part of using the airwaves the media must provide free time to political candidates that qualify.
@@MrGadfly772 Buckley vs. Valeo, the SCOTUS ruling that established this principle, has been used by conservatives (and corporatist Democrats to make a whole large enough to drive a truck through. Did you see all the luxury boxes at both conventions? You can pay up to $5 million to stay in one of those. And yes, there are governors, senators and other politicians who will come and see you. Disgusting!
Not only that, a station can't refuse a political ad because of content. A Congressional candidate in downstate Illinois in 2012 ran on an anti-abortion platform so she could air ads describing the process.
Wow! You did your homework! I learned so much from your video. Thank YOU! 🙂
US senators used to be elected by their state’s representatives not a direct vote of the people
The state legislatures.
That was the biggest problem, the Constitution specified the senators were appointed by the individual state, but it did not specify whether the governor or the legislature made the decision, and several times no one was appointed because the legislature and the governor could not agree about who had the authority
Technically state senators, state representatives or assemblymen make up the State Legislature. The body of people that elected the 2 Senators from the pool of Elected legislators. It was an indirect vote really. People would vote for their various state senators, reps, and assemblymen and HOPE the rest picked the right guys. :) That is until the 17th Amendment came along in 1913. A result of some State Legislatures not electing any Senators to go to congress.
@@tomhalla426 yes I meant legislature. The senate was designed to represent the individual states and the house of representatives was designed to represent the people.
Much better. They had to answer to their states. Now they have to answer to DC swamp creatures.
A'reyt Laurence. The first person I met at university and watched "Yes Minister" comedy on TV with, later became an MP and then a minister himself. He retired at the last election having become Sir Alok Sharma.
Also, there's the slogans. Oh... such slogans! My first time voting in a US presidential election was in 1972. Richard Nixon was running for a second term. I was in my first year of college. In the student union was a sign: "Don't change Dicks in the middle of a screw. Vote for Nixon in '72."
Get out!!! 😂🤣 BWAAHAHAA!! I had to stop the video because I was laughing so hard I couldn't hear Laurence!
I love your humour! And of course your country of origin. I lived in the UK for a number of years and the people there are generally better educated and pleasant, at least on the surface. I love our mother country and it will always be more mature & likely more sophisticated. Keep bringing your extremely fun and entertaining videos. 😅
Thanks!
See snakes everytime a politician is on the television.
Especially if they gain money while in office.
Thumbs up for pointing out the Independence Day/Guy Fawkes night.
There is a VERY good reason for the Electoral College. Most people just don't bother to find out.
The idea that people oppose the electoral college because they don't understand it is completely wrong. We know the reasons, and they're stupid.
Correction: There *WAS* a good reason *in the past.*
There is a joke among the political class in the US, that a group of well trained campaign interns could conquer the UK without firing a shot.