American Historian Lindsay Chervinsky joins WIRED to answer the internet’s burning questions about the history of US Elections. Can the President cancel or postpone an election? Why do midterms usually end up with the party of the current president losing? Why are US elections held on a Tuesday in November? Answers to these questions and many more await on US Election History Support.
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#Election #Midterms #USElection
00:00 – US Election History Support
00:13 – Glaciers move faster than a US campaign cycle
01:00 – The Electoral College: an 18th-century group-project democracy
01:54 – If you can’t beat ’em, redraw ’em
02:45 – Just slayed the ballot. AMA.
03:42 – The Tuesday after the first Monday in November…
04:04 – …because it’s convenient.
04:55 – They’re making a list, they’re checking it twice
05:38 – F!@# it, we ball(ot)
06:16 – The ultimate bipartisan struggle
07:09 – Two strikes and you’re out
07:55 – Nixon vs. JFK’s jawline
08:57 – 35th birthday ✅ eligibility for nuclear codes ✅
09:33 – STOP THE RECOUNT!
10:37 – Ronald Reagan’s mic drop
11:24 – The White House’s vibe check
11:53 – No voting, no complaining
12:29 – Democrats ❌ Republicans ❌ None of the above ✅
13:36 – Currently on day four of Election Tuesday
14:19 – 270 is just a number, right?!
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@jakerummy
October 20, 2026 at 7:17 pm
And Reagan’s first electoral victory against Carter was influenced by his direct undermining of Carter’s administration in addressing the Iran Hostage Crisis by illegally reaching out to Iran and convincing them to hold off on releasing the hostages until after the election to help Reagan. Then of course there was Iran-Contra, and Reagan added a second instance of committing treason to his resume.
@tomfooleryhandle
October 20, 2026 at 7:24 pm
Pretty adorable people think trump can’t do things, he will just do it anyways like he has with everything, for literally decades
@taylorsilver2566
October 20, 2026 at 7:25 pm
5:17 I’m sorry, drumpft became president twice. Your voting checks are not ‘safe’.
@fashionistaandpink
October 20, 2026 at 7:35 pm
the truth of the matter is it really doesn’t matter if something is illegal or not, a convicted criminal is in charge, we are literally in unprecedented times.
@pokerphil1st
October 20, 2026 at 7:38 pm
The only times America gets a decent President, they shoot him.
@pepuletrz
October 20, 2026 at 7:42 pm
please vote..
@gb6644
October 20, 2026 at 7:51 pm
The if you don’t vote you don’t get to complain comment was BS, but otherwise a great episode.
@DigitalDesignAndInnovation
October 20, 2026 at 7:55 pm
That last thing she said is confusing… Territories and DC dont get a vote..? It sounded like she was saying they do. (I know territories and DC have representatives that don’t vote on legislature but don’t know why she brought them up here)
@DanielVerberne
October 20, 2026 at 8:03 pm
America, the fact that your voting is optional is, I think; a fatal flaw. It is FAR better to suffer some small loss of ‘liberty’ and be required to participate in one’s representative democracy than it is to have to rely on politicians throwing out ‘red meat’ and big spending to ‘get the vote out’. Mandatory voting tends to draw a nation’s politics in a particular direction – the centre. That means it’s a moderating force and arguably gives voters far more of an active stake in their representation. Yes, some voters are more ignorant of the details than others, but again I’ve argue that because we HAVE to vote, we are all incentivised to have some modicum of awareness of our options; lest we act like Turkeys voting in favour of Christmas.
@sovereignbot
October 20, 2026 at 8:03 pm
at 6:00 im surprised she said “some experts think paper ballot…..” and goes on to suggest that paper ballot is “safe” and completely ignored that certain blockchains, similar to the one being used in West Virginia is 100000% safer and allows for a perfect record that can always be verified. maybe she wasnt fully informed
@EhNothing
October 20, 2026 at 8:05 pm
Not voting because your job doesn’t have schedule flexibility is absolutely NOT an excuse. There’s early voting for weeks before election day. There’s mail in ballot voting that’s completely asynchronous. There is NO excuse.
@RavenLee-w7r
October 20, 2026 at 8:10 pm
1:54 not really all that difficult. she lays out how right here. those with privilege are less interested in changing the system though bc it works for them in the sense of greed. they can’t imagine a better world and hate the notion of it being better for everyone.
@DanielVerberne
October 20, 2026 at 8:11 pm
I’m shocked by the number of answers to questions hearken back centuries to the ‘founding fathers’. In most modern countries we’ve long-since jettisoned older ideas in favour of newer ones, as circumstances and ‘mores’ change. In America you seem to have an almost worshipful stance towards your founding fathers and your founding documents. I wonder whether this puts some of those ideas in a sort of stasis, where there is less appetite to revisit and modernise these ideas. As many a comedian have noted, the constitution can be changed (albeit with the high-bar requirements) – they’re called amendments for a reason.
As for voting on a ‘Tuesday’, voting should ideally occur on weekends. Also, there should be ZERO barriers for ANY worker in taking time off to attend voting – this should be just as ‘sacred’ as First Amendment free speech. The moment any worker (especially a young person) feels there is ANY barrier in their employment situation towards stepping out to involve themselves in their own representational democracy is the moment when your democracy is weakened.
@skunkjulio
October 20, 2026 at 8:14 pm
Yay Lindsay’s back! Thanks for doing this again!
@jamesv.7041
October 20, 2026 at 8:17 pm
Young people are also more ignorant, factually.
@cpdukes1
October 20, 2026 at 8:19 pm
Lying and cheating could be political speech. The SC would no doubt stand behind that freedom. They might even practice what they preach.
@IronWolf123
October 20, 2026 at 8:31 pm
What happens if there is a tie between the 50 representatives?
@Eequals
October 20, 2026 at 8:32 pm
“If you dont vote, you cant complain” give me a break. If all the candidates are garbage, im not giving them my vote. They still control my money and life. I personally am paying their salary with my fellow countrymen. If they take my money, i can complain. Im not going to flip a coin to choose between hitler and mao. That statement needs to be removed until there is actually a way to trully vote for someone other than the wealth sponsored dem and rep candidates. Ie the same people that bash someone during a primary then end up as their vice president
@Eequals
October 20, 2026 at 8:33 pm
Well, working countrymen not free money countrymen
@jamesv.7041
October 20, 2026 at 8:33 pm
This expert did a good job staying nonpartisan, especially when compared to other experts that have been on Wired.
This is particularly impressive given the subject matter, whereas other experts make their personal biases and viewpoints known on completely apolitical subjects.
@sgeine
October 20, 2026 at 8:52 pm
They didn’t “squish in” the electoral college. There was extensive debate and theorising on how to make the govt representative of the majority of the states instead of the majority of the people. The solution our founding fathers came up with was ingenious.
@d.d.vignali4419
October 20, 2026 at 9:02 pm
Wired really capitilising on the upcoming midterms hype.
@jdkgcp
October 20, 2026 at 9:06 pm
My biggest issue with the election process is the whole “every vote counts” mantra when that is completely false. Because OF the electoral college the public vote aka “popular vote” is completely meaningless. Even worse is that nobody seems to really care about that “minor” detail.
@aihf
October 20, 2026 at 9:07 pm
“A third party president is possible if we do these 47 impossible things first.”
Cool. Thanks.
@michaellwalker8748
October 20, 2026 at 9:24 pm
So, we could do better but won’t. Got it.😊
@spiralflame88
October 20, 2026 at 9:26 pm
Republicans got so fed up with how popular Franklin D. Roosevelt was that they had to introduce a new Amendment. They were so worried about another potential FDR in the future that they had to add a two-term limit for presidents. Republicans are so pathetic.