How the Electoral College Works and Why It Exists | One Person, One Vote? | Independent Lens | PBS

0:06♪

0:17[Drums beating]

0:19♪

0:25Man: U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A....

0:29Amy Klobuchar: January 6th is not typically a day

0:31of historical significance for our country.

0:36For centuries, this day is simply the day

0:38that we receive each state's certified electoral votes,

0:42and it has come and gone without much fanfare.

0:45[Rhythms build]

0:47Steve Scalise: I rise today to object to a number of states

0:50that did not follow the constitutional requirement

0:53for selecting electors.

0:56[Drums continue beating]

0:58Mitch McConnell: We cannot simply declare ourselves

1:00the National Board of Elections on steroids.

1:03If this election were overturned,

1:05our democracy would enter a death spiral.

1:08The Electoral College would cease to exist.

1:11[Anticipation-building music playing]

1:13♪

1:23[Music builds in energy]

1:25♪

1:37[Music crescendos, then fades]

1:44[Native American singing and drumming]

1:47[Rifle fires]

1:49[Eagle wings flap over lyrical music]

1:53Narrator: In the scalding summer of 1787,

1:56the framers of an infant nation met

1:59in Philadelphia. [Distant bell tolls]

2:01There was an urgent need to strengthen the union

2:04as threats of foreign invasion loomed.

2:07During four months of searing debate

2:10and fierce negotiation,

2:13they created America's Constitution.

2:17It established a new and revolutionary

2:20political system and determined

2:23how America would choose its president,

2:26using a device now called the Electoral College.

2:31Amar: A society

2:34that doesn't understand its history

2:37is like a human being

2:40who has amnesia.

2:42It's very curious

2:44that most Americans understand

2:47the intricacies of baseball and football

2:51far better than the intricacies of our Constitution,

2:53especially the Electoral College,

2:55which is how we pick our president.

2:58Edwards: The framers gave the people

3:01no right to vote for president.

3:03That's very unusual,

3:05and most people don't have any understanding of that.

3:08But there's no right in the Constitution

3:10to vote for President of the United States.

3:12Finkelman: Most Americans have no idea

3:14that they are not voting for the candidate

3:17they think they're voting for. Rather, they are voting

3:19for a slate of electors who are pledged to that candidate.

3:24So there are 538 total presidential electors.

3:29Edwards: Every state gets an elector

3:31for every member of the House

3:33and for every member of the Senate

3:35that represents that state, and those

3:38electors then vote for president.

3:41Finkelman: Almost nobody

3:43in the United States knows a presidential elector.

3:46[Pulse-of-the-city music playing]

3:49[Wind whips through hills]

3:51[Pulsing music continues]

3:53♪

4:00Man: We're the first people who came along

4:02and said, "We can do this ourselves."

4:04And no one believed that a bunch of farmers,

4:07blacksmiths, and shopkeepers could actually

4:10govern themselves, but we figured it out.

4:12They wrote a document that has stood the test of time

4:15for over 240 years.

4:17My name is Derrick Wilburn. In the 2020 election,

4:19I will be a voter, a citizen voter,

4:21and an elector for the Republican candidate.

4:23My role as an elector is to faithfully

4:26and dutifully discharge my obligation

4:29to cast my electoral vote for Donald Trump

4:32if and when he wins the state of Colorado.

4:34This is where the magic happens.

4:36The Rocky Mountain Black Conservatives was founded

4:38in my backyard and is run out of my basement.

4:40We're an incredibly lean organization.

4:42This is the website

4:45for our internship program.

4:47So we send these kids off to have

4:50an experience in Washington, D.C.

4:52that they otherwise would never have.

4:53Speaker of the House Ryan tweeted this picture

4:56of himself and an intern class,

4:58and I looked at that picture and I said, "That needs to never

5:01happen again, and we need equal representation."

5:04Here is my wife and our kids. This is our oldest son.

5:08He is a-- now a first lieutenant.

5:10This is our daughter, Kayla.

5:12She is a 19-year-old at university.

5:15And our youngest is Chandler, right here,

5:18and he is already a captain in Civil Air Patrol 2

5:21and straight-A student and superstar athlete.

5:23Our kids are all very athletic. I like to think that's because

5:26the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree!

5:29I take the responsibility of participating

5:33in our system of self-governance very seriously.

5:35We are blessed as a people to be able to govern ourselves.

5:40[Pensive music playing]

5:42♪

5:46Cobb: How did we get the Electoral College?

5:48That goes back to the writing of the Constitution in 1787.

5:53Brookhiser: One of the proposals at the Constitutional Convention

5:56was that there would be a chief executive.

5:59The title "president" was the one that they settled on.

6:02Edwards: There had never been a model

6:05for a "democratic" selection

6:08of a chief executive.

6:10Countries were accustomed to dictators

6:13or monarchs, but they weren't accustomed

6:16to a democratically elected chief executive.

6:19Finkelman: How would you elect the independent chief executive?

6:22They threw out all kinds of ideas.

6:25Morris: The national executive

6:26ought to be elected by the people

6:28at large, by the freeholders of the country.

6:31Wilson: I say, at least in theory,

6:34I am for the election by the people.

6:36Madison: The people at large are the fittest

6:39in itself to choose the national executive.

6:43Finkelman: So here you have the three most active members

6:45of the convention, all arguing for the same thing.

6:49Madison: The people. Morris: The people.

6:50Wilson: By the people.

6:52Finkelman: James Madison, the father of the Constitution,

6:54says the fittest thing

6:58would be for the people to elect the president.

7:01And then he says there are problems with this.

7:04Madison: There is but one difficulty

7:06of a serious nature attending

7:09to an immediate choice by the people.

7:12Amar: From the beginning, the Electoral College

7:14was basically a way

7:16of avoiding direct election.

7:20And what was the problem,

7:22in my view, with direct election?

7:23Madison: Then the Southern states

7:25could have no influence in the election

7:28on the score of the Negroes.

7:31Finkelman: That is to say,

7:33no matter how you elected the president

7:36by a popular vote, the slaves would never get to vote.

7:40Amar: The South will lose every time because

7:42its slaves won't count in a direct election.

7:45Edwards: They thought they needed intermediaries,

7:47and they didn't want Congress to select the president.

7:50And they would be wise men-- and they would only be men--

7:53who would select the president.

7:56♪

7:58[Music turns dreamy]

8:01♪

8:07♪

8:10Woman: Hi, Grace.

8:11Grace: How are you doing? Baca: I'm doing good.

8:13So how is everything going?

8:15It's a, you know, it's a funny thing trying

8:18to get people excited about virtual organizing,

8:20but today's been a pretty good day...

8:22Voice-over: My name is Polly Baca.

8:23If Biden wins the state of Colorado, then I will be one

8:26of the official electors designated

8:28to vote for Biden in the Electoral College.

8:31Grace: Polly Baca is on the call here.

8:33She'll be giving us some wonderful words of wisdom.

8:36She has so many inspirational stories

8:39about her lifelong journey in politics.

8:42Baca: I'm so excited about being with all of you.

8:45I mean, I've been involved in presidential politics

8:47in every presidential campaign since 1960.

8:51Now, as a matter of fact, this is a picture of me.

8:54Can you see that?

8:56That was me in 1968

8:58at the 1968

9:00Democratic Convention.

9:01But, you know, you are the key

9:04to making sure that we can elect

9:06Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

9:08It's a pandemic. We are learning how

9:10to reach people in a brand-new way.

9:13Without your help, we can't do it,

9:15and you're going to be talking about this for years to come

9:19because this truly is a historic campaign.

9:22[Gentle music playing]

9:24♪

9:26Baca: I grew up in northern Colorado,

9:29when, as a Mexican-American, I wasn't allowed

9:31to sit in the center aisles in church.

9:34In movie theaters, I had to sit in the balconies.

9:36Wasn't allowed to sit on the main floor.

9:39And there were stores that had signs that said,

9:41"No Mexicans or Dogs Allowed."

9:43And so it hurt me as a child

9:46to experience that segregation and that bigotry,

9:49and I swore as a little girl that I was going to do

9:52everything that I could to change, first, the way

9:55that people treated Mexican-Americans,

9:58and second, the way that we treat each other.

10:00The only office in our country

10:03where we don't have a direct vote

10:06is President of the United States,

10:08and that doesn't make any sense.

10:10[Solemn music playing]

10:12♪

10:18I contend the states are divided

10:21into different interests, not by their difference of size,

10:24but by other circumstances,

10:26principally from the effect of having or not having slaves.

10:30It does not lie between the large and small states.

10:33It lies between the Northern and Southern.

10:36Amar: It is true there was this big debate

10:38at Philadelphia between big states and small states.

10:42But there was an equally big division,

10:45and most people aren't as much aware of this,

10:48at the Philadelphia convention, basically between

10:51the Northern states and the Southern states,

10:54and that was fundamentally a division over slavery.

10:58Finkelman: To give you an idea of how important

11:00this issue of slaves is,

11:02there are about 3 million people in the United States

11:05at the time of the Constitutional Convention.

11:07About 700,000 of them are slaves.

11:10The vast majority of them live in the South.

11:14Codrington: That's a substantial portion of their population,

11:17and none of those slaves are enfranchised.

11:20Do you enfranchise them? [Scoffs]

11:23Or do you somehow figure a way

11:26that they can count without being enfranchised?

11:29Brookhiser: Slaves, obviously, will not vote,

11:32but should they be counted

11:35in the representation of their states?

11:38Paterson: I can regard slaves

11:40in no light but as property.

11:43Has a man in Virginia a number of votes

11:46in proportion to the number of his slaves?

11:49Finkelman: And of course,

11:51this is the great rhetorical question:

11:52How can you count slaves

11:55for representation in Congress and in the Electoral College

11:58when slaves are not considered

12:01to be part of the political process?

12:04Amar: But within the House, there is this compromise

12:07about how slaves are to be counted, and of course,

12:10very famously--or infamously, if you prefer--

12:13slaves are counted as three-fifths of free persons.

12:17Finkelman: The Three-Fifths Clause does not say

12:20that Black people are three-fifths of a person.

12:23The Three-Fifths Clause says

12:25that when you give a state representatives

12:28in Congress, you count all of the free people,

12:31and then you count three-fifths of the other people.

12:34North Carolina Delegates: The representation is

12:36to be according

12:38to the whole number of white inhabitants added

12:41to three-fifths of the Blacks.

12:44Cobb: The addition of hundreds of thousands,

12:47in some cases millions, of people who are not given

12:51the status of citizens,

12:54but who are nonetheless counted for the purposes

12:57of representation is,

13:01at best, a contradiction for a country

13:04that owes its origins to the idea of democracy.

13:08Brookhiser: The most blazing speech

13:09against the three-fifths rule

13:11was given by Gouverneur Morris.

13:14Morris: I can never concur to upholding domestic slavery.

13:17It is a nefarious institution,

13:19a curse of heaven on the states where it prevails.

13:22Upon what principle is it that slaves shall be computed

13:25in the representation? Are they men?

13:28Then make them citizens and let them vote.

13:31Anderson: The South was like, "We're not blinking.

13:33"We're not blinking at all.

13:35We are willing to burn this thing down."

13:38Anderson: And so they pushed hard,

13:40really hard on the Three-Fifths Clause.

13:43Davie: It is high time for me to speak out.

13:46I see that it's meant for some gentlemen

13:48to deprive the Southern states of any share

13:50of representation for their Blacks.

13:52Now, I'm sure that North Carolina would never

13:54confederate on any terms that did not

13:56rate them at least three-fifths.

13:58Anderson: They basically said, "Unless we get our way,

14:01we are out of here." [Scoffs]

14:03"You can kiss the United States of America good-bye."

14:07Davie: If the eastern states meant, therefore,

14:09to exclude them altogether, our business is at an end.

14:13Amar: The system created horrible incentives

14:16because if a state, for example,

14:19sent agents over to Africa

14:23to kidnap free Blacks

14:25born in freedom and snatched up,

14:28kidnapped a whole bunch of slaves and stuck them

14:30in a ship, and some of them are going to die

14:33in a hellish Middle Passage and be thrown overboard

14:36as food for sharks, and then brought them

14:39to the state to put them up on auction blocks

14:42with families separated... [Whip cracks]

14:44if a state did all of that, it would have more slaves

14:47than it did before, and it would have more seats

14:50in the House of Representatives and more seats

14:53in the Electoral College than it did before.

14:55Oh, my God.

14:57That's a horrible system of incentives.

14:58♪

15:02Commercial narrator: Here's a brand-new song

15:04that might help you understand the Electoral College.

15:07It's called, "I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College."

15:11Wegman: Why is it so complicated

15:13to describe how we choose our president?

15:16Girl in cartoon: Well, I asked my Granny Maxine on what is

15:18an Electoral College, and she confused me.

15:21Wegman: I remember seeing on TV a few years ago

15:23what we call "the National Popular Vote"

15:25is what other countries call "the vote."

15:26Everyone casts a ballot, you see who got the most,

15:28and that person wins, and our system

15:30is so much more complicated than that

15:32and is really not even one election.

15:35It's 50 state elections

15:37broken up and administered individually.

15:41The presidential election maps we see

15:43show red states and blue states.

15:45In reality, all states vote in shades of purple.

15:48Almost all states, 48 out of 50 states,

15:51award their electors based on what's called

15:54the Winner Take All rule.

15:56Whichever candidate wins

15:57the most popular votes

15:59in that state gets all

16:00of that state's electors,

16:02and their opponent gets zero.

16:04It erases tens of millions

16:06of Americans' votes before

16:08the actual casting of ballots that matters,

16:11which is the casting of ballots by the electors.

16:14These Winner-Take-All laws create popular-vote losers

16:17who become president.

16:19States have the power under the Constitution

16:21to award their electors however they like.

16:24Why do it the way they're doing it today? Why not change it?

16:27The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact

16:29is actually quite a simple idea.

16:31[Mellow blues music playing]

16:33♪

16:42[Chickens clucking]

16:44♪

16:50Man, voice-over: My name is Mike Foote.

16:52I'm a state senator from Lafayette.

16:54I represent eastern Boulder County,

16:56and I've been a legislator for 8 years.

16:58I was the legislator, or I should say one

17:00of the legislators that carried the bill

17:02that implemented the National Popular Vote

17:04in the state of Colorado. I did that in 2019.

17:06Reporter: Let the people pick

17:08the president, or the Electoral College?

17:10Reporter: Well, state lawmakers

17:12are once again debating moving Colorado

17:13to a national popular vote state.

17:15Foote: And Senate Bill 42 would allow Colorado

17:18to join a National Popular Vote Compact.

17:21Reporter: It's the most accessed bill

17:22on the State Legislature's website,

17:24and perhaps for good reason.

17:26Foote: It would reallocate our electors

17:28under Article II, Section I, to go

17:30towards the winner of the most votes nationally.

17:33Reporter: If passed and signed by the governor,

17:35Colorado would be the 13th state to join what's known

17:38as the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.

17:40Foote: And what the national popular vote stands for

17:43is simply this:

17:45one person, one vote.

17:47Reporter: States in the Compact agree to award

17:49all of their electoral votes to the winner

17:51of the national popular vote,

17:53no matter who wins in their state.

17:55Foote: It's a way that every vote

17:57is equal, and every vote matters

17:59in every presidential election.

18:01Reporter: It only goes into effect when enough states

18:03representing 270 electoral votes sign on,

18:06which is what you need to win the presidency.

18:09And that's why I ask for your "aye" vote.

18:12Lawmaker: With 19 ayes, 16 noes,

18:14zero absent, zero excused,

18:16Senate Bill 42 is passed.

18:18Foote: You could do a constitutional amendment

18:20to eliminate the Electoral College.

18:22It's hard to pass a constitutional amendment.

18:24We just work within the law that's granted

18:26under the Electoral College powers.

18:28[Alt-pop music playing]

18:30♪

18:43Woman: Whew.

18:45[Chuckling] That's that.

18:48My name is Patricia McCracken, and I will be

18:50an elector for the Green Party

18:52in the upcoming 2020 presidential election.

18:55I've been reffing soccer for about five years,

18:58and right now, I'm in a recording arts program

19:00at the University of Colorado, Denver.

19:03And I don't think I'm someone that you would

19:05typically think of when you think of an elector.

19:08I just recently turned 18,

19:11so I decided to register under the Green Party

19:14because during the 2016 election,

19:17I knew of Jill Stein, and she kind of followed

19:19what I thought of myself politically.

19:22I got involved with the Colorado Green Party

19:26on their Facebook page, and eventually,

19:29it all turned out that I would be a delegate

19:31to their national convention, and they eventually asked me

19:34to be an elector for the party.

19:36So I don't really see myself as being, like,

19:39that big of a person.

19:41It's not, like, a huge job. I'm not actually doing anything.

19:44I'm just basically saying, in the event

19:47that Howie Hawkins won Colorado,

19:50I would go to the Electoral College

19:52and place a vote in his name.

19:54I don't feel it's hypocritical

19:56to participate in the Electoral College,

19:59even though it's something I disagree with completely.

20:02At the end of the day, it's part of the process,

20:04and someone has to do it.

20:07["Hillbilly Deluxe" by Brooks & Dunn playing on car radio]

20:10Brooks: ♪ Hillbilly deluxe, slick pickup trucks ♪

20:13♪ Big timing in a small town ♪

20:16♪ Stirrin' it up ♪

20:18♪ Right about sundown ♪

20:21♪ Black denim and chrome to the bone ♪

20:24♪ With a little homegrown country girl ♪

20:27♪ Cuddled up ♪

20:29[Alt-rock music playing]

20:32Wilburn: This should be fun.

20:33♪

20:36Wilburn, voice-over: What we in the Black community have done

20:38is we've said to one political party,

20:40"You have no competition for our votes.

20:42We're only going to vote for you."

20:45And that's simply unhealthy, so I began saying, you know,

20:47"We as Black Americans need to listen to everybody."

20:50♪

20:59Woman: ♪ O! Say, can you see ♪

21:04♪ By the dawn's early light... ♪

21:10Wilburn: Conservatives...

21:12are not...racists.

21:15Man: No. [Crowd cheering]

21:17Wilburn: It's just not true.

21:21I've never been to Cortez, Colorado before,

21:24and this is beautiful.

21:27This is absolutely awesome.

21:29[Crowd cheering and whistling]

21:31Wilburn: I stand before you as living proof

21:34that conservatives are not racists.

21:36I served as your state party vice chairman.

21:39There were four of us running, myself

21:41and three white people, and the Colorado Republicans

21:45looked up there, listened to the vision,

21:47judged by content of character rather than skin color,

21:50and said, "We'll take the Black guy."

21:52[Cheering and applause] Wilburn: It's just not true.

21:55I am one of your electors,

21:58so, when Donald Trump wins the state of Colorado,

22:01nine people will cast our votes

22:03into the Electoral College for Donald Trump.

22:06One of them, you're looking at right now.

22:08Man: Yeah! Crowd: Whoo!

22:11Woman: Oh, yeah! Man: Yeah!

22:14[Distant, overlapping chatter]

22:23Wilburn: I pledge allegiance to the flag

22:26All: ...of the United States of America.

22:28And to the Republic

22:30for which it stands,

22:31one nation under God,

22:34indivisible, with liberty

22:36and justice for all.

22:37Wilburn: I'm not a fan of the Confederate flag,

22:39so I don't have a Confederate flag.

22:41But if you want to fly a Confederate flag

22:43on your property, that's not my business.

22:46That's not my concern.

22:48The truth is...

22:51I am the beneficiary

22:55of the slave trade.

22:57I am.

22:59Now, people take that, and they take that little slice

23:01right there, and they email me nasty stuff and blow me up

23:03on social media, and sometimes in the real media,

23:06they'll go, "Derrick's saying that slavery was good."

23:08No, I'm not saying that slavery was good. Slavery was horrible.

23:10What those people endured, I can't even imagine it.

23:13But I've never been a slave.

23:16The only cotton I've ever picked is when I go down

23:18to Old Navy and get a new pair of jeans off the shelf.

23:21I'm not approving of slavery. I'm not saying slavery was good.

23:24Slavery was horrible, uh, but we got rid of it,

23:27and as a result of my ancestors being brought

23:30to this country aboard a slave ship,

23:34I was born in Illinois,

23:36raised and educated in Wisconsin and in California,

23:39and now have a beautiful life in Colorado.

23:41The country doesn't owe me anything.

23:43If anything, it's the other way around.

23:46[Tension-building music playing]

23:48♪

23:56Codrington: The Electoral College changes history,

23:58undoubtedly.

23:59The Southerners...

24:01end up winning, big.

24:04Anderson: You have folks who are being counted

24:06for representation who cannot be citizens of the United States.

24:10Finkelman: 1800, Thomas Jefferson gets

24:14eight more electoral votes than John Adams

24:17and is elected president.

24:20Cobb: But we don't really talk about the fact

24:22that Thomas Jefferson derived

24:25so much of his power

24:27from Southern voters

24:29who were being subsidized by the Three-Fifths Compromise.

24:33Amar: Ordinary Americans take a look at this and they say,

24:36"Wait a minute. Jefferson is winning

24:39"by eight electoral votes, but 12 electoral votes

24:42"are just because of slavery. Gee, if you took those out

24:45of the equation, Adams would have won that."

24:47Finkelman: So, if we ask the question,

24:50"Does the Three-Fifths Clause folded

24:53into the Electoral College matter?"

24:56it matters very much

24:58because it elects Thomas Jefferson president,

25:01the great slaveholder, who spends

25:04his entire eight years as president

25:07doing everything he can to further

25:09the interest of American slavery and to fight

25:13against anything which would have given equality

25:16or fairness even to free African Americans,

25:20as well as, of course, fighting

25:22against anything that would harm slavery.

25:25Woman: Thomas Jefferson rides into the Temple of Liberty

25:28on the shoulders of slaves.

25:31Finkelman: The Electoral College becomes a vehicle

25:34for empowering Southern slaveowners

25:39in electing members

25:41of their own class to the presidency.

25:44Amar: So that's the most dramatic moment

25:46in American history, where Americans see

25:49the pro-slavery skew,

25:51the pro-slavery bias, if you will,

25:54of the Electoral College system...

25:55on the backs of the Three-Fifths Clause

25:57that gave the South disproportionate power.

26:01Because it's padding the electoral power

26:04of the South,

26:06ten of the first dozen presidents

26:09are slaveholders.

26:11♪

26:14America.

26:15West: What is America's destiny?

26:17What is best for our nation, our people?

26:20Reporter: Kanye West will be on Colorado's ballot

26:23in November. [Dramatic music playing]

26:24West: I am Kanye West,

26:26and I approve this message.

26:29Jake Tapper: He has members of the Republican establishment

26:31to thank. Reporter: Republicans have

26:33assisted West in getting on the ballot in several states.

26:35Many believe it's an attempt to siphon votes from Joe Biden.

26:39Man: Got it. I think I got it.

26:43[Plucky music playing]

26:45♪

26:48I'm Kit MacLean, and I am an elector

26:52for Kanye West in the 2020 election.

26:55I'm hoping this changes the course of my destiny.

26:58I'm hoping this is my calling,

27:01and, uh...

27:03maybe I'll meet a Kardashian or...um, a West.

27:07Maybe this will be what

27:09skyrockets my career and my life.

27:11I moved to Denver in May 2019.

27:15I eventually got into a house

27:18with a few kids my age, and one of them

27:20has a history in Republican politics.

27:23And his former boss

27:26reached out to him about being an elector

27:28for Kanye West, and he asked me

27:30if I wanted to sign this form, too,

27:32and that was that. It was pretty quick.

27:34Yeah, I do think they're trying to manipulate the system a bit

27:38and leverage the Electoral College

27:41so that Trump could potentially win Colorado,

27:44a state that would very likely go to Biden otherwise.

27:48If it wasn't going to be me that signs it,

27:50it'd be someone else. I can tell my friends and family

27:54I'm an elector for Kanye West. How weird is that?

27:56If Kanye West called me, that'd be pretty cool.

27:58I don't know what I'd do with that.

28:00I'd probably ask him to, like...say something

28:04for my voicemail, so I'd have an outgoing,

28:07"Hey, this is Kanye West. You reached Kit's voicemail."

28:09That'd be pretty cool.

28:12But it is definitely surprising to see

28:14that someone like me can just sign my name.

28:17I'm just some guy, so...

28:19[Puck clattering]

28:21[Puck hits goal post]

28:24[Tension-building music playing]

28:26♪

28:33[Music building]

28:35♪

28:38Anchor: More than enough signatures have now been

28:40gathered by a group trying to overturn a new Colorado law

28:43that would award all of our Electoral College votes

28:46to the winner of the popular vote

28:47in the presidential election.

28:49Woman: This is bad for rural parts of the state

28:51because let me tell you, if this Compact goes into place,

28:54they are going to fly over Colorado.

28:57Foote: The right to vote is precious.

28:59We should ensure that every vote

29:01and every voter is counted.

29:03[Music gently fades]

29:07Hi!

29:07Woman: Well, hello.

29:09How are you?

29:11I know. Hi!

29:13Voice-over: I'm Rose Pugliese. I'm a Mesa County Commissioner

29:16and one of the proponents of the National Popular Vote

29:20repeal movement in Colorado, which is on our Colorado ballot

29:24as Proposition 113.

29:26One day, I leave my building,

29:29I'm walking down Main Street in Grand Junction,

29:31and literally on my way to lunch that day,

29:33five people stopped me and they said, "Rose,

29:36"how are you going to stop the National Popular Vote

29:38from coming into law in Colorado?"

29:41But we hit the ground running.

29:43I mean, we had over 2,200 grassroots volunteers.

29:46I mean, we exceeded 228,000 signatures.

29:50Foote: We're fine with it being on the ballot, of course.

29:53I mean, it would be kind of weird for us to say

29:56we don't want people to vote on the National Popular Vote.

29:58Now I'm working with the Yes on National Popular Vote campaign

30:02because we want to make sure that the voters of Colorado

30:05approve what we did in the legislature

30:07and what the governor signed back in 2019.

30:09So there's one volunteer that really stands out.

30:12This woman is my friend, who is now running for Congress.

30:15I mean, this effort inspired her to run for Congress.

30:17Emcee: And she's gonna take an oath

30:19to uphold the Constitution

30:22of the United States of America,

30:24so help her God. Man: Yeah!

30:27[Applause and cheering] Emcee: Folks, let's give

30:29a big Montezuma County welcome to Lauren Boebert.

30:31Woman: Yeah! [Cheering and whistling]

30:33Boebert: You motivated me to get involved,

30:36to save our Electoral College votes.

30:39Your votes for president were stolen.

30:42We got the National Popular Vote Compact on the ballot

30:46so we can repeal that garbage legislation.

30:49Yeah!

30:50[Cheering and whistling]

30:52[Bright music playing]

30:54[Overlapping chatter]

30:56♪

30:59All: "We, the people of the United States,

31:02"in order to form a more perfect union,

31:05"establish justice,

31:07"ensure domestic tranquility,

31:09"provide for the common defense,

31:11"promote the general welfare,

31:14"and secure the blessings of liberty

31:16"to ourselves and our prosperity

31:19"do ordain and establish this Constitution

31:22for the United States of America."

31:25Woman: And we're here today because at noon,

31:29from sea to shining sea, bells rang throughout America

31:33in celebration of the United States Constitution

31:36on September 17, 1787.

31:40Woman: Now!

31:42[Cowbells clanging]

31:44♪

31:48[All cheering]

31:50[Clanging fades]

31:52Video narrator: When Americans go to the polls to vote

31:55for the president, they're not actually voting

31:57for the president. Instead, they're...

31:59McCracken: Me personally, even though I'm grateful

32:02to be an elector and be a part of the process

32:04of getting my candidate on the ballot in Colorado,

32:08I don't think I'm qualified; I'm an 18-year-old,

32:12it's the first election that I'm voting in,

32:16and nobody really has a say in who their electors are.

32:20It's kind of a terrible system

32:22if this random person like me

32:24can become an elector and potentially

32:28have a say in who's president,

32:30bigger than any other voice in the country.

32:34Baca: This was from 1967.

32:36This was when I-- when Cesar came to Colorado.

32:40I was still working at the White House

32:42for the Johnson administration.

32:44You know, that was when I was young.

32:47This was when I co-chaired

32:49the Democratic National Convention.

32:52I co-chaired the Convention

32:54in both 1980 and 1984.

32:57I was Special Assistant

32:58to Bill Clinton

33:00when he was president.

33:01I headed the Office of Consumer Affairs,

33:04and, of course, Hillary Clinton,

33:06who I love dearly.

33:08And quite to my surprise, I was able to meet

33:10Pope John Paul II,

33:12who is now a saint of the Catholic Church.

33:15So, on my wall, I have

33:18a new saint, several presidents,

33:21a Speaker of the House, and a member

33:24of the United States Supreme Court.

33:26And some governors.

33:28Baca: It is, um, Alex's Halloween birthday party.

33:33Man: "Open Zoom."

33:33Heh heh!

33:35There's our family.

33:38There's Tia.

33:38Yeah.

33:40This is kind of fun.

33:44Woman: Make your comments. Man: All right, well...

33:51[All laugh]

33:59[Guitar playing over Zoom] Man: So I'm gonna take

34:01you all on a cruise. Here's the story.

34:04♪ The first day, he got drunk ♪

34:16Baca: That's right.

34:24Alex: ♪ Oh, I feel so broke up ♪

34:28♪ I wanna go home ♪

34:31Barragan: ♪ I wanna go home ♪

34:44Baca: Oh.

34:44Man on Zoom: Ha ha!

35:05I really want to wish Alex

35:07a happy 79th birthday.

35:10And next year, next year, Alex,

35:12we are going to celebrate our 80th.

35:15[Holds a long, enthusiastic note]

35:18Oh, my. Good.

35:19Alex on Zoom: Yeah!

35:19Oh, yes.

35:21Oh, for heaven's sake.

35:23Barragan: That's beautiful. I love it.

35:26[Gentle music playing]

35:27♪

35:30Wegman: Black Americans have been disenfranchised,

35:34either officially or unofficially,

35:36for virtually all of American history,

35:38and the Electoral College has facilitated that.

35:41Anderson: After the Civil War, it looks like,

35:44"Ooh, it's better."

35:46It looks like you're going to see

35:48the end of the Three-Fifths Clause.

35:51And this is important. As Black people have the right

35:53to vote, they will be given their full power

35:56to influence the way that our government operates

35:59or what policies get enacted.

36:02Codrington: But, in 1876,

36:06Black people were...

36:09Hmm.

36:11[Nervous laugh] In 1876,

36:13Black people were sold down the river.

36:15Cobb: You have Rutherford B. Hayes

36:19competing against Samuel J. Tilden.

36:22There are disputes about what

36:24the actual electoral tally should be

36:27from a number of states, including Florida,

36:30Louisiana, and South Carolina.

36:33Finkelman: There is two sets of returns

36:35for three states,

36:37one saying the Democrat wins, one saying the Republican wins.

36:41Massive violence and fraud,

36:43anger on all sides.

36:45Many Southern whites had said that if Hayes wins,

36:49that they're ready to start the Civil War all over again.

36:52Cobb: With this state of affairs,

36:55it is impossible to determine

36:57who is the winner in the Electoral College.

36:59Finkelman: Congress appoints an electoral commission.

37:03In the backrooms of Congress,

37:06a compromise is reached.

37:08It's known as the Compromise of 1877,

37:11and the compromise is Hayes becomes president,

37:14and Hayes withdraws

37:16the last remaining federal troops

37:18from South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana,

37:22which were the three contested states.

37:25Reconstruction has come to an end

37:28because there's no more federal presence

37:30to protect Black voters,

37:33former slaves,

37:36new Black American citizens

37:38from violence from Southern whites.

37:42Edwards: That sets the stage for what we call the era

37:45of Jim Crow, and we entered a new era

37:49of repression and suppression

37:52and segregation.

37:55They went back to not having opportunities,

37:57to not having access to property,

38:00to not enjoying life

38:02as free Americans, which lasted for generations,

38:07and they would not see that until, really, the 1960s.

38:12Cobb: You see the rise of a regime of violence

38:16that is intent upon disenfranchising

38:20Black voters,

38:22re-inscribing social

38:25and political subordination

38:28of the Black population.

38:30So there is nearly a century

38:33in which Black people

38:35are violently removed

38:38from the political equation in the South,

38:40but still counted in the Census

38:43and thereby

38:45in the Electoral College.

38:48It means

38:50that you are counting 100%

38:52of the Black population when it comes

38:54to determining the size of congressional delegations

38:58or the number of seats that any given state

39:00should have in Congress.

39:03But if you terrorize those people out of voting,

39:06you now have even more

39:09of a political subsidy being given

39:12to Southern white voters than they had

39:15in 1860, before the start of the Civil War.

39:17[Music building, bells tolling]

39:20♪

39:29[Music fades]

39:31[Squeaking and barking]

39:33[Traffic passing nearby]

39:41Foote: Well, good morning, everyone.

39:43Thanks a lot for joining us.

39:45We'll be marching today, and we need

39:47to make sure that one person equals one vote...

39:49Woman: Yes. Foote: that the most votes wins,

39:51and that's exactly what the National Popular Vote will do.

39:54At the very least, we're going to get some good steps in.

39:56[Energetic music playing] Marchers: Every vote equal!

39:59Every vote equal! Every vote equal!

40:03Every vote equal! Every vote equal!

40:07Foote, voice-over: A functional democracy is at stake.

40:10The only way to make sure that every vote counts

40:13is to do a national popular vote.

40:15Then, every single vote goes into the grand total,

40:18and no votes are left aside.

40:20The President of the United States should be focusing

40:22on the entire country. That's that person's job,

40:25is to do what's best for America.

40:27[Car horn honks] That's not what's happening.

40:29Under the current system,

40:31the winning candidate for president focuses

40:33very much on farmers in Wisconsin

40:35because that's a swing state, or they focus

40:38on the tourism industry in Florida because that's

40:40a swing state, but that may not

40:42be in the best interest

40:43of all of the country.

40:45Once people are under the new system,

40:47and they see that their vote actually matters, I have

40:49a hard time thinking they're going to want to go back.

40:52[Energetic music fades]

40:56Pugliese: Tonight's event is Pizza and Politics.

40:59It's a group in Montrose, Colorado,

41:02and tonight is specifically dedicated

41:05to the National Popular Vote.

41:12[Keys clatter]

41:16[Horse snorting, overlapping chatter]

41:22Pugliese, voice-over: I think Colorado losing its identity

41:25is really what's most at stake.

41:27♪

41:33Coloradans should be in control of our votes

41:36for president!

41:38Our votes are personal to us, and we felt

41:40like they were stolen by the legislature

41:42and stolen by the governor.

41:45What it does is give our nine Electoral College votes

41:48so that the winner of the national popular vote

41:50would get our Electoral College votes.

41:52[Metal gate clanging] Woman: Good.

41:55Pugliese: When you ask people, "Do you want to give your vote

41:58"for president to California and New York,

42:01as opposed to Coloradans?"

42:02people say, "No, that's a stupid idea!"

42:05Why would we give up that voice and our vote

42:08and our influence to a place like higher-population centers

42:11like California and New York?

42:13The system we have in place,

42:15the Electoral College, is a good system,

42:17and we need to continue to protect that.

42:21♪

42:25[Music fades]

42:27[Keyboard keys tap]

42:29Boebert: Liberals cheered on March 15, 2019,

42:32when Governor Jared Polis signed

42:35the National Popular Vote Compact.

42:37I fought hard to repeal this dangerous scheme.

42:40This November, tell them, "Hell no,

42:43they can't steal our votes for president."

42:45I'm Lauren Boebert. I'm running for Congress,

42:47and I approve this message.

42:49[Acoustic guitar on video playing a country tune]

42:52Man: ♪ The way we choose our president ♪

42:54♪ Is really quite bizarre ♪

42:57♪ You see, you like blue, but you live in a state ♪

43:00♪ Where most of the people vote red ♪

43:03♪ You might as well stay home on election day ♪

43:05♪ And do something else instead ♪

43:08♪ Or if you like red, but you happen to live ♪

43:11♪ In a state where the people vote blue ♪

43:13♪ Your vote won't matter in the final count ♪

43:16♪ No matter what you say or do ♪

43:18♪ I say everybody's vote should count ♪

43:20♪ Everybody's vote should count! ♪

43:23♪

43:30[Plays a cheery cord]

43:31[Pensive music playing]

43:33♪

43:36Edwards: Political equality is at the core

43:38of democratic theory.

43:41Indeed, it's virtually impossible to imagine

43:43a discussion or a description of democracy

43:47that doesn't put political equality

43:49at the core of the democratic process.

43:54There is no prominent democratic theorist

43:57who disagrees with the notion

44:00of political equality-- one person, one vote.

44:05The Electoral College violates the principle

44:08of political equality,

44:10and it counts some people's votes more

44:12than other people's votes, simply depending

44:15on which side of a state line

44:17they happen to cast their vote.

44:20California has over 39 million people

44:23and 54 electors,

44:25while a small state like Wyoming

44:26has about 580,000 people

44:28and 3 electors.

44:30That means each elector

44:32in California represents

44:33723,000 people,

44:35and each elector in Wyoming

44:37represents only 194,000.

44:40The bottom line is that each voter in Wyoming

44:43wields nearly 4 times as much power

44:46when it comes time to choose the president,

44:48and nearly 4 times as much power as a voter

44:51in Texas, New York, and Florida.

44:54Right now, candidate campaigning

44:56is very highly concentrated.

44:58Virtually all of it will take place

45:00in maybe 14 battleground states.

45:03Wegman: They spend almost all of their time in those states.

45:06Virtually all of their money, all of their campaigning,

45:09all their advertising dollars gets focused

45:11on maybe a half-dozen states every 4 years,

45:15to the exclusion of the rest of the country.

45:19It means that nobody else

45:21in any other part of the country,

45:2380% of Americans in all the states

45:25that are not battleground states are essentially ignored.

45:29And that's the real impact of the Electoral College

45:33on the country and its politics today.

45:36[Pensive music playing]

45:38♪

45:48[Distant shouting]

45:49McCracken: This election season has been

45:52concerning, scary,

45:54exciting.

45:56We could win

45:58the presidential election

46:00from a technical standpoint,

46:03but America can't hear our voice

46:05because we're being shut out of the debates.

46:08It's the same thing with the Electoral College.

46:10You know, you have

46:12the Democrats and Republicans

46:14working together to keep this institution upheld,

46:18so that we can mitigate

46:22any progressive,

46:23libertarian voices

46:26and keep them out of the public eye.

46:28[News theme music]

46:29Anchor: Election Day, the day to choose

46:31a new president for a new century.

46:34Dan Rather: Whew! What a night.

46:36There's an old song that might've been written

46:37about this unprecedented and still undecided election.

46:40First you say you do, and then you don't.

46:42Then you say you will, and then you won't.

46:45Tom Brokaw: It looks probable that Al Gore could win

46:47the popular vote yet and still lose the electoral vote.

46:51Commentator: If it turns out that Al Gore wins

46:54the popular vote nationally, there will be intense pressure

46:57in this country to have him become the president.

47:01Most people think the guy with the most votes wins.

47:04Reporter: In the end, though, Gore did get

47:06more popular votes nationwide, he lost the Electoral College,

47:09the first candidate to do this since Grover Cleveland in 1888.

47:14Wegman: Think about 2000.

47:16The country was on tenterhooks for more than a month...

47:19Protestors: Stop the fraud! Stop the count...

47:21Wegman: trying to figure out whether Al Gore

47:23or George W. Bush had won Florida.

47:25Reporter: Board members did decide to count

47:27only the 10,000 votes missed by machines.

47:31Republican protesters chased after them,

47:33demanding to see the process.

47:35Crowd: Let us in! Let us in! Let us in...

47:39Man: You guys have got to go. You've got to go.

47:40Wegman: We had counts, we had recounts.

47:42Man: Let us stay.

47:44Wegman: We had lawsuits.

47:46We went up to the Supreme Court. It went back down.

47:47It went up to the Supreme Court again.

47:49Anchor: The nation and the world still wait and watch

47:51for a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

47:53Demonstrators: Every vote counts...

47:55Wegman: It was a really dramatic and tense

47:58and traumatic time for the country.

48:00And yet, on election night, we knew who had won

48:04the popular vote in the country.

48:06Protestors: Gore got more! Gore got more! Gore got more...

48:10Wegman: It was Al Gore by more than half a million ballots.

48:13Protestors: Gore got more! Gore got more!

48:15Woman: I believe in Democracy!

48:17Woman: So do I!

48:19Wegman: The same is true in 2016.

48:21We knew who won the popular vote.

48:24Woman: Members of the Electoral College,

48:26you have time to change your mind.

48:29You have time to save this country

48:31and prevent catastrophic damage to the world.

48:33Reporter: The debate over the value

48:35of the Electoral College has intensified this year,

48:37in part because Hillary Clinton won the popular vote

48:41by almost three million votes.

48:43Reporter: President-elect, who once blasted

48:45the Electoral College as a disaster for democracy,

48:49now praising the system.

48:50Trump: I never appreciated it until now,

48:52how genius it was, what they had in mind.

48:55Hillary Clinton now says she wants

48:57the U.S. Electoral College system abolished

48:59after losing it.

49:01Reporter: From Washington to Arkansas to North Carolina,

49:04one last attempt to get electors to change their votes.

49:08Wegman: You had a whole movement of people trying

49:11to subvert the functioning of the Electoral College.

49:14Reporter: About 4.5 million people have signed

49:17that petition calling for an end to the Electoral College.

49:19They want the College to anoint Hillary Clinton as president.

49:22Wegman: What resulted was a movement

49:24among Democratic electors who look at what's happened,

49:28and they say, "We are the last defense

49:31against Donald Trump in the Oval Office."

49:33Tucker Carlson: Some electors believe it is possible to hand

49:35the presidency over to someone other than Donald Trump.

49:37Could this actually happen? Should it happen?

49:40Reporter: A lot of people are asking that very question.

49:41Keep this in mind-- in some states,

49:43electors can do whatever they want.

49:46Elector: To keep this promise, I believe

49:48I must cast my vote for an alternative Republican.

49:52Elector: We believe we have a responsibility

49:54to the Constitution as electors.

49:56Reporter: Some electors say they will break rank,

49:58and that includes Polly Baca.

50:00Baca: You know, I'm Roman Catholic,

50:02and I have a moral obligation to follow my conscience.

50:05Yes, I would be willing to go to jail.

50:07Wegman: That's a measure of stability

50:09that the Electoral College undermines.

50:11Reporter: A chaotic scene in Wisconsin today.

50:13Crowd: Shame! Shame....

50:15Woman: Every one of you, You're pathetic!

50:16You don't deserve to be in America!

50:18Reporter: Protesters shouting down electors

50:20as they cast their votes for Donald Trump.

50:23Man: Shame on you! Shame!

50:25Shame! Shame!

50:26Protestors: Shame on you!

50:30[Playful music]

50:31Reporter: No one really knows

50:33what a Kanye West political supporter looks like.

50:35We reached out to all nine people

50:36who signed up to be Kanye's electors.

50:38We got seven voicemails,

50:39one: "Hey, talk to the campaign, not me,"

50:42and this response: "The democratic process

50:44"in this country should be inclusive,

50:45"and everybody should have a shot.

50:46The more, the merrier."

50:47Maclean: Today's the day before the election,

50:49Monday the 2nd.

50:50And, um...nothing's really changed in my life.

50:54I have not heard from Kanye West yet.

50:58Unfortunately, I'm not on his list of things

51:01or people to talk to.

51:02Woman: But, see, you should--should be.

51:04MacLean: I should be.

51:05Because had he been the most popular vote,

51:07you'd have been the one who helped him...

51:08MacLean: Are you on Twitter? Can you tweet him for me?

51:10Woman: I'm not on Twitter.

51:11MacLean: Unfortunately, he has not called me.

51:14Neither has Kim.

51:17And it doesn't seem like they're polling too well.

51:19I don't have high hopes for Kanye.

51:22Rick Klein: People around him say he's serious about this,

51:24and that he actually is running for president,

51:26even though he has no mathematical chance

51:27to functionally win enough electoral votes.

51:29A lot of people around him...

51:31Maclean: I did not vote for him.

51:32Can't say who I voted for, but it wasn't Kanye.

51:35[Drop box door opens]

51:39♪

51:46[Radio turns on]

51:48Reporter: This has been an unprecedented

51:49and hard-fought race.

51:51A year and a half of surreal campaigning,

51:53and now today, it is up to the Election Day voters

51:56to bring this race across the finish line.

51:59With Election Day finally here, overnight,

52:01the candidates making their final pitch.

52:04♪

52:06With a narrow path to victory ahead of him,

52:08Trump's focus is on the electoral system,

52:11claiming that the election could be stolen from him.

52:13♪

52:15They are very, truly, cautiously optimistic

52:19about these polls, but they do see several paths to 270

52:22that are encouraging for them.

52:24♪

52:26But this morning, both sides are gearing up

52:28for potential legal battles over the results

52:31and a fight for the White House

52:32that could last far beyond Election Day.

52:35♪

52:37Reporter: Just two more hours before the ballot drop boxes

52:39around Colorado will be locked and the polls are closed.

52:42Different reporter: Yeah, it is election day...

52:43Butler: I want you all to take a deep breath.

52:45Woman on Zoom: We're here. It's Election Day.

52:50And you've waited a long time to get to this day.

52:53The hardest thing right now is

52:55to deal with the fear and the trepidation.

52:58But what you need to replace that with

52:59is faith and hope and love,

53:02because we're going to have to love on some people

53:04that we really don't love right now, OK?

53:06Rev. Harkins: So in that spirit,

53:08let's join our hearts in prayer.

53:10Loving and gracious God, you have sustained us.

53:12You have guided us. You have hemmed us in.

53:15You have lifted us up throughout this journey.

53:18Anchor: Once the ballots are added and the votes counted,

53:21there's only one number that matters in the end.

53:24That number is 270.

53:26That's how many electoral votes it takes to win.

53:28♪

53:30Polls are closed in Colorado,

53:32and the first results are in on the biggest races

53:34that we are watching.

53:35This is Proposition 113 to have

53:37Colorado join the National Popular Vote Compact,

53:41and it currently leads 56% to 44%.

53:43McCracken: It is the evening of the election.

53:47Wilburn: So, what you see here is

53:48a gathering of friends and neighbors

53:51from here in Colorado Springs,

53:52all of us politically active

53:55in one way, shape, form, or another.

53:57Maclean: It's Election Day.

53:59We got a little watch party going, and it appears

54:02Kanye West is not doing too well.

54:04He hasn't won any states so far.

54:07Baca: You know, in any other election year,

54:09I would be getting ready to go to election night parties.

54:12Because of the pandemic, it's not going to happen this year.

54:16And certainly, at my age, I wouldn't feel comfortable.

54:19I'm staying at home.

54:20Reporter: People are on edge. And you can see,

54:22by the looks of it, a lot of business owners

54:24are on edge, too, but some are still...

54:27Baca: I was just notified that our building manager

54:30has hired a security officer, and so there is real concern

54:34about demonstrations and, apparently, violence.

54:39Wilburn: My prediction is I believe Trump will win.

54:42I believe he will win with over 300 Electoral College votes.

54:46Trump is rough, gruff, bombastic, and a non-politician.

54:51And I think that's a big--I know that's a big part of his appeal.

54:55Trump's a jerk, but he's our jerk.

54:59Maclean: I'm pulling for maybe an upset here.

55:02I'm thinking maybe Colorado maybe could go yellow.

55:06Maybe Kanye can pull out a last-minute effort.

55:09Wilburn: If Colorado goes to Biden,

55:10then my job as an elector is over.

55:13These guys, these guys can follow around somebody else.

55:18Anchor: Yes, Biden will also win...

55:20Wilburn: Man, they're calling these.

55:22It's only 7:00!

55:24Anchor: Steve, I got one you may be interested in.

55:26Colorado, nine electoral votes.

55:28Take back what I said about a flip.

55:31McCracken: Colorado is pretty solid, decided for blue,

55:34so it looks like I will not be casting my vote

55:36in the Electoral College, which was pretty expected.

55:39I was expecting that.

55:41Anchor: OK, timeout. This is a big development.

55:44The Fox News Decision Desk is calling Arizona for Joe Biden.

55:48Biden picking up Arizona changes the math.

55:51Baca: I wanted it to be a blowout for Biden,

55:54but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

55:56I think he's still going to win

55:58but not with the overwhelming amount

56:02that I wanted him to win with.

56:04Anchor: Well, look at this. Sorry to interrupt.

56:07NBC News is projecting Donald Trump will be

56:10the ultimate winner in Florida and its 29 electoral votes...

56:12Baca: This is getting too close. This is scary.

56:15I think I'm going to need a drink--ha ha!--

56:18to get through this.

56:21Oh, it'd be so horrible if Trump won again.

56:25That would just be the end of our democracy. Mm.

56:29McCracken: So it's very concerning at this stage

56:32that the polls, again, seem very wrong.

56:35Oh, my gosh. I don't--I don't even know what to say.

56:38I'm going to be up for at least three or four more hours.

56:43Wilburn: Hopefully, I just hope and pray

56:46that this thing doesn't come down to lawsuits in one state,

56:50and it would be horrible for the country.

56:52It would be horrible for everybody.

56:54Maclean: I've not seen a good point in favor

56:56of the Electoral College.

56:58I think what happens is that throughout history,

57:01the more I've, like, looked into it,

57:02whatever political party benefits from it, defends it.

57:07So that's kind of what's happening.

57:09I think it's kind of a stupid system.

57:11I'm--ha!-- I'm an elector for Kanye West,

57:14so that should say everything.

57:16It's a really stupid system.

57:17Baca: Oh, my knees.

57:20OK, honey. I'm going to go to bed.

57:22[Indistinct conversations, news reports continuing]

57:25Man: See ya, Jim.

57:26-Good night, Jim. -Drive safely, young man.

57:28-Great to see you again. -Good night.

57:30Good night. Thanks.

57:31Anchor: Arnon, we're getting a lot of incoming here,

57:34and we need you to answer some questions.

57:36Mishkin: Shoot.

57:37Anchor: Arizona. Are you 100% sure of that call

57:40and when you made it, and why did you make it?

57:42It's really insane how close

57:44the Electoral College makes a race like this.

57:48I'm just going to call my night here and get some sleep.

57:54Wolf Blitzer: After four long, tense, days,

57:57we've reached a historic moment in this election.

58:01We can now project the winner of the presidential race.

58:05♪

58:08CNN projects Joseph R. Biden Jr...

58:11...has won the Keystone State, Pennsylvania,

58:14and its 20 electoral votes.

58:16Anchor: Putting him over the 270 electoral votes

58:19he needs to become...

58:21...the 46th president of the United States,

58:24winning the White House

58:25and denying President Trump a second term.

58:28Anchor: Keep in mind the Trump campaign is

58:30in the midst of waging legal challenges

58:33in several states, but the path is clear

58:36for the new president-elect.

58:38[Marching band plays, people cheering]

58:42[Upbeat music]

58:44♪

58:53Man: You support that?

58:55You are a special kind of [bleep] stupid!

58:58Shut the [bleep] up!

59:01[Bleep] loser!

59:02Oh, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme.

59:05♪

59:13Whoo!

59:15Whoo!

59:18[Cheering, horns honking]

59:22♪

59:27Crowd: Donald Trump, you about to lose!

59:29Donald Trump, you about to lose!

59:32♪

59:42♪

59:58Woman: That's what's [bleep] bull-[bleep]!

1:00:01♪

1:00:09[Chanting, music fade]

1:00:14Pugliese: We were glad that it was so close.

1:00:17However, obviously, we were not victorious

1:00:20on the ballot question.

1:00:22What we're hoping is our movement will inspire

1:00:24other people in other states

1:00:26to also push back on their legislatures

1:00:29to maybe get out of the Compact.

1:00:31But the Compact doesn't take effect until there are

1:00:33270 Electoral College votes.

1:00:36It's my understanding with Colorado,

1:00:38they're at 196.

1:00:40So, until they get to the 270,

1:00:43it won't be ripe for a constitutional challenge.

1:00:45And that's where I believe this will be headed.

1:00:54Foote: After the election, I've been mainly relieved.

1:00:57The fact that now the National Popular Vote proponents

1:01:00around the country can go around and say

1:01:02not only have 15 states plus D.C.

1:01:04signed on to this thing, but also,

1:01:06it passed a statewide vote in Colorado.

1:01:09So we had

1:01:10over 1.5 million Coloradans agree with us.

1:01:12The legislature can pass something

1:01:14and people can always question

1:01:15whether or not the majority of Coloradans

1:01:16would actually support it.

1:01:18But in this case, the speculation is over.

1:01:20You know, obviously it feels really good that we

1:01:23had the majority of Coloradans on our side.

1:01:25I think it really puts a big exclamation mark on it,

1:01:28and that feels really good.

1:01:32[Horse nickers]

1:01:36[Birds chirping]

1:01:39♪

1:01:42Baca: Today is, you know, is a special day

1:01:45because we really don't get-- very often get a chance

1:01:49to cast a ballot for President of the United States

1:01:51that's going to end up in the Archives.

1:01:53And that's what happens today.

1:01:55I think it's well-known that I oppose the Electoral College.

1:01:59I see no reason.

1:02:00It's fun to be an elector, and it's nice

1:02:03that I get to put my name on a ballot

1:02:05that's going to be in the Archives,

1:02:06but it's not right.

1:02:08It really isn't right.

1:02:10It shouldn't happen in a democracy.

1:02:13Everybody ought to have this opportunity.

1:02:16♪

1:02:26Polis: We are all so excited

1:02:28about continuing our...

1:02:29the traditions of our democratic republic,

1:02:31and that includes casting Colorado's

1:02:34nine electoral votes for President of the United States

1:02:38for the candidate that won

1:02:40the popular vote in the state of Colorado,

1:02:42Joe Biden for President

1:02:44and Kamala Harris for Vice President.

1:02:45[Applause]

1:02:47You know, in 2012, my friend, the late John Lewis, said,

1:02:52"My dear friends, your vote is precious. Sacred.

1:02:55"It's the most powerful non-violent tool we have

1:02:58to create a more perfect union."

1:03:01♪

1:03:13Colorado casts its nine electoral votes for Joe Biden.

1:03:17[Applause and cheering]

1:03:21♪

1:03:33Baca: I'm hopeful that they will recognize

1:03:36that our votes are now being sent

1:03:39to the United States Congress, where they will be accepted.

1:03:43I have no doubt in my mind that they will be accepted.

1:03:46Reporter: This is what the actual vote

1:03:48for president looks like.

1:03:49Woman: Donald J. Trump received 29 electoral votes.

1:03:52Stacey Abrams: Joseph R. Biden has received 16 votes

1:03:55for President of the United States.

1:03:56[Cheering]

1:03:57Anchor: 538 presidential electors

1:03:59met around the country, pledged to vote

1:04:01for the winner of the popular vote in their states.

1:04:03This process, nearly as old as the nation,

1:04:06has never before received this much attention.

1:04:08No one in the past really paid any attention

1:04:10to this whatsoever.

1:04:12Reporter: It's been broadcast live here across the U.S.

1:04:14as we speak.

1:04:15It's like a football match, you know.

1:04:17President-Elect Biden has now received

1:04:19a majority of electoral votes needed to win the presidency.

1:04:23Reporter: But President Trump still refuses to concede.

1:04:26And today, one of his closest advisers told Fox News

1:04:29that his supporters will conduct their own electoral voting.

1:04:32An alternate slate of electors

1:04:34in the contested states is going to vote,

1:04:36and we're going to send those results up to Congress.

1:04:39Rachel Maddow: Republicans in Georgia

1:04:41and Republicans in Wisconsin and Republicans in Pennsylvania

1:04:44all ceremonially cast fake electoral votes

1:04:48for Donald Trump today.

1:04:49Wegman: Before 2020, I never would have thought that

1:04:51we would see states attempting

1:04:54to erase the votes of their own citizens

1:04:58and flip their electors to the other candidate.

1:05:01-We're electors. We're electors. -We're electors.

1:05:03We are electors...

1:05:05Guard: The electors are already here. They've been checked in.

1:05:07Man: The GOP electors are also on the governor's certificate...

1:05:09Guard: I'm not going to get into a political debate.

1:05:11I'm following orders.

1:05:12It's not a political debate.

1:05:13Cobb: An Electoral College system provides

1:05:16unique opportunities to subvert

1:05:19in ways that we would not likely have seen

1:05:22in a simple majority system.

1:05:24Wegman: But every step of the way,

1:05:26the Electoral College is vulnerable to manipulation.

1:05:29Edwards: Then we have another step,

1:05:31which is counting the votes in Congress.

1:05:33It provided an opportunity for mischief.

1:05:37Reporter: Newly-elected Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert

1:05:40says she will object to the Electoral College results

1:05:42next week.

1:05:44She will join other House Republicans

1:05:45protesting Joe Biden's win over President Trump

1:05:47in November.

1:05:49Boebert: Well, I am one of 535 people who actually can--

1:05:55can have a say in the outcome of the presidential election.

1:05:59[Trap beat over a loudspeaker]

1:06:01Man rapping: ♪ Ay, ay, ay ♪

1:06:02♪ Go, Donald, go, Donald, go! ♪

1:06:04♪ Go, Donald, go, Donald, go! ♪

1:06:06♪ Eight more years! ♪

1:06:09Crowd: ♪ Eight more years! ♪

1:06:10Man: ♪ Lemme hear you like, "Eight more years!" ♪

1:06:12Crowd: ♪ Eight more years! ♪

1:06:14Man: ♪ And you really wanna shake what your mama ♪

1:06:15♪ Shake what your mama gave ya ♪

1:06:19It's already happened.

1:06:21They already count the electoral votes.

1:06:23Reporter: The Electoral College ballots now go to Washington

1:06:26to be counted in a joint session of Congress January 6th.

1:06:30♪

1:06:39Man: ♪ Fight for freedom! ♪

1:06:41Crowd: ♪ Fight for freedom! ♪

1:06:42Man: ♪ We love America! ♪

1:06:45Crowd: ♪ We love America! ♪

1:06:47Man: ♪ Fight for U.S.A.! ♪

1:06:50Crowd: ♪ Fight for U.S.A.! ♪

1:06:52Man: ♪ No socialism! ♪

1:06:55Crowd: ♪ No socialism! ♪

1:06:57Man: ♪ Fight for Trump! ♪

1:06:59[Singing with recording] ♪ And I'm proud ♪

1:07:00♪ To be an American ♪

1:07:02♪ And I'll gladly stand up next to you ♪

1:07:07♪ God bless the U.S.A. ♪

1:07:14Crowd: Whoo!

1:07:20Man: Make some noise!

1:07:23Crowd: Whoo!

1:07:24Wegman: Look at January 6th.

1:07:26What they were demanding was majority rule.

1:07:28They believed that they had won more votes in certain states

1:07:33and that somehow those votes were not counted,

1:07:35so the candidate who should have won

1:07:38based on the popular vote in those states didn't win.

1:07:40That's just a call for majority rule.

1:07:43Man: ♪ Everything's upside down ♪

1:07:46♪ And that just ain't right ♪

1:07:49Tellers will announce the votes cast

1:07:51by the electors for each state.

1:07:53Johnson: The framers of our Constitution recognized

1:07:56that elections were susceptible to corruption.

1:07:57We all know that.

1:07:59So how did they fix it?

1:08:00How did they provide for that?

1:08:01They created the Electoral College as a safeguard,

1:08:04and they expressly empowered state legislatures

1:08:07to ensure the integrity of our unique election system.

1:08:10Men: Send it back! Send it back!

1:08:12Biggs: Thank you, Madam Speaker.

1:08:14I join the objection to counting votes of electors

1:08:16from my home state of Arizona,

1:08:17as well as Georgia, Pennsylvania,

1:08:19Wisconsin, Michigan, and Nevada.

1:08:21Because election integrity is

1:08:23the heart of our American Constitutional Republic.

1:08:25Joe Biden and Kamala Harris

1:08:27are lawfully elected.

1:08:29If you're looking for historical guidance,

1:08:31this is not the one to pick.

1:08:331876: South Carolina, Louisiana,

1:08:37and Florida sent two slate of electors.

1:08:40"With these three states, you give me the electors,

1:08:44I'll kick the Union Army out."

1:08:46The rest is history. It led to Jim Crow.

1:08:49Boebert: Madam Speaker, it is my duty

1:08:51under the U.S. Constitution to object

1:08:52to the counting of the electoral votes

1:08:54of the state of Arizona...

1:08:56Edwards: Even though the states under Republican leadership

1:08:58had certified those votes as being honest, fraud-free,

1:09:03it provided

1:09:05an opportunity for mischief.

1:09:07Anchor: Sean Riley, a top Johnson aide,

1:09:09telling an aide for Vice President Pence

1:09:12that the senator wanted to hand-deliver fake electors

1:09:14for Michigan and Wisconsin.

1:09:17In response, Pence's aide, Chris Hodgson, replies,

1:09:20"Do not give that to him."

1:09:22Man: And anybody associated with the press--

1:09:25MSNBC, Joe Scarborough, Rachel Maddow--

1:09:28you're on our enemy list. You're the first to die!

1:09:32Finkelman: For a democracy to succeed, for a government,

1:09:38as Lincoln put it,

1:09:39"of the people, by the people and for the people,"

1:09:43it has to be a government that the people respect

1:09:48and that the people accept as being legitimate.

1:09:52Protestor: Martial law! Martial law! Martial law!

1:09:56Martial law!

1:09:56Do it!

1:09:58Protestors: Martial law!

1:10:01Wegman: January 6th was all about the Electoral College.

1:10:04No one could've objected to a 7-million-vote victory.

1:10:07And so the Electoral College provides

1:10:10an incentive for fraud because you can win states

1:10:14with much less fraud than winning the entire country.

1:10:17♪

1:10:26Amar: There's nothing in the world

1:10:28quite like the Electoral College.

1:10:31But we're not going to begin to understand it

1:10:33unless we understand our history.

1:10:36♪

1:10:41Anderson: So much of American history

1:10:43is just swaddled in myth.

1:10:45The Founding Fathers, who had this great enlightenment vision

1:10:49of this incredible democracy.

1:10:52These were human beings who were making good choices

1:10:55and bad choices.

1:10:57Many were enslavers.

1:11:00But what you had from the power of that narrative were

1:11:04people were aspiring to the aspiration

1:11:07of what the United States of America said it is.

1:11:11And it is in that battle to make the aspiration

1:11:14line up with the reality that is the story of this nation.

1:11:20When we treat those aspirations as achievements,

1:11:25like "We're already there, we have overcome,"

1:11:27all of the mess that we have not dealt with

1:11:30continues to churn in this society,

1:11:33dragging people down into the depths of despair.

1:11:36They're in recess right now because of us,

1:11:39because of the "protest."

1:11:41[Laughter]

1:11:44[Blowing horn]

1:11:46Man: Mike Pence! Mitch McConnell!

1:11:48Lindsey Graham! Bernie Sanders!

1:11:50AOC! Pocahontas!

1:11:52And [bleep] Harris! Joe Biden!

1:11:55Sniffing kids in your basement with your crack-smoking son!

1:11:59Come out of the basement, pedophile!

1:12:00Crowd: U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

1:12:02Officer: We've lost the line! We've lost the line!

1:12:05[Intense screaming, windows shattering]

1:12:10Man: He's got a gun! He's got a gun!

1:12:13[Gun fires]

1:12:14Man: Your bull-[bleep].

1:12:16You'll twist it and spin it and use it against us!

1:12:18Every patriot out here, at this point, came here

1:12:21totally prepared to die!

1:12:23Don't mess with us 'cause we've had it!

1:12:25Do I make myself clear for the last time?!

1:12:28Woman: We told her five times.

1:12:29We do not want fake media out here!

1:12:32Woman 2: 'Cause you don't give a [bleep] about us.

1:12:34Do you, lady?!

1:12:36Woman 3: Cover your face! Cover your face! Cover--

1:12:40[Recording cuts off]

1:12:44[Somber music]

1:12:48Pence: Today was a dark day in the history

1:12:52of the United States Capitol.

1:12:56We condemn the violence that took place here

1:12:58in the strongest possible terms.

1:13:02We grieve the loss of life in these hallowed halls,

1:13:06as well as the injuries suffered

1:13:09by those who defended our Capitol today.

1:13:12♪

1:13:15For even in the wake of unprecedented violence

1:13:18and vandalism at this Capitol,

1:13:22the elected representatives of the people of the United States

1:13:27have assembled again.

1:13:29♪

1:13:32Let's get back to work.

1:13:34[Applause]

1:13:48Anderson: When we refuse to be disengaged,

1:13:52when we demand to be engaged,

1:13:56we transform this nation for the better.

1:13:59That's the power that we have.

1:14:02♪

1:14:04If you want a vibrant America, then let America speak.

1:14:10♪

1:14:22Man: ♪ O! Say, can you see ♪

1:14:30♪ By the dawn's early light ♪

1:14:37♪ What so proudly we hailed ♪

1:14:44♪ At the twilight's last gleaming ♪

1:14:50♪ Whose broad stripes and bright stars ♪

1:14:57♪ Through the perilous fight ♪

1:15:03♪ O'er the ramparts we watched ♪

1:15:09♪ Were so gallantly streaming? ♪

1:15:16♪ And the rockets' red glare ♪

1:15:22♪ The bombs bursting in air ♪

1:15:29♪ Gave proof through the night ♪

1:15:34♪ That our flag was still there ♪

1:15:41♪ O! Say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave ♪

1:15:55♪ O'er the land of the free ♪

1:16:02♪ And the home of the brave ♪

1:16:22♪

1:16:27[Singers vocalizing]

1:16:30♪