Vote 2008 - The Takeaway » Segments

Why Not Ohio?

So, what if the Ohio primary went first? Ohio perhaps better represents the U.S. than Iowa or New Hampshire does -- it's more diverse both geographically and racially, it has more people, and it has a better track record for picking winners (the voters in Ohio have been wrong in ...

Mrs. Kunkel’s Fifth Grade Class Redesigns

From Boiling Springs, PA - Mrs. Jan Kunkel's fifth grade class present their election redesign ideas. [mp3]http://audio.wnyc.org/billiondollarpres/billiondollarpres121807b.mp3[/mp3] Mrs. Kunkel's class made posters to go along with their election ideas. Watch this slideshow to get a sense of what's on their minds. Redesign With Mrs. Kunkel's Class

You Call This Democracy?

Tova Andrea Wang is an expert on election reform and a democracy fellow at the Century Foundation. Be sure to check out her report on why the Iowa caucus system is undemocratic. Roberto Lovato is a contributing associate editor with New America Media, a frequent contributor to The Nation and the ...

Election Process Side Effects

Voting is good for you, unless... [mp3]http://audio.wnyc.org/billiondollarpres/billiondollarpres121807r.mp3[/mp3]

Praying for Rain

Daniel Tokaji is a law professor at Ohio State's Moritz College of Law and the associate director of Election Law @ Moritz, which focuses on laws governing elections at all levels. He's one of the authors of the non-partisan report, From Registrations to Recounts: The Election Ecosystems of Five ...

Margin of Error

Charles Stewart is a political science professor at MIT. He's studied elections for a long time and we talked to him about whether you can determine a margin of error for the general election. We asked him if there comes a point where the margin of error is close enough ...

Election Splendor

We talked with Cleveland cartoonist Harvey Pekar about our idea that Ohio should go first. Then, Los Angeles-based community leader and activist Joe Hicks explains why he believes our election systems isn’t so broken that it needs fixing. And, Toledo based blogger, Lisa Renee Ward, says her favorite redesign is instant run-off ...

First Time Voters

Sandip Roy and Odette Keeley from New America Media have recently become American citizens. Their experience of voting in their native countries gives them some interesting suggestions for redesigning a process they will soon be taking part in for the first time, a U.S. presidential election. And, we have a quick ...

Super Tuesday is a Redesign

Mary Ann Giordano is a deputy political editor at The New York Times. She's learned a thing or two about how the pressure on candidates to compete in Iowa and New Hampshire can change their campaigns. She says this year's Super Tuesday (February 5, 2008) when more than 20 states ...

Spending One Billion Dollars

New York Times reporter Leslie Wayne is just back from Iowa. She talks about the explosion of campaign spending taking place. And, is it worth spending so much in Iowa and New Hampshire? [mp3]http://audio.wnyc.org/billiondollarpres/billiondollarpres110707b.mp3[/mp3]

Who Gives?

After combing through Federal Election Commission's documents, John cold-calls two donors. [mp3]http://audio.wnyc.org/billiondollarpres/billiondollarpres110707c.mp3[/mp3]

Campaign Workers in Iowa

Two campaign workers list the towns they'll be visiting as they work their way across Iowa. [mp3]http://audio.wnyc.org/billiondollarpres/billiondollarpres110707d.mp3[/mp3]

America’s Water Cooler

John goes to NYC's Washington Square Park with an actual water cooler to hear what the voters are saying. [mp3]http://audio.wnyc.org/billiondollarpres/billiondollarpres110707e.mp3[/mp3]

The Internet…That Thing’s Still Around?

The presidential election is 12 months away. But on YouTube it’s as good as over... Republican congressman Ron Paul is the new commander-in-chief. At least on YouTube, where he’s the most popular candidate. But this isn’t just a YouTube election, it’s a Facebook, MySpace, blogspot, Flickr, ...

Reaching Latino Voters

There’s massive effort underway to get the more than eight million eligible Latinos to become U.S. citizens, and to register to vote in 2008. John and Adora talk with John Gallegos, President of Grupo Gallegos, an ad agency focusing on the Hispanic market in the U.S. [mp3]http://audio.wnyc.org/billiondollarpres/billiondollarpres110707g.mp3[/mp3]

The Evangelicals’ Dilemma

Evangelical Christians were vital to the 2000 and 2004 elections. Now, many say they're not convinced the GOP hopefuls represent their values. John talks with two of these voters about what they're willing to compromise in '08. [mp3]http://audio.wnyc.org/billiondollarpres/billiondollarpres110707h.mp3[/mp3]

What’s a Young Voter To Do?

John challenges his 20-year-old nephew Nick Hockenberry, a first-year student at University of Iowa, to prove that youth voters can make a difference. [mp3]http://audio.wnyc.org/billiondollarpres/billiondollarpres110707i.mp3[/mp3]

Campaigning 2.0: Ringtones

Are cellphone ringtones the next campaign button? Barack Obama seems to think so. And, Your Billion Dollar President volunteers some ringtones for other candidates and welcomes listeners to create your own. [mp3]http://audio.wnyc.org/billiondollarpres/billiondollarpres110707j.mp3[/mp3]

Campaign Ads

An estimated $800 million will be spent on TV ads in this race. But, a recent study from Princeton University says most voters really stick with their first "gut feeling" about a candidate. So, why are candidates spending so much? We talk with Jeff Goodby, one of the ad execs ...

One Billion Dollars Equals…

From the shadow of Big Ben, BBC reporter Paddy O'Connell looks at what a billion dollars would buy you in terms of elections around the world. [mp3]http://audio.wnyc.org/billiondollarpres/billiondollarpres110707l.mp3[/mp3]