Student Election
From The Simpsons (Season 2, Episode 19)
Categories:
Run time: 3:28
Clip Description: In this Simpson’s clip, Bart runs a popular campaign for class president against Martin Prince.
American Politics Concepts Discussed/Connected To: This clip can be used to discuss elections and campaigning.
Possible Uses in Classroom: This clip can be used in discussions about the Presidency as well as Elections.
Discussion Questions
- A campaign can be popular and still lose. The gap between the people who like a candidate and the people who actually cast a ballot is why modern campaigns spend so much on identifying supporters and getting them to the polls rather than on changing minds. If turnout decides outcomes that reliably, is a low-turnout result still legitimate, and legitimate in whose eyes?
- Bart runs on being fun to be around; Martin runs on being good at the job. Voters who choose on likability get called low-information, but how a person carries themselves is real evidence about how they will behave in office. When is voting on character a shortcut that works, and when does it fail badly?
- Think of an election in which you preferred a candidate and did not vote. What would have had to be different: the day of the week, a ballot in the mail, a registration deadline, someone asking you directly? Whatever you name is a live election-administration proposal. Say whether you would want it made law for everyone, including the voters on the other side.
Clip hosted on Critical Commons.