2024 Election Toolkit

Elections are vital to our democracy. But that doesn’t mean they’re simple. From election security to misinformation to gerrymandering, Civics 101 is your guide to how elections work.

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Why vote, and how to do it

The United States is supposed to be a representative democracy. We vote for our leaders, and those leaders represent our interests. But it’s not so straightforward around here. We explore why you should vote anyway, and how to do it.

Disinformation, Misinformation, and Propaganda

In preparation for the upcoming election, we’re going to talk about lies. We dive into the difference between misinformation and disinformation, and how to avoid it. We’ll also talk about our government’s history with propaganda. A version of this episode called Rumors and Lies, the American Version also appeared in our podcast feed.

How Secure Are Our Elections?

Be it suspicion of voter fraud, fear of hackers or the general belief that something is amiss, dozens of states have recently passed laws promising to make elections more secure. So how secure are our elections? We search for the answer to this question, and what these laws mean for voters.

Gerrymandering

The word gerrymandering has become synonymous with weirdly-shaped maps of electoral districts, nefarious political maneuvering, and partisanship. But when did gerrymandering become the norm? Civics 101 explores the complicated history of the gerrymander, and how states draw their district maps. We also talk about the recent Supreme Court case Moore v Harper.

Are we a democracy, or a republic? Why do we have a 2-party system?

Civics 101 has a tagline: we’re a show about the basics of how our democracy works. And there’s a complaint we get pretty often around here, that our tagline contains the word "democracy," but the United States is actually a republic. So...do we need to make a change? We dig into that question, and talk about how our two-party system compares to other countries.