March 17, 2023 • 9 mins
To many, low youth turnout is not a problem, it's the goal. From moving voting booths to splitting congressional districts, politicians are doing all they can to lower voting numbers in young people. Kal Penn discusses why that is and what tactics politicians are taking in this edition of Long Story Short.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Comedy Central. Wow, that's a lot that
we don't know about the twenty twenty four election, like
who the candidates will be, or which campaign fatal or
work is gonna lose. But as someone who headed up
youth issues at the White House, I can tell you
that if history is any indicator, we already know what
(00:21):
one of the big talking points is going to be
every election. It's like, Oh, the young people are coming,
and people are coming, and usually they don't come. They
just don't show up. Are you hearing me? Nieces? I
was having this conversation to night. So this convention was
not there in their twenties, was not made for us.
We didn't, I think, because you don't vote. Yeah, because
you don't vote, never ever vote. Why would people cater
(00:41):
to you if you never come out. Sorry not to
be annoying, but we're with NBC News and I'm just
trying to figure out anybody you're going to vote an
election on November sixth, anybody, anybody, nobody's gonna vote. What
can get younger voters to actually turn out to vote,
you know, out for what he got you? Yeah? Well,
(01:11):
young people aren't going to be voting Now, the point
is the media loves to whine about young people not voting,
but what gets much less attention is that the establishment
feels so threatened by the power of young voters that
they actually try to get them to not vote. To
many the establishment, low youth turnout is not a problem,
(01:32):
it's a goal. And that's what I want to talk
about in the latest installment of Long Story Short. Let's
say that a political party wants to suppress the youth vote.
What are some things they might try to do. Their
best bet is to put restrictions on college students, because
(01:53):
for the most part, they're all young, except for that
one guy who used to sit in the back of
your sociology electric What was this deal? Was that like
an inspiring thing or like a twenty one Jump Street situation? Anyway,
one thing that they try to do is to target
student IDs. In some states, you can't use a school
idea to vote, even though for a lot of students
it's the only thing showing that they live in the states.
(02:15):
And don't tell me that they aren't legitimate residents. Okay,
college students pay local taxes for four years, and the
dumb ones up to six. One of those states is Texas,
where you can't use your student ID to vote, but
you can use your gun permit, which sure feels like
(02:35):
a law made by Republicans to make it easier for
other Republicans to vote. It's basically like a liberal state
letting you vote if you still wear your COVID mask.
Another thing they try to do is move voting booths
off campuses. Now, this is a big deal for college students,
since they're less likely to have a car. If they
do know someone with a car, it's usually that like
(02:56):
kind of hop but sort of sketch dude with a
two thousand and seven Subaru that reeks of weed and
all the seatbelts are missing, and it's just like, is
voting for state Assembly really worth getting car herpies. When
it comes to trying to make polling places inaccessible, the
state of Texas is also at the forefront. Texas Republicans
(03:16):
are pushing a bill that would ban voting booths from
every campus across the states. Voting rights advocates are slamming,
and Texas lawmakers plan to remove polling places from college campuses.
A young voters favored Democrats by nearly a thirty point
margin in the midterms. But the Republican who is behind
this proposal tells ABC thirteens of Brianna Connor, it is
(03:38):
not about that. Republican state representative Carrie Isaac says, it's
a matter of school safety. I don't believe it's wise
that we invite people onto our campuses that would not
otherwise be there. Texas Southern University freshman Jordan Jones points
out that public universities like TSU already have open campuses.
Our library, that's literally right there is azo public Anybody
(04:01):
can go in there and use it, So I feel
like this shouldn't be much of a difference whenever it
comes to voting. She has a good point the libraries
already open to the public, although knowing Texas Republicans that
other ladies just going to be like this student is right,
we should also ban libraries. I realize, thanks you, I
(04:25):
realized that. So far I've given you Republican examples. But
to be fair, that doesn't mean all voter suppression is
committed by Republicans, just like ninety eight percent of it.
But there are Democrats who do engage in voter suppression,
and I know this from personal experience during the Democratic
primary in two thousand and seven, I lobbied a local
election board in North Carolina that wanted to remove voting
(04:48):
machines from a campus where there were a lot of
Obama Democrats and send those machines to a wealthy suburb
where there were a lot of non Obama Democrats. Although
that's obviously not how they put it. They were just like, Okay,
we're doing this because college students are just less likely
to vote than people in the suburbs. And then I
was like, oh, well, maybe college students don't vote because
(05:10):
you keep taking their voting machines away, and then I lost. Sorry.
While those are some of the more common obstacles that
you might encounter as a young voter, it can get
a lot more creative. Welcome to North Carolina A and T.
(05:33):
It's the largest historically black college in the country and
a big Democratic voting block. But when you look at
a congressional map, A and T looks like two separate colleges.
It's split between District six and District thirteen. So if
you move from this dorm over to that dorm, you're
in a different district with different representatives and a different
(05:54):
polling place. By splitting the campus into two separate congressional districts,
it diluted the power of ant's collective voice. So what
was once one congressional district with an African American representative,
it is now two congressional districts with two white Republican legislators.
Have you seen people discourage from voting because of this?
Not only do you get discouragement, there's also not wanting
(06:18):
to register at all. It validates and affirms what young
folks are saying when they say that their votes don't count. Yeah,
that's a bummer. And honestly, I haven't seen college students
that disappointed since they saw me in Van Wilder two.
In my defense, in my defense, that movie paid very well. Yeah,
(06:38):
but look, this is the point of it. All of
this is meant to freeze you out of the process
and discourage you from participating. And I get it. It's
easy as a young person to get demoralized and super high.
I'm not sure why I mentioned that. Sorry, to be
more clear, things are not hopeless. You know that jerrymandering
at A and T, Well, it sparked a student revolt
(07:01):
and after a court order, reunified the school students there
are now voting in record numbers. Now great, and it's
not just that. It's not just that despite all of
those barriers, young voters have shown up big in recent elections.
In fact, last year they may have made all the
difference the gen Zers millennials. They're now voting in record numbers.
(07:25):
Gen Z voters, people born in nineteen ninety seven and
later are lapping their older millennial counterparts. And I know
a lot of people talk about young people talking about
being engaged, but not being engaged. We are seeing engagement.
The energy from these young folks is real. They all
but canceled out the votes of their grandparents, of senior citizens,
(07:45):
who are some of the most reliable voters out there
and also some of the most Republican voters out there.
If not for young people, we have a starkly different result.
We saw not a red wave, we didn't see a
blue wave, but we certainly saw a young voter gen
Z wave, a gen Z wave, not a red wave,
(08:06):
not a blue wave, not a millennial pain wave. So
remember when I said the establishment feels threatened by you, Well,
that's because when you vote, you often get a lot
of the things to happen, marriage equality, climate action, and yes,
we decriminalization. It's young people who overwhelmingly pushed to get
(08:26):
this stuff done, so keep it up. Don't let them
make you feel complacent, because long story short, you're powerful
and that's why they're scared of you, So go make
them scared. Explore more shows from the Daily Show podcast
universe by searching The Daily Show wherever you get your podcast.
(08:46):
Watch The Daily Show weeknights and eleven ten Central Low,
Comedy Central, and stream Flue episodes anytime on Fairmount Bloks.
This has been a Comedy Central podcast. Wow.
You're listening to Comedy Central. Wow, that's a lot that
we don't know about the twenty twenty four election, like
who the candidates will be, or which campaign fatal or
work is gonna lose. But as someone who headed up
youth issues at the White House, I can tell you
that if history is any indicator, we already know what
(00:21):
one of the big talking points is going to be
every election. It's like, Oh, the young people are coming,
and people are coming, and usually they don't come. They
just don't show up. Are you hearing me? Nieces? I
was having this conversation to night. So this convention was
not there in their twenties, was not made for us.
We didn't, I think, because you don't vote. Yeah, because
you don't vote, never ever vote. Why would people cater
(00:41):
to you if you never come out. Sorry not to
be annoying, but we're with NBC News and I'm just
trying to figure out anybody you're going to vote an
election on November sixth, anybody, anybody, nobody's gonna vote. What
can get younger voters to actually turn out to vote,
you know, out for what he got you? Yeah? Well,
(01:11):
young people aren't going to be voting Now, the point
is the media loves to whine about young people not voting,
but what gets much less attention is that the establishment
feels so threatened by the power of young voters that
they actually try to get them to not vote. To
many the establishment, low youth turnout is not a problem,
(01:32):
it's a goal. And that's what I want to talk
about in the latest installment of Long Story Short. Let's
say that a political party wants to suppress the youth vote.
What are some things they might try to do. Their
best bet is to put restrictions on college students, because
(01:53):
for the most part, they're all young, except for that
one guy who used to sit in the back of
your sociology electric What was this deal? Was that like
an inspiring thing or like a twenty one Jump Street situation? Anyway,
one thing that they try to do is to target
student IDs. In some states, you can't use a school
idea to vote, even though for a lot of students
it's the only thing showing that they live in the states.
(02:15):
And don't tell me that they aren't legitimate residents. Okay,
college students pay local taxes for four years, and the
dumb ones up to six. One of those states is Texas,
where you can't use your student ID to vote, but
you can use your gun permit, which sure feels like
(02:35):
a law made by Republicans to make it easier for
other Republicans to vote. It's basically like a liberal state
letting you vote if you still wear your COVID mask.
Another thing they try to do is move voting booths
off campuses. Now, this is a big deal for college students,
since they're less likely to have a car. If they
do know someone with a car, it's usually that like
(02:56):
kind of hop but sort of sketch dude with a
two thousand and seven Subaru that reeks of weed and
all the seatbelts are missing, and it's just like, is
voting for state Assembly really worth getting car herpies. When
it comes to trying to make polling places inaccessible, the
state of Texas is also at the forefront. Texas Republicans
(03:16):
are pushing a bill that would ban voting booths from
every campus across the states. Voting rights advocates are slamming,
and Texas lawmakers plan to remove polling places from college campuses.
A young voters favored Democrats by nearly a thirty point
margin in the midterms. But the Republican who is behind
this proposal tells ABC thirteens of Brianna Connor, it is
(03:38):
not about that. Republican state representative Carrie Isaac says, it's
a matter of school safety. I don't believe it's wise
that we invite people onto our campuses that would not
otherwise be there. Texas Southern University freshman Jordan Jones points
out that public universities like TSU already have open campuses.
Our library, that's literally right there is azo public Anybody
(04:01):
can go in there and use it, So I feel
like this shouldn't be much of a difference whenever it
comes to voting. She has a good point the libraries
already open to the public, although knowing Texas Republicans that
other ladies just going to be like this student is right,
we should also ban libraries. I realize, thanks you, I
(04:25):
realized that. So far I've given you Republican examples. But
to be fair, that doesn't mean all voter suppression is
committed by Republicans, just like ninety eight percent of it.
But there are Democrats who do engage in voter suppression,
and I know this from personal experience during the Democratic
primary in two thousand and seven, I lobbied a local
election board in North Carolina that wanted to remove voting
(04:48):
machines from a campus where there were a lot of
Obama Democrats and send those machines to a wealthy suburb
where there were a lot of non Obama Democrats. Although
that's obviously not how they put it. They were just like, Okay,
we're doing this because college students are just less likely
to vote than people in the suburbs. And then I
was like, oh, well, maybe college students don't vote because
(05:10):
you keep taking their voting machines away, and then I lost. Sorry.
While those are some of the more common obstacles that
you might encounter as a young voter, it can get
a lot more creative. Welcome to North Carolina A and T.
(05:33):
It's the largest historically black college in the country and
a big Democratic voting block. But when you look at
a congressional map, A and T looks like two separate colleges.
It's split between District six and District thirteen. So if
you move from this dorm over to that dorm, you're
in a different district with different representatives and a different
(05:54):
polling place. By splitting the campus into two separate congressional districts,
it diluted the power of ant's collective voice. So what
was once one congressional district with an African American representative,
it is now two congressional districts with two white Republican legislators.
Have you seen people discourage from voting because of this?
Not only do you get discouragement, there's also not wanting
(06:18):
to register at all. It validates and affirms what young
folks are saying when they say that their votes don't count. Yeah,
that's a bummer. And honestly, I haven't seen college students
that disappointed since they saw me in Van Wilder two.
In my defense, in my defense, that movie paid very well. Yeah,
(06:38):
but look, this is the point of it. All of
this is meant to freeze you out of the process
and discourage you from participating. And I get it. It's
easy as a young person to get demoralized and super high.
I'm not sure why I mentioned that. Sorry, to be
more clear, things are not hopeless. You know that jerrymandering
at A and T, Well, it sparked a student revolt
(07:01):
and after a court order, reunified the school students there
are now voting in record numbers. Now great, and it's
not just that. It's not just that despite all of
those barriers, young voters have shown up big in recent elections.
In fact, last year they may have made all the
difference the gen Zers millennials. They're now voting in record numbers.
(07:25):
Gen Z voters, people born in nineteen ninety seven and
later are lapping their older millennial counterparts. And I know
a lot of people talk about young people talking about
being engaged, but not being engaged. We are seeing engagement.
The energy from these young folks is real. They all
but canceled out the votes of their grandparents, of senior citizens,
(07:45):
who are some of the most reliable voters out there
and also some of the most Republican voters out there.
If not for young people, we have a starkly different result.
We saw not a red wave, we didn't see a
blue wave, but we certainly saw a young voter gen
Z wave, a gen Z wave, not a red wave,
(08:06):
not a blue wave, not a millennial pain wave. So
remember when I said the establishment feels threatened by you, Well,
that's because when you vote, you often get a lot
of the things to happen, marriage equality, climate action, and yes,
we decriminalization. It's young people who overwhelmingly pushed to get
(08:26):
this stuff done, so keep it up. Don't let them
make you feel complacent, because long story short, you're powerful
and that's why they're scared of you, So go make
them scared. Explore more shows from the Daily Show podcast
universe by searching The Daily Show wherever you get your podcast.
(08:46):
Watch The Daily Show weeknights and eleven ten Central Low,
Comedy Central, and stream Flue episodes anytime on Fairmount Bloks.
This has been a Comedy Central podcast. Wow.
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.