[upbeat music]
The midterm elections.
They're now just a few weeks away.
And because of that, we are starting to see more
and more news stories about who's gonna vote,
who's not gonna vote, and why.
[Reporter] We headed to the local University
of California campus.
Democrats hopes of winning here hinges, at least in part,
on turning out people of color and young voters.
Sorry, not to be annoying, but we're with NBC News,
and I'm just trying to figure out is anybody here gonna vote
in the election on November 6th?
Anybody? Anybody?
Nobody's gonna vote.
Okay, I dunno if that proves nobody's gonna vote
so much as it proves people don't wanna talk
to some random creepo at the bus stop.
[audience laughs]
Like, if anything, all we've learned is that 20 years
of teaching kids about stranger danger has paid off.
That's it.
But I will say this, this democracy pickup artist,
he's actually getting at something important, right?
This guy's, he's onto something.
When it comes to voting,
one crucial demographic is unenthusiastic AF.
We always talk about who's gonna come out and vote.
You know, what demographic, what group?
Young people usually, historically, they don't show up.
Young people are the least likely to vote.
Young people, as a group,
don't vote in the numbers that older folks do.
Turnout among younger voters
is often below 30% in an election
where people in their 50s and 60s turn out
at 50 to 60% turnout rates.
Old people vote twice as much as young people.
To me, that makes no sense
because young people have to live
with the effects way longer.
Like, if I was old, I wouldn't care.
I'd be gangster about my vote.
Yeah, I'd just be like,
"Well, let's see what this Jill Stein is about.
Who gives a damn? I got five years at best.
Yeah, three years if I drink LaCroix, let's do it."
[audience laughs]
So the question is,
why don't young people want to go to the polls?
Well, to help us get our heads around this,
we are proud to announce our newest "Daily Show" edition,
senior youth correspondent Jaboukie Young-White, everybody.
[audience cheers]
What's up?
-Welcome. -Thank you.
-So great to have you here. -Thank you.
Jaboukie, welcome to the show.
All right, let's get into it, man.
As young people, we know that we should be voting,
but we don't seem to be enthusiastic enough.
So what can we do to increase the turnouts?
Okay, well, first of all, Trevor,
we're gonna need to stop saying we 'cause you're old.
[audience laughs]
Okay, no, no, no, hold up.
-No, no, no, no. -Yeah, kind of.
Don't let the tie fool you.
I'm also the youth. I was born in 1984.
Oh, 1984. Okay, vintage millennial.
-Nice, nice. -[audience laughs]
See, Trevor, I'm young young, you know, you're old young,
kind of like Nick Cannon, you know?
Like, how old is he? 30, 50.
Like, I can't really.
Like, I have young in my name, literally right there.
And your name is Noah.
Like that creepy old guy
who made those animals [beeps] on a boat, you know?
It wasn't a boat, it was an ark, but whatever.
Let's move on.
Like, Jaboukie, I'm trying to get to the bottom of this.
Why aren't more young people excited about voting?
What you should be asking is
why the youth vote is being suppressed.
Oh, of course.
Voter suppression is a big issue in America.
I mean, we saw the Supreme Court ruling about North Dakota,
-disenfranchising- -No, no, no.
You're talking about old people shit again, Trevor.
No, I'm talking about how voting is designed for old people.
Like, why do we still use paper to vote?
Paper is over.
I don't even wipe my ass with paper, you know?
I use a bidet.
And, like, why do I have to go out to vote?
Can't you just Postmates the election to me, you know?
Like, "Oh, Tony will be here in 20 minutes
with my ballot and my seaweed salad?
Dope, okay."
Plus, now they want to require an ID.
Where am I about to get an ID?
Wait, wait, wait. You don't have a driver's license?
[Jaboukie laughs]
Oh my God, Trevor, you are as funny as my mom said.
[audience laughs]
Like, look, I don't need a driver's license.
My Uber driver needs a driver's license.
In fact, if you want my ID, my Uber is the best ID there is.
It's got my face, it's got my rating, 4.8. [laughs]
And all my driver's license will tell you
is where I once live.
My Uber tells you where I'm trying to be, you know?
Like right now I could take any of your phones
and be like, "Oh, they went there, there, and there,
and they took a pool.
They're gonna vote for Bernie, you know?"
[audience laughs]
Okay, but that doesn't explain
the lack of enthusiasm, right?
57% of older people are very excited to go vote.
Yeah, of course they are.
'Cause 57% of their life is just time off.
When you're old, you have the luxury of free time, you know?
Who else can play chess in a park at 4:00 PM?
And why is voting on a Tuesday?
That's the hardest day to take off.
Which reminds me, can I take off next Tuesday?
No, what, dude, no, you just started.
See? That's what I'm talking about.
That's that shit, Trevor.
Jaboukie, there's no election next Tuesday.
What are you talking about?
Okay, look, that's not the point. That's not the point.
[audience laughs]
You want young people to vote?
Make election day a national holiday, you know?
-[audience cheers] -Yes, yes, yes.
Like President's Day or Toyotathon, you know?
Okay, so let me get this right.
If America adopts digital voting,
and if they allow people to do it from home,
and they make election day a national holidays,
then young people will definitely vote?
Oh no. [laughs]
Why would I spend my day off voting?
[audience laughs]
I'm trying to see what this park test is all about.
Jaboukie Young-White, everybody, we'll be right back.
-[audience cheers] -[upbeat music]
American schoolchildren today will have to fix many
of society's problems tomorrow.
But is their education giving them the tools they'll need
to fight for change?
Well, Jaboukie Young-White went to find out.
As the "Daily Show's" youngest correspondent,
I'm most qualified to report on the fact
that civics education in America sucks.
It's so bad, only one in nine schools
require a year of civics classes.
But young activists,
like members of the Providence Student Union,
are demanding higher standards.
Which is why I'm here at a small Rhode Island school
to interview students who are fighting
to fix their education and their futures.
[glass shattering]
After-school spesh.
What's lit, fam?
[Aleita] Who are you?
I'm the new transfer student.
My name is Chad. I am 17.
Your old as [beeps].
No I'm not.
-You smell old. -I'm not old.
After some convincing.
I gained the trust of Ahmed and Aleita.
the student organizers asking
for better civics education in Rhode Island.
Civics is important to me
because I still see that there are people
that are like, "Voting isn't important."
And I think that young people especially
should also understand, like, the way our systems were built
and how the world works.
Like, how can you go about life not knowing your rights
or how to pay taxes, or anything like that?
Okay, but you don't actually have to pay taxes.
That's a myth.
No, you have to pay taxes. Like, you have to pay taxes.
-[audience laughs] -Is this real?
That's why we need civics class in high school.
But I mean, I do civics all the time.
I'm like constantly sending out civic tweets.
I'm like #GreenNewDeal, #Coney2020.
Sometimes if I just need to get all my civics in one tweet,
I'll just say like #Woke and then boom civics.
-That's not even close. -Wow.
You basically just talked about social media.
I mean, let's face it, we're teens.
There's nothing that we can do
to make our school teach us civics.
I kind of have to disagree with you on that.
One, me and Ahmed are teens.
That shirts not fooling anyone.
Two, me and Ahmed, are suing the United States government
for civil classes in all schools.
Wow.
You heard that right.
My same-age friends were suing the government
for civics education in schools.
Aleita and Ahmed are making their case
with the help of Columbia Professor
and oldest person I know, Michael Rebell,
who's been fighting for education equity most of his career.
The U.S. Supreme Court said every child in this country
has a right to an equal educational opportunity.
But kids who come from low-income backgrounds,
many kids of color don't have meaningful opportunities.
So why did you decide to sue Rhode Island
and not a state that everyone hates, like New Jersey?
We looked at what states have the worst education system
when it comes to civics,
and also where would the community be supportive?
If we get the Supreme Court to declare
that there's a national right to education,
state legislatures and school systems will act on it,
it'll make a huge difference.
You know, 50% of the American public
cannot name the three branches of government.
Can you do it?
Federal, Executive, and the Supreme Court.
Notorious RGB.
She's one of nine justices.
Yeah. Nine, yeah.
There RGB, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson-
Wait a minute.
You're mentioning all the actors in "The Avengers."
They are not Supreme Court justices.
I left one off, the Hulk.
Do you even know who your representative in Congress is?
It doesn't really matter about my representative
because I know who my senator is.
It's Bernie Sanders.
I don't think Chuck Schumer's gonna like that answer.
[audience laughs]
Who the [beep] is Chuck Schumer.
He's your senator from New York.
I think you've got a long ways to go on civic knowledge,
I'm sorry to say.
Did I not get an education?
That's the kind of unfortunate reality
that we're trying to grapple with.
Thank you for teaching me that I'm dumb.
-[audience laughs] -Wait a minute.
That is not the message I'm trying to get across.
I hear you loud and clear. I'm a dumbo.
I'm dumb. I'm dumb.
I'm a dumbhead.
You're obviously very smart from our conversation-
Oh my God, they were right.
Boys do go to Jupiter and get more stupider.
-[audience laughs] -I'm gonna be right back.
Okay.
This wise old man made me realize I...
Do you have a hall pass?
We're not in a school building right now.
Okay, well, then can I go to the bathroom?
You can go to the bathroom.
I'm sorry, may I go to the bathroom?
Of course.
[Jaboukie] So maybe us teens
do need better civics education.
And though this case still has a long way to go,
its success will ensure future generations
the education Aleita and Ahmed missed out on.
The ultimate goal for me
is that people are more civically engaged,
and, you know, we have government representation
that reflects the population.
Wow, I learned so much today, and I hope you did too.
Teach out.
-Thought you were a teen. -Class dismissed.
-[calm funky music] -[hoverboard beeping]
-Shit [beeps]. -[audience cheers]
[upbeat music]
It's safe to say that socialism
is having a moment in American politics right now,
and that's freaking a lot of people out.
So we sent our newest correspondent
Jaboukie Young-White to find out why.
[Jaboukie] For years, grumpy old white dudes
have been telling us that socialism is total bullshit.
Socialism leads to decline and ruin.
This system crushes human souls.
But as the "Daily Show's" new senior youth correspondent,
[crowd cheers]
I know that millennials right now
think socialism is totally on trend.
I popped some molly and hit the street to find out why,
even though the olds hate it, the kids love socialism.
I think socialism is great.
I think you should definitely help
whoever you could at any situation.
I'd [beep] with socialism
just 'cause I [beep] with anything
that's helping black people out.
Okay.
So you're socialism-curious?
Yeah, a little. I'm in college.
Right.
Do you hate billionaires?
Low key? Yeah.
You look at Jeff Bezos, he doesn't look human.
I mean, I think the idea of socialism is on point.
I mean, I don't really know what socialism means,
to be completely honest with you.
Oh, it's okay. We're all confused.
If there are only someone we could talk to,
someone with some deep experience on the subject.
When I started doing this sort of piece on socialism,
I knew that there was really only one politician
who I could talk to about it.
So I guess my question is, do you know AOC?
Sure.
And what's her availability like?
If you could put us in touch maybe?
You wanna speak to her?
Yeah, maybe. I just figured, you know?
[Bernie laughs]
Seriously, you can't talk socialism in America
without going to the OG, Senator Bernie Sanders.
I believe in a society where all people do well,
not just the handful of billionaires.
Could he be the oldest millennial in America?
You know that capitalism has given us a bunch
of really dope things, right?
iPhones, cars, hamburgers, "The Avengers" movies,
the opioid crisis.
So why are young people like myself very open to socialism?
Your generation, the younger generation,
will in all likelihood have a lower standard
of living than your parents.
Your generation is leaving school more deeply in debt,
having a much harder time finding affordable housing.
The jobs that you get will pay less.
So the idea of creating a society with more egalitarianism,
which I think is very appealing to young people.
Okay. [shushes]
Yeah, yeah. I feel the Bern.
[audience laughs]
I see what you're talking about now.
I admit it,
Democratic Socialism looks pretty fine
on his Tinder profile,
but are we gonna vibe when we meet IRL?
If you go to countries like Denmark or Sweden,
you're gonna see very little poverty.
You could leave your job, you could start a new business.
You and your family still have healthcare as a right.
So I could quit "The Daily Show" and be fine.
Absolutely.
Well, it was great meeting with you.
[Bernie laughs]
So under President Bernie,
we'd be more European, like Denmark or Narnia.
But try telling that to the haters.
It's a terrible system. It's never worked.
And in order for it to work at all,
you gotta kill several million people to make it work.
Karol Markowicz has written
on why socialism needs to be canceled forever, period.
Millennials have been raised in such prosperous times
they just think that, "Oh, we can make it even better
with this insane plan to share the resources."
You know, I would love capitalism
if it just weren't for all the sick people
and all the poor people who can't afford health care.
Is there a way for me to enjoy capitalism
without those things?
If the solution is socialism,
it's gonna make us all equal in our poverty.
But if everyone is poor, isn't that kind of cool
'cause we're all experiencing the same thing?
So it'll be like, "Hey, like,
the bread line was extra long today."
And I'd be like, "Oh, my God, yeah, it was.
That guy is super observant and, like, funny."
-[audience laughs] -Not so much. No.
I was born in the Soviet Union.
My great-grandfather was killed in a gulag
because he owned a business,
and socialists decided that was no longer legal.
That's truly horrific.
Would Bernie be sending small-business owners
to forced labor camps?
Obviously, Soviet Union was an authoritarian society
with no democratic rights.
And I think if you know history,
you'll know that democratic socialists stood up
and fought against that.
You could look about what existed
in the Soviet Union or in Venezuela,
that is not what I'm talking about at all.
So no one's going to the Gulag?
-Well, except, no. -Okay.
-[audience laughs] -Fact check.
The examples of failed socialism
that critics use are not socialist democracies
but authoritarian states led by corrupt, ruthless,
and paranoid dictators.
But I do have one real problem with socialism.
I like money.
You know, TV's going kind of good for me right now,
and I'm thinking of writing a successful book.
Is socialism still for me if I'm a millennial millionaire?
I mean, it depends on what's your heart.
If what you say in your life is,
"All I want to do is make as much money as I possibly can
and screw everything else, I don't give a damn,"
yeah, no, I don't think democratic socialism
is your cup of tea.
But if you have a decent heart and you say,
"Look, I'm doing really well.
But you know what?
I also want to be a contributor to the wellbeing of society.
So I'm gonna pay my fair share of taxes."
Wow, I could have my CBD-infused, gluten-free cake
and eat it too?
I'm liking the socialism thing more and more.
And Bernie made me feel so good,
I decided to share something.
-I brought you a present. -That's cool.
-So. -All right, anticipating.
Oh, that's beautiful.
[audience laughs]
Yeah, thank you. I made it myself.
When you are elected president,
where do you think you're gonna put this in the White House?
I'll put it up some place.
I don't know the exact room,
but it's beautiful, and I thank you for it.
[Jaboukie] You're welcome, Bernie.
-Enjoy. -[audience cheers]
[upbeat music]