If you watched the news at all, back in the summer of 2016,
you probably remember stories like these:
“A guy who is brash, a guy who is blunt…”
“Americans aren’t willing to trust her, don’t think she’s honest…”
The news spent a lot of time dissecting the candidates’ personalities…
“He’s very forward and he’s a little bit vicious…”
Analyzing their poll numbers…
“Closing the gap in states that matter most…”
And psychoanalyzing their supporters.
These stories are part of a long tradition of political journalism
where the goal is to make you feel like an insider;
someone with all the information on who’s up, who’s down,
in which states, with which groups...
And this kind of coverage basically treats an election like a big event.
“Sanders! Warren! Buttigieg!”
A competition. A show.
And it’s designed to make you feel smart as someone watching the election.
“Donald Trump doing very well across the middle…”
Kind of like how knowing all the stats about a sports team
makes you feel really smart when you’re watching the game.
“Donald Trump in July, $80 million, by far his best month to date,
though that fell short of Clinton’s $90 million…”
Sometimes we make videos like that here at Vox.
But there’s also another way that journalists can cover an election:
Not as a show, but as a choice -
between plans, priorities, and visions for what a country should do next.
This kind of coverage is designed to make you a smarter voter.
Or, if you don’t live in the US,
to at least help you understand what this giant election is actually about.
That is what we want to make videos about between now and election day.
Not about what’s going to happen in the election, but what might change after it.
And to explain that, we want your help.
At the link below, there's one question we want you to answer:
That’s it.
It could be a specific question, like, should we break up the big tech companies?
Or, why aren’t more drugs legal?
Why do American companies give so little parental leave?
Or it could be a topic that’s just been on your mind lately.
Like, what’s the deal with the cost of college?
Or what’s going to happen with college?
Or transportation…
or food security...
Or paying for childcare…
or student loans….
Whatever it is, tell us at the link below, or at vox.com/ElectionVideos.
What’s happening in your life that you wish they would pay attention to?
Your ideas will become the list of the things we explain between now and election day.
And then starting in September, we’ll put out one video every week.
Each video will come from something you asked us for.
And if your suggestion or question inspired us, we’ll shout you out in that video.
This year, and this election, are not turning out how we thought they would.
And the way we explain elections shouldn’t stay the same either.
But first we need your help.
So thanks for watching. And thanks for sticking with us.