Premieres Monday, Sept. 30, 2024 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV / PBS app
INDEPENDENT LENS "One Person, One Vote?" examines the Electoral College, the uniquely American and often misunderstood mechanism for electing a president. At a time when many Americans question democratic institutions, the film provides an unprecedented look at its inner workings.
The documentary follows four presidential electors in Colorado during 2020. Among them are Derrick Wilburn, a Republican activist and founder of the Rocky Mountain Black Conservatives; Polly Baca, a Mexican-American Democratic Party elder; Patricia McCracken, a student and first-time voter affiliated with the Green Party; and Kit Maclean, a humorous yet bona fide elector for Kanye West. Their motivations range from noble to unconventional, and each arrives with a distinct vantage point.
In addition to the electors’ journeys, the film provides historical context by exploring the origins of the Electoral College. Slavery was an inherent and often unnamed factor in its creation. Since its inception, the Electoral College has shaped centuries of history and national politics.
While writing the U.S. Constitution, the framers argued, negotiated, and steered the discourse around how the nation would select a president. Animated historical vignettes and theatrical performances bring to life the speeches of integral figures including James Madison, Gouverneur Morris, and James Wilson.
Today, many Americans do not comprehend either the mechanisms of the Electoral College or the reasons why it exists. "One Person, One Vote?" offers a nonpartisan understanding of the institution, revealing its origins in a bygone era and its centrality to questions of the modern day.
Directed and produced by Maximina Juson, produced by Daresha Kyi, and co-produced by Christie Herring, the film dissects the uniquely American and often misunderstood mechanism for electing a president, the Electoral College. An array of voices throughout the film representing all sides of current electoral college events is intercut with commentary from dynamic subject matter experts including Lead Historian Dr. Paul Finkelman, Columbia School of Journalism Dean Jelani Cobb, and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Carol Anderson, who place the Electoral College in its historical context.
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