Understanding the US Election System with Tim Naftali & Rhea Almeida

In this two-part Explainer series, a historical context of the US 2020 elections is discussed by breaking down the complexity of American governance and political systems. Rhea Almeida, an NYU Wagner Review Contributing Editor and MPA candidate, and Tim Naftali, a CNN presidential historian and politics expert, aim to provide a historic view of the elections, the evolution of suffrage, and the framework of the Electoral College. They also dissect the emergence of voting rights for different sections of the American society, and historic voter suppression mechanisms.

Transcript

[00:00] Welcome from NYU Office of Global Services.

[02:02] Rhea Almeida begins facilitating a conversation with professor Tim Naftali about American democracy and elections.

GUEST SPEAKER

Timothy Naftali, clinical associate professor of public service and a clinical associate professor of history, is the director of NYU’s undergraduate public policy program. The first federal director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, Naftali has served as an historical consultant to anumber if federal investigative and historial projects, such as the 9/11 Commission and the Interagency Working Group on Nazi and Imperiial Japanes War Crimes. The author or co-author of 5 books (and editor or co-editor of 8 books), Naftali specializes in presidential, international and espionage history. He is currently a CNN presidential historian and appears regularly in historical documentaries.