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The right to vote and the voting process in the USA : Throughline Drunken brawls, coercion, and lace curtains. Believe it or not, how regular people vote was not something the founding fathers thought much about, or planned for. Americans went from casting votes at drunken parties in the town square to private booths behind a drawn curtain. In this episode, the process of voting; how it was originally designed, who it was intended for, moments in our country's history when we reimagined it altogether, and what we're left with today.

Throughline

How We Vote

How We Vote

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  • Illustration by Kaz Fantone
    Kaz Fantone
  • A group of men and women gather for a voter registration drive in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1952.
    A group of men and women gather for a voter registration drive in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1952.
    Cincinnati Museum Center/Getty Images
  • Mr. Ju Lin Ong casts his vote at 11 Pell Street, Chinatown, 1930.
    Mr. Ju Lin Ong casts his vote at 11 Pell Street, Chinatown, 1930.
    FPG/Getty Images
  • U.S. soldiers and sailors in New York City cast their votes in the General Election, November 5, 1918.
    U.S. soldiers and sailors in New York City cast their votes in the General Election, November 5, 1918.
    FPG/Getty Images
  • Voting booth.
    REPORTERS ASSOCIES/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

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Drunken brawls, coercion, and lace curtains. Believe it or not, how regular people vote was not something the founding fathers thought much about, or planned for. Americans went from casting votes at drunken parties in the town square to private booths behind a drawn curtain. In this episode, the process of voting; how it was originally designed, who it was intended for, moments in our country's history when we reimagined it altogether, and what we're left with today.

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