Stephen Colbert takes on Election 2020: #betterknowaballot, voter mobilization, and the return to playful participatory satire

ABSTRACT

Focusing on the Better Know A Ballot initiative launched by Stephen Colbert to encourage voter registration and turnout in the 2020 Election, the research offers an in-depth analysis of Colbert’s satirical interrogation of voting rules across the United States. In focusing on the nuances that come with a federalized system of voting, Colbert effectively revisits his role as satirical election educator-in-chief, producing digital YouTube video content that is designed to be shared by and engage his audience. Colbert’s simultaneous satirical criticism of our election system and his call to get out the vote reflects a full circle return to playful participatory satire all the while offering an important mobilization tool for greater citizen engagement with technology and politics. Like recent efforts by other political satirists, Colbert’s Better Know A Ballot series reflects an increasingly entertaining yet activist take on engagement with US electoral politics.

KEYWORDS:

• Voting
• participation
• satire
• Stephen Colbert
• digital
• ballot

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Amy B. Becker

Amy B. Becker is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, MD. Her research examines the effects of exposure and attention to political comedy and entertainment, public opinion and citizen participation on controversial political issues, new media and youth political engagement, and public engagement with science.