America's presidential primaries, explained

Why does America's system for picking the president start in Iowa?

Before Americans vote on the next president in November, both major political parties have to settle on a nominee. That process is called the primary, and in 2020 it consists of 64 different contests, held on 22 different days, over several months. And for some reason, it all starts in the midwestern state of Iowa. So how did America's political parties come up with this system? And is there a better way to do it?

Read more from Li on the future of Iowa:

Correction: At 7:20 the state of Wisconsin incorrectly includes Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

A previous version of this video misidentified the states of Missouri and Arkansas. The error has been corrected.

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