Election 2020: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Weeks out from the 2020 presidential election, John Oliver takes a look at various efforts to destabilize the vote, how to ensure your ballot is properly counted, and why we may need to prepare not just for an election night, but for an election month.
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[@hhheee3939]

The forest was shrinking, but the trees kept voting for the Axe, for the Axe was clever and convinced the trees that because his handle was made of wood, he was one of them.

[@saxyrep1]

I love using analogies and this is better than any that has ever been used to describe republican voters.

[@raylonjmg]

Very good, mind blowing assessment, indeed.

[@drunkensailor3736]

These Trump people are the type who would go out onto the streets, possibly with guns, if he declared the election was rigged. If you're wondering whether a disputed election (e.g. "red mirage" scenario) could be the spark for CIVIL WAR, there's a great analysis that looks into that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5apZ2SCh76Ggc0&ab_channel=MyTake

[@santisoza1364]

This made me say "whoa" out loud

[@nhagan001]

@@santisoza1364 same. Although I also said "dude" at some points when I reread it.

[@sempervitaetmors]

I’m just amazed at the battery life on that guys phone.

[@olu4927]

Portable charger

[@TykusBalrog]

@@olu4927 that makes sense. I was thinking how the hell he had so much power as well.

[@crunchylettuce5446]

Motorola maybe

[@a.b.5321]

I was thinking the same. 😂 Then I remembered the portable chargers. Even still though... my portable ones don’t last that long. I need what he has.

[@ChronologicalFern]

Portable Charger + Xiaomi.

[@AugustinGrigorov]

He literally got EVERYTHING right.

[@peterpiper7441]

He predicted that he would be a horrible loser. And he was right.

[@rabby77777]

Yes you would think he recorded the show today

[@HeezNeez]

Put him in charge of Capitol security please.

[@jonasdatlas4668]

@@bloodyneptune I think the term people used when predicting this also called it the “Red Mirage“, which seems appropriate.

[@In_TheMoonlight]

ikr! i mean it was all predictable but i’m still impressed

[@Eyedunno]

It's not often that I can say "this aged well" without any sarcasm, but this is one of those times.

[@smokeychickenwings1038]

John Oliver and his staff saw coming how this election would go, but trump and the RNC cant fathom its anything but fraud..... seems about right

[@jimbass1664]

It's not often that I can say "this aged well" without any sarcasm, but this comment is one of those times.

[@Furonanator139]

John tends to be on the money, I'm watching alot of his episodes and even the old ones mostly aged

[@R3ach4Th3Sky]

The most British response to a stripper voting ad is "Excellent."

[@AxxLAfriku]

WARNING I am the unprettiest human YTer worldwide, but somehow I have TWO HOT KZbinR girlfriends. Thanks for being a future subscryber, dear soa

[@bretsheeley4034]

Personally, I thought the most British response would had been "Oh my. Jolly good show. Jolly good... Yes."

[@jhunterb123]

Enjoy hell little john oliver

[@butte5359]

@@jhunterb123 Seems like you've made several "enjoy hell / jail" comments toward John... Are you ok?

[@dhoffnun]

If the thong fits.

[@FriedrichHerschel]

German here. I have never missed a single election in my life, not on a federal level, not state-wide/local (those are held at the same day), not an EU election, I also went to (among others) a fucking referendum on what to do with the place that used to be an airport. I have never waited more then 5 minutes. Never. Most of the time not even 2 minutes. Edit: I like that this turned out to be the world telling the USA that things don't have to be that way.

[@rexexdesign]

Elections are also on Sundays, which typically more people have off work. Tuesday makes no sense at all in the US

[@reinierweerts6923]

Netherlands here, same exact story.

[@Jannyl13]

Same here! I have moved several times in my live, so I have voted by mail once and in person at 4 different polling stations, both in villages and in larger cities. I have never had to wait for more than 5 minutes. My polling stations were always accessible. I have always been able to walk there within less than 5 minutes. Also, German elections are held on Sundays, when most people do not have to work!

[@StefanGrit]

As a dutch men, ive never had to wait at all. Also, never had to travel more then 200 meters to vote

[@candios333]

"The US is a 3rd world country with a gucci belt" all their systems are so bad. Can't understand how it is called the "leading" country. Probably just because of its size

[@em-ss2sh]

How did this man literally predict everything, including the Quibi bankruptcy

[@nexposit1]

LOL to be fair, you didn't need to be Nostradamus to predict Trump would respond to the election just like he's responded to everything else for the last six?... twenty?... forty years. Besides, Trump basically monologged his whole nefarious plot like a villain in an old Bond movie!

[@nerezza5943]

Little late on this response, but is it a prediction when the predicted outcome is obvious? It's 11pm right now on the dot and I predict the sun will rise tomorrow! A real prediction would have been that the Trump supporters would riot into the white house after Trump resisted a peaceful transition of power.

[@daswasich1147]

The More i learn about american Politics, the more i am astonished that you guys aren't in an open civil war right now.

[@lordvass3377]

to be fair the dems acted like a sheep till this year now they reveal there are a wolf in sheep clothing

[@emily884]

Its heading to civil war soon

[@christinaholloway8873]

It’s more like a Cold War in the country honestly, though I wouldn’t be surprised if we do a civil war

[@lordvass3377]

@@christinaholloway8873 one side has no guns so it will be quick long live the USA

[@lordvass3377]

@@emily884 its ganna make the Jerusalem 6 day war look slow

[@Halbam]

As a European, it is crazy to see how broken the oh so great democracy of the USA is.

[@serse8455]

I'm a pizza man, what's going on over there will happen/has happened here too. I'm afraid that's just the new way of doing politics.

[@MegaDixen]

As a European i can tell you i would rather have trump win then biden

[@jupiterjam9776]

@@MegaDixen ew

[@dennisjohnson6541]

@@MegaDixen so your saying your a Russian European. Makes sense that you want our American traitor elected. All roads lead to Putin the ass hat.

[@alb8798]

@@dennisjohnson6541 Europe Is full of putin's propaganda. In italy lots of people want Trump to win

[@klamin_original]

From a German point of view US politics and their „democracy“ are just ridiculous. We had 30% Mail voting in the last federal election. Wasn’t even worth an article in the newspapers, it’s just normal and doesn’t cause any problems. And the signature stuff is next level ridiculous

[@AlliDell]

This is why the US is a mess.. we make a drama over everything so the people don't see anything

[@glipk]

You had Nazis

[@gugisagara4489]

wait until you know about gerrymandering😅

[@mq798]

Also this whole registering to vote nonsense? In Germany you are registered to vote by default as soon as you're old enough to do so.

[@andregalaxys2]

@@glipk And you had Trump.

[@michaelgrey1351]

"I'm not a good loser." Can confirm.

[@peterpiper7441]

But definitely a loser.

[@bananaman2]

Just wild how one month later and everything is playing out exactly as mentioned. The most surprising/disappointing thing is just how close the election is.

[@lachiehowes-yarlett5444]

I'm so happy that Trump lost 2020 has been bad enough

[@Lucan47]

@Damdu Dak Exactly, this wasn't a record turnout for Biden, it was a record turnout against Trump...

[@ambralemon]

And somehow people think this was just a way to defend voting fraud before it happened

[@dumpygoodness4086]

it's legally INSANE that y'all STILL trust The System and the Dempublican SUPER-MAFIA. Trump WON this election: Biden is more Trump than even Trump is! (EX: Biden has a far more repugnican track record than mostly-lib trump does.) EX: NEW ENGLAND is very liberal.... so WHY do they keep voting for GOP Governors? A: b/c the super-mafia does not rig EVERY election. ONLY the ones that matter, like... oh i don't know... GOVERNOR's races! (The Gov controls all the money and the entire state. A Congressman controls almost NOTHING.) EVERYONE but me believes these elections are real: "yes 80% of Vermont voted for BERNIE, but they also wanted the OPPOSITE of Bernie to run the entire state!" There are a million different ways to cheat elections, including the most obvious: CASH BRIBES. ("WHY would the rich use their money to CHEAT to stay in power?")

[@jaysonwarden]

I came here to say the same thing. But to get it 100% right a month is mind blowing.

[@endybendy5699]

I REALLY wish people would stop asking Trump if he'll accept the results of the election and leave the WH. Like, he doesn't have a choice. Why even put that out there and LEGITIMIZE it by asking him such stupid questions?

[@M-Soares]

Yeah, when you ask him "Will you accept the results" it makes it seem like him accepting the results matter at all, if you lose, you're out, I don't care if you think Juan in NM voted 20 times over.

[@MrRafagigapr]

True even Democrats were yelling mah Russia collusion when they lost and then say other party won't accept it let's face both parties would not like to lose and will cry foul

[@matbat2909]

He should have no choice, but sadly that is not the case. He can lie. Why should he stop lying this one time? And that lie might be all it takes to make all the difference. Sad times, worst timeline.

[@KadiusFTW]

@@matbat2909 he has said multiple times that he doesnt just want 2 terms in office, he wants many. Why do you think he has gone through this much effort to supress voting?

[@MsUltrafox]

If he loses (and I hope he does) he has to get his carcase out of the white house because if he doesn't he will get his ass kicked out under presidential orders of the new guy.

[@neitan6891]

As an Oregonian it’s so weird hearing people talking about mail-in voting like it’s a totally new concept. I can’t even imagine standing in line to vote. I always fill out my ballot while researching the candidates online in the comfort of my own room.

[@emmyb115]

But y'all can't pump your own gas?

[@neitan6891]

Emmy B It “creates jobs”

[@ace448]

Same with Washington. We have mailed in ballots for a decade now. Our system works quite well. Hell we don’t even pay for stamps.

[@yuriydee]

Been voting by mail in NJ for over a decade now, with no issues at all. It is weird reading all these stories where other states/cities cant get their shit together.

[@emmyb115]

@Greg Bors chill your tits, Greg. I was sharing a cute bit of local trivia for lols.

[@asunder3097]

Update on the Quibi joke, they just filed for bankruptcy.

[@buddermonger2000]

that's an oof

[@paulkerrigan9857]

What the hell did they spend the money on? Two BILLION? Wow. I couldn’t spend that much over a lifetime, let alone a few months!

[@thatntr4146]

BAD IDEA

[@alexobery9813]

Update, Trump did exactly what was predicted.

[@Merthalophor]

just looked it up, they didn't reach their subscriber projection of 7.4 million within a year, instead only amounting to a _pathetic_ , absolutely _meager_ 1 million subscribers. Seems like it was a startup by efperienced professionals.

[@jimmyoakmeister]

USA: We need less people to vote. Australia: You *will* vote. It is *not* a choice.

[@SunflowerLotusXII]

It is *noyt* a choice.

[@windwaker0rules]

it also helps that Australia votes on a weekend where USA decides the best day to get people to go out on their free time is on a Tuesday

[@evelove3511]

Seriously tho, who wants to cop a $20 fine for not voting?

[@jtallen6406]

@@evelove3511 Knowing this country, people would be lucky if that fine stays in the hundreds.

[@thinhnonyt]

My only issue with it is that some people just show up, go “ah fuck it” and vote for some stupid party like one nation or the coalition. That or they draw a dick on it

[@MartijnPennings]

I have voted in the Netherlands at least a dozen times. It goes like this: every adult gets a letter a week or two before voting. You go to the voting booth which has never been farther than 5 minutes walk from my house. There's no line (maybe a couple of people before you, but there's no waiting). You show your ID card or passport and the letter you received and vote. That's it. It seems crazy to me how difficult it is in the US to even register yourself to vote, let alone let your vote count.

[@rosemarykitten7686]

I live here. Please help. ._.

[@stevewisdom3447]

Martijn Pennings It’s a disgrace what Republicans are doing to suppress the vote.We are heading into difficult times if Biden doesn’t win.Keep passport handy!!!

[@QuakerLady]

And every state has its own rules

[@wcezel]

we do the same in France, it's pretty easy and there is no line. I never understood the american way when it comes to election

[@pmorales21]

It's the same here. I've never encountered more than 4 o 5 persons. According to your address and surname you are assigned a nearby school that is prepared for voting. It's not an optional process either.

[@Starwarsdude8221991]

I never before so truly understood the old Chinese curse. “May you live in interesting times.”

[@radnukespeoplesminds]

News is supposed to be boring

[@silverschannel8578]

@@HairAndWire This. I'm Chinese and I've never heard it or anything like it. Old Trek's great though, despite a few things that didn't age well

[@Vaprous]

Its an American proverb from Star Trek. Its still an excellent proverb, but a modern one that has nothing to do with Chinese culture.

[@PippenWeens]

I thought it came from Ancient Greece?

[@HongFeiBai]

I'm Chinese. Never heard it before.

[@BigBoiiLeem]

It still baffles me that half of America essentially heard Trump say "the election is rigged unless I win" and thought "that's a perfectly acceptable, and not at all suspicious statement".

[@abren5974]

Well, because Joe was such a joke candidate and Trump was such an amazing President. So yeah, I agree with the Legitimate President's statement.

[@BigBoiiLeem]

Let's just make something really clear. Donald Trump did not win the election. The election was not rigged, as per the 63 court cases in which the Trump Campaign *lost* because they had insufficient evidence (in most cases, they had none at all). He is not the "lEgItImAtE pReSiDeNt", because he lost the election. He was also a terrible president. His presidency oversaw some absolute atrocities, like: 1. Pardoning war criminals. 2. Vetoing the National Defence Authorisation Act, a bipartisan bill to give military members a pay raise. 3. Attempting to influence the Ukrainian Government to interfere in the 2020 election (which is *actually* rigging an election). 4. Inciting a riot at the US Capitol in which 5 people died and at least 130 people were injured. 5. Separating children from their parents at the border and holding them *in fucking cages* (by the by, hundreds of those children are yet to be reunited with their parents, almost 2 years later). 6. Trying (and failing) to build a wall that even Customs and Border Protection said won't curb illegal immigration and would actually make it harder for them to intercept undocumented crossers. That is just 6 of the terrible things he did, and that list could go on for hours. Trump consistently polled behind Joe Biden for months leading up to the election, and for once, the polls actually reflected what happened on election day.

[@projectpitchfork860]

@@abren5974 If with amazing you mean, did pretty good for an orange, then yes, but any other option would still be better.

[@geenkaas6380]

@@abren5974 So he would not be allowed to run in 2024? since you can be president for only 2 terms

[@bobf5360]

@@abren5974 an amazing president? You mean the guy who decreased our soft power and respect around the world, at one point being laughed at in person by the G20 summit? The guy who got into a trade war with china with no game plan and was then forced to buy out US farmers with straight up checks to cover the losses due to china embargos? The guy who promised a wall paid for by mexico, but then built only 215 miles of anything, mostly redoing what was there, and then still stuck the taxpayer with the bill? You mean the guy who said covid was "just a few cases, and is going down, and will be gone by easter (2020)? The guy who violated the emoluments clause, forced the secret service to stay in HIS hotels so we all footed the bill straight into his own pocket? The guy whose only legislative win was a tax cut for the rich and corporate accounts? That guy? What did he do for you, again? Own the libs? Congrats.

[@DeRozanMVP]

Being a Canadian is living above a haunted house....

[@doomedbringer]

being Canadian and having a relative that believes in that orange moron......

[@mechanoid2k]

@@doomedbringer Speak for yourself. Lots of Canadians love Trump.

[@crusherolies8195]

@@mechanoid2k then they should move to america, we dont need those assholes up here.

[@doomedbringer]

@@mechanoid2k the morons do

[@crusherolies8195]

@Karan Kapoor its actually the conservatives who are the snowflakes.

[@cretannia9790]

Me: Ready to go to bed KZbin: Would you like to be depressed first? Me: As long as the British parrot is the one causing it

[@manganess5126]

*British penguin XD

[@drewgoin8849]

Toucan

[@cretannia9790]

@@drewgoin8849 All these damn different birds confusing me, this is the proper bird choice

[@seaninglin1967]

TOUCAN

[@inthezone491]

Amen

[@kasdjkfghalksjdhg]

My phone needs a battery like the one that guy in Georgia has.

[@12thLevelSithLord]

He might also have a portable charger he keeps with him, that'd help

[@tootieq6527]

Kevin Doria I have already bought 2 portable phone chargers in case I have a long wait.

[@jasonalbert6251]

Forget the battery, let’s talk about his data plan. Either that guy had unlimited, or his phone bill is gonna _suck_.

[@iwantsexseemyvideo8642]

♥️😊😅

[@ayushthumbarathy3961]

@@jasonalbert6251 Have you heard of pirating? Just don't stream bro.🔥🔥

[@JehBasquiat]

This aged perfectly 😂 the man is literally about to go to prison

[@bandolin1216]

"That could take our country to a very dark place" - Bill Barr. Dude that train left the station 4 years ago. LOL

[@chasingdharmaify]

"Get your booty to the poll" is incredible.

[@meowntown69]

I love it so much

[@heman5954]

I thought he's being generous with the 3/4 life crisis

[@fcdphilly]

5:26 ... I have nothing but admiration for this guy and the others who waited that long. It shouldn't have been necessary, of course, but the fact that these people saw the line and waited rather than going home ... huge respect!!

[@CarlosVazquez-pg1ts]

This aged like the finest imaginable wine ever.

[@MH3Raiser]

Just popping back a month later from the future: Don't worry guys, its going to be ok.

[@mahularamaphoko1666]

It's weird that everything he touched on is happening now

[@matthewfox237]

@@mahularamaphoko1666 called it to a T

[@benmcnutt223]

@@mahularamaphoko1666 I mean what did you expect

[@astronieadi]

I bought my booty to the polls and I’m still disappointed.

[@ekdaufin1485]

🤣

[@kaustavsahu3136]

You should Realize John Oliver is Deadly Serious when He does not mention ADAM DRIVER

[@MsGrapeNehi]

CRUSH MY TOES, YOU SENSUOUS GIRAFFE Okay, I made that one up.

[@drsingingeagle]

@What-If Machine - HEY, LET’S MAKE A COLLECTION! Maybe we can get him to use one! “Pluck my plumage, you plushy platypus!”

[@KC-kh2qn]

Finesse my fixtures you gargantuan golden greek god 🙏

[@ironicdivinemandatestan4262]

"Break my spine, you meaty warden."

[@nahuel118]

Threaten the integrity of my values for 7 hours, you nonsensical conundrum

[@everentropy]

I love how Get Your Booty to the Polls combines sex and politics in a much more wholesome way than we normally see

[@DarkLorddReviews]

@@nara-qv9pk Yeah, its very persuasive. I just can't put my finger in it?

[@Dave_ja_vu]

@@DarkLorddReviews that's because you have to sit on your hands

[@Cabrera1027]

@@DarkLorddReviews just wait for the bouncers to look away

[@mysticmarble94]

@omnivore gains no can do ... Sorry ... Trump must pay !

[@SuperShermanTanker]

That was the biggest WHAT THE FUCK moment I ever seen

[@littlealchemist5948]

I love how he predicted the trump reelection strategy so accurately. HAHAHAH

[@TheEmilyLaine]

I can't imagine waiting 8 hours to vote. I'm Canadian and I've voted in two elections, it took me less than 10 minutes each time even though I had to register on spot both times.

[@afmilret]

That’s because in Georgia where they have a racist Governor, there is still voter suppression. It should be illegal.

[@MsScarletwings]

It’s honestly ridiculous that people are MORE scared of Mail-in voting than they are of those electronic booths. The machines have a fishier track record than anything that at least stays on paper.

[@fmbbeachbum8163]

Should be paper ballots period.

[@ghostnoodle9721]

Well you see whatever the media tells people to believe they will ignore what they know they know and take daddy news advice

[@Quintinohthree]

@@IlIlllIllIlIIIll Hand-marked and hand-counted, demand no less.

[@mirna-garcia]

100% spot on

[@draconanam4605]

I agree, I stopped having any confidence in the machines when I found out Ivanka Trump now holds the patents to them and the legal rights to change them.

[@idrinkandiknowthings9738]

My anxiety is out of control I hate this year so much

[@idrinkandiknowthings9738]

Greg Bors damn that’s good advice I gotta change my name

[@opus4rv]

@Greg Bors You win the internet today my friend. Best advice I've received for 2020!

[@ColoringKaria]

Meh. Just remember it can and will get worse. Do what you can to mitigate damage. But it’ll get worse before it gets better.

[@Mcspazz731]

I just gave up on trying to manage my anxiety with this year... whats the point

[@morfeusfs]

Take a break from all social media. If you know who you're voting, avoid politics. Just go vote and nothing more. Your anxiety will thank me.

[@rickyduck]

16:00 John Oliver called it perfectly

[@hoodiesticks]

Can we just appreciate the fact that this episode featured 2 different poll puns, and there was nobody around to laugh/groan? "Get your booty to the polls" (stripper poles) and Nazis invading the polls (people from Poland)

[@Braamsery1992]

There are a few things I as a German take from this: 1. You have terribly long lines because you dont know how to organize an election. In the city where I come from (75.000 citizens), we have 45 polling stations to keep the lines as small as possible (usually you dont have to wait or max 1-3 ppl in front of you.) You get an invitation to vote. Take that and your ID (which isnt really looked at that much, if at all), they look if youre on the list, give you the paper (yes, no machines) and thats it. Easy, quick and unterstandable. 2. You vote on tuesdays, we on sundays. Less ppl work on sundays which spreads the votes more over the day instead of a literal rush hour when many ppl get home from work. 3. There are two results we get. The one on election night/early morning is not official yet. They just send it with a program to give parties a chance to sort out who they could form a coalition with, but its not official yet. That takes about 2-3 weeks. Not just because of the mail-in-votes, but the verification process takes time. The official result gets mailed with signings of several involved ppl to the next higher up, they look over it, sign it and send it etc. until it reaches the federal returning officer who announces it at the end. No idea how you can fuck up the most basic principle of a democracy so bad.

[@rhettcujo9006]

They don’t want organization that favors the “left”

[@jschuler53]

Braamsery1992. ha ha ha great comment.

[@Empedocles449]

1. The terribly long lines aren't accidental. They're a deliberate voter suppression tactic. They're a sign if rising fascism, not ignorance.

[@Empedocles449]

@@Spearca Fewer people work on Sunday, though.

[@Empedocles449]

@@Spearca . . . . . . . Yes. . . . . . .But there are fewer. Of course you should try to inconvenience as few people as possible. What're you even on about?

[@SwissTanuki]

Here in Switzerland we vote about everything 4 times a year. Every year. Most of us do it by mail. Never a problem.

[@deliaklager766]

Yep, and even if you forget to cast your ballot early, you can still show up to the polling place and vote in person without standing in line for 8h.

[@marmotarchivist]

In Switzerland you automatically recieve the voting materials. Then you can send them via mail, drop them in a special voting mailbox at the poll station at any time before the election, or cast your vote in person on the election day. As long as you fill the ballot out correctly, there is never any doubt that your vote will get counted and it would be very hard to commit fraud. So people here trust in this system and in the results. I can only imagine the kind of money it would take to organize such a system in the US, but it's so frustrating to hear the republicans just devalidating the legitimaty of the whole election process instead of funding ways to improve it. But then again, if the system was acually improved, they wouldn't get the result the want.

[@abiyoyo9831]

Good for you. The US works differently.

[@userytx]

@@abiyoyo9831 differently as in worse.

[@abiyoyo9831]

「HunterZ」 Nope. Just differently. Comparing an empire to a country is not really an apt comparison.

[@thatonetenor1547]

I don’t know if anyone will see this but I need to get this out of my head or I’m gonna freak out. First of all, binging this series is what has been keeping me happy today. It’s been my light at the end of the tunnel. Second of all, my mom is one of the breach healthcare workers in my home town. Yesterday she just got tested positive for COVID. To make things even harder, my father is in the prime group for people in danger of the disease. I don’t want pity. I don’t want attention. I just need to get this out of my head. And once again, thank you HBO any John Oliver and your amazing team for keeping this content coming throughout this entire ordeal

[@jayceewedmak9524]

You can get through it. You'll be fine. No matter how everything turns out - you will be strong enough.

[@MZB80]

Hey - how's everything going? It's been a few weeks - how's your mum & dad? How are you coping?

[@CaptWesStarwind]

Seven hours to vote? As a Canadian that is more than I have spent in my entire life waiting to vote. To everyone that has had to wait that much or longer I thank you.

[@Mito383]

I can’t imagine my phone battery lasting for 5 hours while streaming tv.

[@Dreron]

One big power bank and you, or he, or pretty much anyone is good to go.

[@ColoringKaria]

Dude people have portable charging sticks they cost like $20. I had one for the longest time but I don’t really have one these days.

[@rikatan]

@Poppy Kneegrow Yes, the person just explained how it was possible for the phone to last 5 hours. Read before typing.

[@pdoylemi]

@Poppy Kneegrow True, but I am proud of the people willing to do so. I am planning to bring a folding canvas chair, a bag lunch and a couple of beverages just in case, and hope I won't need them.

[@pdoylemi]

@Poppy Kneegrow Well, for one thing, I am nearly 60 years old - I would not like standing in a line for eight hours even in my 20s. I also get a little hypoglycemic and can get very weak and shaky if I go without food too long. But why are you so fucking pissed? What's wrong with people looking for a way to make this ridiculous wait more pleasant? Personally, I'll probably just bring a book, but that's my choice.

[@fm9572]

A quick history lesson; The reason we vote "the first Tuesday in November" and don't actually seat members of Congress, the Senate, and Presidents until the following January, is because when the Constitution was written, everyone traveled either by Sailboat, or Horse/Donkey. The ballots most certainly weren't "electronic," and all of them were filled out by hand. They were then counted, the results, taken to the Secretary of State for each state, certified, then taken to the federal Secretary of State for certification. And let's not even get into the electoral college, or States appointing their Senators, for the first 100 years of the country. They were lucky if it was completed by mid-December, much less "election day." The first session of congress each election wasn't usually until a couple of months after swearing in due to everyone traveling by much slower, non-petroleum powered means of transport, and to make sure the votes were counted properly. It wasn't a thing to call political races on the night of the election (Dewey defeats Truman, Google that headline) until the modern Radio/Television era. Even then, they can still get it wrong.

[@laurahubbard6906]

This is what I've been pointing out all along. We all seem to have forgotten that there was a time without electronic technology, immediate communication, and high-speed computers to calculate numbers.

[@igorschmidlapp6987]

"DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN"... ;-)

[@stefano2303]

Let's remember the mess made by the media's obsession with calling the results ASAP in the 2000 elections

[@karimpeters3875]

So, why do many democratic countries hold voting on a Sunday and the US can't? www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/05/06/france-election-excitement-prompts-question-why-don-vote-weekends/06TRxT0glthAlzbgwNCcCK/story.html

[@fm9572]

@@stefano2303 I still spit and curse whenever the name "Ralph Nader" is either mentioned by someone else or forcibly uttered from my lips. I fear the Republicans may use the same tactics they used in Florida in 2000 nationwide in 2020.

[@justathoughtinmotion8825]

As a person living in an “urban area”, I plan on mailing my ballot in a mailbox located in a “suburban area” to ensure my ballot gets processed in a timely manner…just saying.

[@marshallfischer8686]

Now that is next level problem solving

[@seanbohan9491]

I'm re-watching this on 17 January 2021. John nailed almost everything. I think his decency prevented him from predicting the insurrection, impeachment, and...?

[@husbandofearth558]

😂

[@matchaisasoup]

"The literal definition of a Nazi is someone with gun and arm band invading the polls'" Best historical based joke I've heard in 2020.

[@katharinaleiding1055]

So have I 🤣, Katharina from Germany 🇩🇪

[@BeckyNosferatu]

First I've heard it, and it took a LOT not to wake up the sleeping wife. xD

[@sobania6095]

Poles*

[@smallfryenjoyer]

Based? Based on what?

[@peterg5383]

@@smallfryenjoyer: based on the nazis invading the poles. in poland. because "polls" and "poles" are homophones. "homophones" are words that sound the same but are spelled differently.

[@Trustyzaney]

How is it possible that in America the Attorney General acts like the President's personal lawyer.. That Barr character is a real piece of work

[@emmanuelpiscicelli6232]

@HYDROXYCHLOROQUEEN More than one.

[@Fate263]

Trust me, the role of the Attorney General is NOT supposed to be that. So I cringe whenever people put Attorney General and William Barr in the same sentence.

[@lordbuddybear]

They should call him Attorney Particular and not Attorney General :v

[@martintieber7756]

It seems that way because its being pushed by the media a lot more. Eric Holder was a lot worse...the press just didn't report it. Obama used the DoJ to persecute more members of the press than any president in recent memory.

[@manda60]

Dictator 101; load the Judicial system with your stooges, so any legal challenge to your power is doomed to failure.

[@TheChapelx]

3 years later and it's like watching someone predict the future

[@197228sept]

Lol, John Oliver is a true prophet! I am watching this after the elections :D

[@MsGrapeNehi]

Honestly, I prefer the year when all the clowns were trying to kill us.

[@RockyRacoon5]

Sounds like 2020 to me.

[@melissahendrix222]

The preamble to 2020.

[@RowdyBoy82]

I miss that year.

[@melissahendrix222]

@KaneMagus oof. I guess the clown are still trying to kill us. They just took their make up off.

[@melissahendrix222]

@@ambergerhelper7852 not what I meant. I was referring to the clowns in goverment.

[@mountainhun]

The signature thing is really scary. Like what an old-fashioned, antiquated way of verifying something. We have voter ID cards, social security numbers, and driver's licenses to verify our identification, why should a bit of messy penmanship deny your citizenship in an election?

[@mewho8057]

Why require a form of ID that takes time to get and not everyone has, when you could use thumbprint as primary ID verification instead? More people have fingerprints than have driver's licenses, voter ID cards, and social security numbers, and you still have those to ID the few people with no thumbprint.

[@WilL-DaNG]

@@mewho8057 despite what people watch fingerprints are not unique

[@d3line]

@@mewho8057 or, you know... National id cards? Like every other damn country in the world? I'm still baffled why US doesn't have them...

[@thisguy9819]

@@WilL-DaNG like that guy who was arrested for an act of terrisom in spain, when hin fact he had never even been to spain. If you look up how they analyze fingerprints its very different than tv.

[@brittanys1203]

Facilitate the Unilateral Commission of Keeping The Real Union's Majority a Priority

[@itsmehamm]

The whole “make sure your signatures match” thing is freaking me out so much. I’m an overseas citizen voter and I cannot for the life of me remember how I signed my ballot last time around 😓 Don’t have a US driver’s licence either so can’t even refer back to that!

[@katieshay3067]

Me too! I couldn't find my driver's license, so I just kinda winged it and am hoping for the best. What else can you do honestly?

[@hectorNorza]

I emailed the voting offices of my state and they gave me information about it. You should do the same :)

[@adley.j]

When I got my ID in the mail I looked it over and I MISSPELLED MY NAME in my signature how do I even recover from that lmao

[@hectorNorza]

@@adley.j as far as i know, you can re-register and that would fix it...

[@lilychu8912]

I just heard about this issue on the radio. Look up and call your local county election office (i.e. where your address is based in the US) and ask them for help. If you don't know where your office is, look here: www.fvap.gov/search-offices

[@redheadedstepchild9814]

This episode should be called: John Oliver predicts the future!

[@ShutItKyle]

Im more surprised that guy's phone battery lasted 7 hours and 45 minutes tbh

[@bertoandon9681]

Battery packs?

[@bobitboo2792]

Especially since he was using it so much

[@Chas-OTE]

He must have had a hell of a power bank

[@Sochi314]

I have a portable battery for things like that. Fortunately I've never experienced a line at my polling place.

[@WeezaY5000]

@@Chas-OTE He probably had several. I would have.

[@parentoforphan]

“I have no notes” is undoubtedly his highest praise.

[@itstrbo]

Agreed

[@noj86]

Spot on prediction of what actually happened, always great content ! Keep on going with the great work to the John Oliver team !

[@BDMEDIAUK]

Wow John Oliver literally warned us of the future! Love watching this show keep it guys.

[@starkparker16]

What kind of phone battery does the Fulton County guy have?

[@hornet1834]

Maybe he has a portable phone charger. Which I will probably be using too

[@rohitkalita9530]

I was wondering the same thing 😅

[@IslandVibez_Virgo]

Lol thts the real question here...he was definitely prepared

[@onirevesorravan]

usually bringing a portable charger is smart! A stool, umbrella, water, snacks...

[@charliewhite2625]

Everybody voting in person should be prepared for long waits. Purchase a portable external battery for mobile devices and bring your folding camping chairs.

[@LandOfForeverSummer]

Im impressed that his phone battery lasted 7+ hours

[@juliansanchezharris5773]

Stocked 3 powerbanks? 😋

[@jiralishu]

@@juliansanchezharris5773 maybe 4.

[@Frazzled_Chameleon]

Defo wasn't an iPhone lol

[@revinaque1342]

I'm more impressed that he had enough mobile data to stream 5 hours' worth of Netflix

[@selah71]

I've got a Motorola g7 Supra and the battery lasts all day. Even after playing hours of games, watching KZbin videos and a movie or two, I still have juice. (Hey, its Covid-19 in 2020!) I've had this phone since April and only one time did it signal low battery. And it charges very fast.

[@FilmdudeJC94]

Well John, guess we can say....... WE GOT HIM!!!!

[@ama2065]

Who

[@menialharpsichordist553]

If someone running last week tonight is reading this i would like there to be an episode on special education departments across the board with scandalous behavior and just disgusting treatment of mentally disabled/not at all mentally disabled people who were forced into the program and are legally trapped there, like myself i feel that it's time someone actually addressed the issue of special education boards across the country

[@RandomStranger246]

They did something similar about guardianship. Might be up their alley.

[@dusty3219]

Dude, the Judge Rotenberg centre mate; holy shit that's a FUCKING nightmare!

[@spongeintheshoe]

One time I had a teacher sit on me.

[@FritzSchober]

8 hours waiting time? How did he go to the toilet? Also: 8 HOURS? WTF? Even in 3rd world countries it's less problematic to vote.

[@onnol917]

On a democrcy level the US is a third world country with these practises

[@Telamond]

Is USA even a democracy anymore? I feel like it hasn't been a democracy for a long time...

[@anairivera6121]

Many places in the US are giving large areas 1 polling site so wait times are horrible (I live in Texas and it's happening here)

[@gagandeepsinghsudan5477]

It took me 15 minutes from home and back home to vote in country like India with 1.3 billion people

[@mo995]

In 3rd world country most of us don't vote so it's easy

[@tykekai3555]

Nazis are terrible, but the "...who threatens the safety of the Poles." line had me in stitches.

[@jasminjavorina199]

I died there 🤣🤣🤣

[@thothomas753]

I stopped the video and scrolled down immediately. That was on point

[@deboozombie23]

The Polwatchters might "Wear brown shirts and aSSeSS the situation" - Stephen Colbert

[@jasminjavorina199]

@@deboozombie23 hmmm, that would be a paradox as the brown shirts were actually SA rather than SS but I don't suppose that poll watchers would know the difference 😀

[@user-ud9xc1hr3g]

Reminds me of that advertisement image for a some VW a while back that said "Berlin to Warsaw in one tank."

[@Not.a.bird.Person]

Oh my, in Montreal, one of the most populous cities in Canada, I've never actually had to wait to vote. Every election I've been to has, at worst, had me wait for 5-10 minutes. Seeing this 7h waiting time just shock me. That guy reaaaaaally wants to vote, wow.

[@M_SC]

Yeah but a lot of our votes got rejected for technical reasons and “lost” during the referendum

[@Not.a.bird.Person]

@@M_SC sure buddy

[@RussMcClay]

I'm watching this in December 2020 and am very impressed with this most excellent public service announcement with such good information. Thank you, John Oliver, and your team for helping Americans to participate in the 2020 presidential election.

[@ventii_kun]

Strippers talking about voting in front patriotic decor is the most American thing I’ve seen😂🇺🇸

[@nekoanimator]

just add a gun or three, and bam

[@imkitti1942]

I am a woman & I couldn't take my eyes off the add! Best 1 I've seen.

[@julianmoretti7847]

Missing burgers, flags and guns.

[@imkitti1942]

Ya know if my ass wasn't as flat as a freaking pancake, I would be in the streets doing that!😹

[@ventii_kun]

IM KITTI Honestly, same😂😭

[@FlipjevanTiel]

That guy stood in line for seven hours to vote. I can't remember it ever taking longer than seven minutes, where I live. Normally I walk over in within a minute, wait for one or two other people and then walk back home. A bit of small talk with the poll workers might be the most time I spend on voting.

[@now4y]

Watching this video a few days after the election makes it crazily accurate

[@stefg2000]

Anyone else extremely excited for Oliver's first post-election show??

[@christiankohlberger7261]

Yesss I am waiting

[@mikegaynor7222]

He’s gonna have a field day especially with the four seasons fiasco 😂😂😂

[@scientismd]

As an European I struggle to understand why voting is such an issue in the US. I just voted today. As a non-Austrian EU-citizen living in Austria I am eligible to vote for some local elections. No need for registration or anything. It's the government's task to make sure I am able to exercise my right to vote. I got the info in the mail about a month ago, explaining my options for early or mail-in voting. Two weeks ago I got the info where exactly I need to go on election day. Election day is a Sunday, because that's when everyone has time to go. My election office is just around the corner (we usually use public schools or the like). So I went on a short walk today. They had organized hand sanitizers etc. to make this process pandemic safe. I had to wait for a few seconds, because one guy before me was handed his forms, then it was my turn. The entire process took 15min, including the walk to the place and back. How can the president say that mail-in voting is fraudulent? It should be the government's fucking job to ensure people's access to voting in a safe and orderly manner. If there would be widespread voter fraud (which there is no evidence of) it would be their fault!

[@ridersofrohan13]

Austria is a vert small country man. Scale really throws things off. USA is massive and spread apart. That is also a big factor.

[@franzrahnd9251]

@@ridersofrohan13 that should not be an issue at all. Let‘s say austria is the size of one state, you can just apply this method to state government. And if all states do it this way, it wouldnt matter how many states there were. It would take almost the same time. Just a bit longer to add up the finished results of each state. Switzerland here has every community counting its own votes, then sends them to the bigger regional office, they send it forward to the cantonal (basically your states) office, they send it to the federal government. Results are in about six hours after the polls closed. Little to no fraud happens because its anonymous and everyone takes pride doing their part.

[@olfolfnxs]

@A Z We pay taxes, which are used to provide us with basic human rights. WTF is wrong with this?

[@olfolfnxs]

@A Zi have as much power over how my taxes are spent as you do. It's called voting. Even a little bit more than the average us american, as voting seems to work better here. Not to speak of gerrymandering... i'm ok with money spent on universal health care, proper voting and the fact that i dont end up in the streets if i loose my job.

[@janedoe41276]

Some countries, understanding the importance of voting, make it simple & easy to understand for their voters. Therefore a larger percentage of the population is able to take part in elections. The U.S. makes the process harder for many reasons. With obstacles in place, fewer people of particular demographics can vote, impacting an election in one direction or another. The "President" makes such statements knowing his voting base will believe whatever he says, and in turn, view the election process as invalid.

[@JacopoBasanisi]

European here. American Bros, please clarify: -Why can't you vote comfortably? we have billions of public offices or even schools where we can vote, so no big lines and "fast" counting -How can the boss of public officials tell people there are going to be errors in vote counting, a task "he" (as in the government) is in charge with

[@probablystudying5811]

Don't worry our votes are only a gesture anyway, the Electoral College actually elects the president. Do we elect them? Nope! Thanks for coming to my TED talk and please help us thanksss

[@PixelatedH2O]

Part of the problem is that people who have to work a full day on election day only have 2-3 hours to get to polls

[@Tarek831]

Because one of our two main parties has done everything from redrawing voting lines to closing down voting areas with intent to discourage voting or weaken the votes of certain types of voters (certain demographics and certain areas tend to vote like-mindedly). It’s been going on for years and gets worse each year. This is why the minority governs the majority in America lately. This is not a democracy currently

[@MajorMlgNoob]

Republicans is the short answer

[@MajorMlgNoob]

@@probablystudying5811 I mean the EC is bullshit but the winner of the individual states get the votes

[@RockStar-jg3un]

Utterly FASCINATING to watch this in March 2023…

[@UndertheNeedle282]

Agreed

[@lilyveneklasen1780]

"Horribly coordinated, totally nonsensical, and extremely dumb." You, my friend, just described the government of the U.S

[@jessicalacasse6205]

or rome babylon constantinople ...

[@tomasgomez9925]

And people still want more government 😆

[@festethephule7553]

@@jessicalacasse6205 You offend me with your comparisons, good madam.

[@jessicalacasse6205]

@@festethephule7553 can t even elect a president ...real democracy

[@festethephule7553]

@@jessicalacasse6205 ...What? What does democracy have to do with the competency of the ancient cities of Rome, Babylon, and Constantinople? Have I made an erroneous assumption?

[@LnPPersonified]

12:28 "Were they depressed?" Oh man, everyone's signature is going to be different.

[@travelbyqueenb]

Well, I've been depressed for years... so I guess I'm safe.

[@MattauschA]

Am I the only one wondering, how his phone lasted over 7h while watching shows and listening to music? :D

[@elsharkone7]

I assume he brought a power bank with him?

[@GrahamCantin]

Portable charger. These are just the ones I and my friends carry around. www.anker.com/products/variant/powercore-20100/ My photography friend won't even leave the house without one of his three ankers. zendure.com/collections/recommendations/products/x5-pocket-sized-portable-charger-for-laptops-black This one will charge most type-C PD laptops if they're off, but not mine cause Razer apparently doesn't know how to negotiate Type-C PD at anything less than the maximum the PD spec offers. Apples work though. Zendure makes pretty good crushproof batteries for their price. www.amazon.com/AUKEY-5000mAh-Compatible-Bluetooth-Headphones/dp/B07RJK8XH9/ There's lots of physically smaller ones for recharging headphones now too, like these aukeys with a single tesla-style 2770 I use the zendure supermini 18W for my TS80P soldering iron kit, and a pair of the aukeys for keeping my headphones charged. I'm still looking for a unit that can discharge at 100W PD over type C for a reasonable price, but most of them exceed a hundred USD, and that's just too rich for my blood. So far the cheapest reasonable unit's around $180. But when you're charging a $1300 laptop, it's worth it to get a unit that can keep up. Anything with a proper metal casing and a reputable brand behind it will hold up to daily use well. Avoid cheap plastic crap like the $10 RAVPowers 10000mAh flatpack, Although their slim GaN chargers are real nice if you can find them on amazon renewed! I've got three with zero issues and no sign of heat deformation even at 45W. Barely feels warm while charging at full blast, unlike most of the cheap 5V/2.1A phone charger blocks which get hot as the blazes while delivering only 10W. www.amazon.com/RAVPower-45W-Slim/dp/B083BRKMJQ/ www.amazon.com/RAVPower-30W-Cube/dp/B07T7M2799/ I'm still amazed my friend's macbook air runs & charges from the tiny 30W cube charger that's around the same size of the old 10W lipstick charger apple used to bundle with the iphone 5 era.

[@ninjaked1265]

Must’ve kept the brightness really low

[@randomstuff-qu7sh]

My first thought was his phone must've had impressive battery life. If he was expecting a super long wait, he probably brought a portable charger though.

[@earthlingjohn]

@@GrahamCantin fully charged comment 😁

[@DeadDinosaur]

Holy shit, John was exactly on point with that last 3rd. That's exactly what happened.

[@christinab.9735]

in my country the vote day is on a sunday. You can vote in your village/city. My village has 1000 residents. And you only wait like 5-10 minutes. the more I see the videos from John, the more I am happy to live in austria

[@vospecv8928]

"I don't lose too often." His taxes actually show he does lose quite often...

[@Tcrror]

@Ace 06 What a winning combination! LMFAO

[@trabladorr]

In the mind of a narcissist, they can rationalize any personal failure as someone else's, or even a victory in learning. He does actually believe that he doesn't lose too often.

[@jackngo9164]

@@trabladorr Trump is actually right, if you took the time to analyze his last 7 years tax returns that he released to the American people in 2016; you will see that it’s a mixture of the banks fault and basic math. Borrowing and spending more money than you make = deficit/debt doesn’t make sense.

[@mannyverse6158]

Being delusional comes with narcissism

[@ryancawdor9381]

go back to england you hack

[@harveythepooka]

Anyone who says, "If I win there was no cheating, but if I lose, there was," is a liar.

[@bluebotlivingston6016]

That's both dems and repubblicans lol

[@mishimposble]

Said Hilary Clinton 2016.. The electoral college was created for a legitimate reason.

[@yurilookingforhisvictor7674]

@@mishimposble A legitimate reason at the time it was created... it's extremely outdated now.

[@mishimposble]

@@yurilookingforhisvictor7674 You clearly don't understand why the Electoral college was put in place for balance.

[@mathgod]

An orange narcissist.

[@brycecohen7691]

I'm in Australia and this made even me really nervous; I already did my country's voting two years ago but now I'm worried about how the Americans are gonna vote and how that could effect the whole world

[@doyouevenliftbra4773]

Bro I’m in Perth what’s uuuuuuuuuupppppp yeh dude I feel you

[@brycecohen7691]

@@doyouevenliftbra4773 Like, here in Perth we're even further from danger, geographically, than the Eastern states but we still out here worried

[@mikegaynor7222]

Watching this after the election and holy shit John Oliver nailed it all around. From the blue shift to the long time to count to trump declaring victory. Somebody give this man a medal

[@RanekVorax]

America, the so called country of "Democracy". Yet it takes me in the simple ol Europe just 10min to go in a polling station and get out again with a successful vote :)

[@richardsanchez9190]

To be fair it used to take that long. Ever since I started to vote it would take me about 10 to 15 mns to get in n out.

[@RanekVorax]

​@@richardsanchez9190 Then you guys did a great job in gutting a working system if the voting time changed from 10-15min 8h.

[@Ri4Fu]

Yeah and we in Switzerland where we can vote on basically any big legislation we had almost exclusively mail in voting for decades without any big fraud cases ever.

[@michielvoetberg4634]

I guess my average waiting time for voting in person is around 2-5 minutes. I am from the Netherlands

[@shadoudirges]

@@RanekVorax It happens when one party is actively carrying out voter suppression tactics.

[@skittlecookie715]

"Horribly coordinated, totally nonsensical, and extremely dumb" -2020 in a nutshell

[@wf6951]

Get your booty to the poles

[@DeosPraetorian]

@@wf6951 Do you want him to become a stripper?

[@PretenderCS]

The same shit happens all the time, 2020 is just more extreme.

[@alblaka8852]

Also; projection.

[@GlobalSingeing]

But only in America unfortunately

[@thDEVILdl]

Who else is watching this after the election?? Like everything he has said hit the nail on the head

[@nickadamgu]

15:30. It’s uncanny. This is exactly what has happened.

[@debk6161]

There’s nothing funny about any of this. I trained and served as an official poll worker in Florida and witnessed the methods used by Republican poll workers to suppress the votes of non-Republicans. Some of the behavior was subtle, some was blatant. Although I stepped in to try to prevent most of the abuses I witnessed firsthand, the three different precincts I worked at during three elections were but a fraction of the number of precincts overall. It seemed an orchestrated and very purposeful plan on the part of one party to prevent working class people from voting. All of my experiences were documented and reported at the time with the lawyers monitoring the elections as well as directly to the county Supervisor of Elections (who is a Republican.) But no action was taken against the workers involved and they were not removed from their election jobs due to shortages of volunteers. Not all voter suppression is perpetrated by the governmental bigwigs in charge. Much of it is being done directly by the volunteers at the polls, often right under the noses of poll watchers who do not take their jobs seriously or who don’t understand what they’re seeing or know what they can do about it. And because of such abuses and maltreatment by Republican workers, most non-Republican workers never volunteer again, making the problem even worse. I strongly believe that Florida would have a Democratic governor today had thousands of blue collar votes not been suppressed in such ways. In one precinct I witnessed hundreds of voters give up on trying to vote because the Republican clerk of the precinct had refused to set up the voting booths she had been given. Even when the county Supervisor of Elections ordered her to do so after complaints from the election lawyers I had called about it, she still refused. By the time the Supervisor sent a team to force the issue it was too late. Hundreds and possibly thousands of voters had given up on voting because of the extremely long lines. This was in the largest precinct of the entire county and those lost votes definitely could have swayed the election in favor of the Democratic candidate for governor.

[@wobblebomb]

horrifying

[@ColoringKaria]

This is the part I don’t understand. People know this is a matter of speed why not send an enforcement team out with the ruling?

[@triciah8598]

How would you overcome this for future voting?

[@Admiralty86]

They've been doing this since 2004. There's a documentary called "UnPrecedented." by Brian Greenwald.

[@maxthexpfarmer3957]

She needs to be in prison. Don’t you have to agree not to do such things to be a poll worker?

[@Kainthemain]

That guys phone has some great battery life

[@snylekkie]

Powerbank

[@sarabeachpeach]

@@snylekkie that's what I said

[@masonjam8634]

@Live Life people who plan and prepare when doing things

[@monicareid8858]

You sooooooooooo called it!!!

[@JehBasquiat]

Literally.

[@nodjadong]

If you ever have a tiny bit of your spare time, please check on what's happening in Thailand at the moment. Our story needs to be heard and we need a lot of support from the world. Cheers, Always love your work.

[@jonasateo]

I, as a German, love the comment section getting taking over by Germans telling y'all how incredibly screwed your elections and electoral systems are 😅 The issue is: Germany is a working democracy with some issues like corruption & lobbyism while the US is an oligarchy/plutocracy claiming to be a democracy. It's not just the elections that are fk'd up, it's the whole system.

[@milliet1227]

So very true. The entire US political system is rotten to the core.

[@jonasateo]

@@Gk9311 Very true, shitty things indeed & things that should result in the perpetrators being brought to justice, which they probably won't due to corruption and ties between industry and political parties, which is one of Germany's big issues right now. It's still just "some issues" when compared to all the shit the US is facing. It does not really impact the lives of Germans nor does it threaten the stability or continued existence of our country & democracy, at least not yet. It is, however, a serious issues and the opposition as well as the parties currently governing should do their duty to their citizens and fix that shit - a lot of words to say smth very basic: The issues in Germany are serious but can be repaired, I believe. The issues the US has, cannot, at this point, be repaired without major upheaval. I am honestly sorry for the world and your country as all of us will have to deal with the aftermath.

[@scottipippen6554]

@@Gk9311 I would. Becaus they are just "some issues" in the big picture. Ever heard of Texaco, Pacific Gas & Electric, Thornburg, Chrysler, Conseco, Enron, General Motors, Worldcom, Washington Mutual or Lehmann brothers?

[@TheTaiylorWallace]

We are so fucked. You have no idea how badly we need help. Everything America has pretended to fight against in the past, is happening here.

[@cpanic1153]

Megalanias you cannot reasonably compare the US to Germany. A more appropriate comparison would be the US to all of Europe. We may be the United States but we are also 50 different states with different laws and extremely diverse population and culture.

[@prisoner2001]

I wasn't ready for "threatens the safety of the Poles"

[@gerdforster883]

While I appreciate the great pun, they could have gone with the actual historic precedence. The Reichstag election in 1933 saw SA men at polling places, intimidating voters.

[@joshuamcentee3601]

@@gerdforster883 Yes, but the average person knows more about the invasion of poland than a rigged election in 1933

[@machvayne]

On point to the end

[@honeyartstudios]

The lady at 0:26 had me in tears with her skeptic impersonation 🤣🤣🤣😂😂

[@jorgedaniel9656]

Where I live everyone has a Citizen Card, the only document you're required to have if you live here, containing all your important information. When you vote, they just match your Citizen Card number to your full name and that's it. No one registers to vote, everyone that is a citizen is allowed to vote by default. I've worked at voting booths multiple times, and the system runs smoothly and it's basically impossible to cheat, I have no idea how the USA election is so complicated and yet so flawed...

[@romankacin8365]

Americans don’t have a citizenship card because they consider it an invasion of your privacy. If for instance, things go very dark like they did in Nazi Germany, the authorities of the day could track you down very easily. The downside of course is, it makes things like voting a lot more complicated without one.

[@diazinth]

Roman Kacin a legitimate fear; USA has a history of putting right wing authoritarians in power around the world :)

[@mk1st]

Part of it is that each state has their own laws and does it their own way. This is an advantage in that the system as a whole is hard to hack from the outside. But when one party conspires to destroy it from within....I don't think that was anticipated by the framers.

[@TitaniaBird]

Complicated and flawed is, sadly, ingrained into the American DNA. We'd rather have a clusterfuck because it protects our...right to apathy or something...

[@feyoko]

Roman Kacin do t the have social security number? Can’t they get you info with that? 🤔

[@corvusalbus7276]

Here's voting in Germany, in the small town where I live : I turn on the coffee maker, go to my polling station(with identification and the letter everyone gets), vote, return home just as the coffee's done.

[@jeyzeus]

Same here (just different Eu country), except I can even forget the letter, ID is enough.

[@LizA-fe4il]

same, also in Germany... but I forget my letter every time and can still vote :)

[@corvusalbus7276]

@@LizA-fe4il & @Je Zeus , yeah I bring the letter just in case, I think they only asked for it once.

[@snuffeldjuret]

my polling station is in the very same house that I live in :P. (Sweden)

[@chazdomingo475]

It works like that in rural America too. But rural America hates and envies urban America, and demonizes minorities, so the politicians rural America elects create these situations of intentional obstruction.

[@petecoombs1163]

Called it again Mr Oliver. Well played

[@BottoBobbs]

1:11 "Who knows what things are like whenever you're watching this." Oh boy. Ohhh boy.

[@vincentknight27]

In Germany - authorities automatically send you your voting information, so no need to register yourself as a voter - polling lines are never longer than 2 minutes It’s always so weird to see how complicated America, calling themselves the oldest democracy, has made it for its own people to vote🤔

[@jacobnoelle8428]

Power is one hell of drug

[@silberstreif]

Yeah, I never thought about our voting system in Germany before. It just works and the worst thing I've heard is that sometimes cities have trouble finding enough volunteers.

[@Jan_R]

That is because of our Meldepflicht. Americans would never commit themselves to tell the government their address

[@albusking2966]

Jan R. That would infringe on their freedom 😱😱 just like free healthcare infringes on their right to die because they can’t afford treatment. But no: All these ideas are socialist and Europe is a communist hellhole😂

[@gianferretti5781]

Im italian but i live in mexico. The italian embassy here sends me voting ballots for general and local elections in italy, and my father gets his too. They come in the same envelope, since we live together. They arrive by DHL to our house. we fill them in, put them in another envelope and take it to the embassy. Thats how we've always voted from here, even though i havent been in italy since 2007.. i dont know why this issue about mail-in ballots is so hard to understand and accept for so many people. Besides the fact that trump is using it as an excuse to deny election results on case he looses

[@tootieq6527]

The really bizarre thing about the “Don’t mess with Texas” slogan is that its origin was about not littering, and being eco-friendly. Not exactly a Texas trait anymore.

[@marneus]

A Texas trait is that Kalifornians migrate to Texas and not they other way around.

[@KoreyAusTex]

I’ve lived in Texas my whole life. The “Don't Mess with Texas” slogan is/was originally for a campaign aimed at reducing littering on Texas roadways by the Texas Department of Transportation. It had nothing to do with eco-friendly, not littering is 1 example of being eco-friendly but the campaign was not touting eco-friendliness.

[@christophermanley3602]

San Antonio resident here, and I will be voting early, and in person.

[@DarkManSonian]

I'm a Texan and we are ecofriendly, it's the immigrants such as the Californians and New Yorkers and shit that come here and think our state works like theirs. We are so huge and spread out that if you throw trash out of your car, depending on where you are, that trash may never be picked up. Antilittering is ecofriendly because we do it to ensure the safety of the animals and the environment that we protect here in Texas.

[@Carpatonnet]

Korey V Not littering is common decency, not particularly an “eco friendly” gesture. I mean I’m sure those trash cans are here for a reason don’t ya think

[@MeleeTiger]

The rest of the world: Man, living over here and we're still worried about this. Canada and Mexico: Screaming on the Inside being stuck with sharing a land border.

[@CaptainDoomsday]

Well, Mexico has nothing to fear. After all, he's gonna build a wall!

[@royalflushqc9933]

I can’t stand people that thinks are talking for everybody i’m canadian and i’m rooting for Trump all the way and he already won dems will have to accept it now or later

[@CaptainDoomsday]

@@royalflushqc9933 Cool, you're in the minority and I'm embarrassed to share a country with you.

[@royalflushqc9933]

@@CaptainDoomsday the embarrassement is shared

[@katydid922]

Best Late Night host ever. It will be a sad day when John Oliver is no longer on the air. American needs you, John!