Gerrymandering: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
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- čas přidán 28. 06. 2024
- Lawmakers often reshape voting districts to shift the balance of political power. That's unfair to voters, even those of us with questionable judgment.
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No offence, but I just don't get it! Between the presidential elections where the popular vote means nothing and this. How much can you still call this system democratic?
sniffthecactus duh well.... We are a Democratic Republic. Which is a bit different.
the popular vote does kinda matter. the vote chooses which electorates (dem or rep) will vote for the president. basically it's voting for the people who will vote for the president.
we're a representative democracy so we have "representatives" who focus on politics because 70-80% of Americans don't know anything about politics and 99% of Americans aren't involved with it
yin yang But why? And if I remember correctly, choosing your representatives is a complicated process which is different everywhere? And how can you know you chose the right representative before the candidates are introduced?
sniffthecactus duh our system is in place because 1. We have a huge country without a true homogenous group of people( when it comes to culture). And 2. Many Americans are simply to dumb in the eyes of politicians to make educated votes for the president.
And your question about the representatives, these representatives make it pretty clear who they will be voting for when they are running for office. And these representatives votes obviously reflect the popular vote (which is why the trump presidency is quite surprising)
john brand You say that they reflect the popular vote, but hasn't the whole spread out controversy started with the lack of proportional represenration? I live in Europe, and since I'm only recently alowed to vote, is my knowledge of our political system stil inadequate. We work with a Parliament iny country, but while we have multiple forms of gouvernement (city, province, 'gewest' and state) even our system seems more direct.
Michigan overwhelmingly passed Prop 1 to end Gerrymandering. Betsy DeVos spent several million dollars of her own cash to fight the proposal. It was a win win. Her effort failed and it cost her a buttload of cash.
Unfortunately she’s still worth over $2 billion, so it didn’t hurt her all that much
Side note, if you have more digits in your net worth than someone can be reasonably bothered to type out in a CZcams comment, maybe you should be taxed at a higher rate than the cook at Waffle House that has four kids and a crippling student debt he’ll never be able to pay off
@@daltongarrett3393 I have a question.. why does he deserve to be taxed at a higher rate? Wouldnt that not be fair to the billionaire?
pranith geddapu when you reach the point of becoming a billionaire, you don’t do it through your own work and effort. You make that kind of money through exploiting the labor of your workforce. Take for example the Walton family, owners of Walmart. Six people that, cumulatively, are worth $191 billion as of 2019. Last year, collectively, they made $100 million per day, $4,000,000 per hour, $70,000 per minute. These six people make more than double in a minute off of delegation of responsibilities and minimal to no labor than most of their employees make in a year. They hoard an exorbitant amount of wealth that could be put towards circulation in the economy, or the betterment of so many lives, and have an absurdly disproportionate and undemocratic control over our social and political landscape. Nobody deserves that much wealth and power
@@daltongarrett3393 right? That is a ridiculous amount of money that you could never spend in a life time. At a point it stops being about money and the money turns into power which is why we see so many billionaires trying so hard to become trillionairrs
3:19 “...Broken politics can be pretty rough... but that move was gangsta.” -Rep. Hakeem Jefferies -legit
Brooklyn politics*
Best line EVER
he said brooklyn
Shawn Wesson Brooklyn*****
I think he purposely meant to type broken
My father ran for a local office and came pretty close to winning. Coincidentally we were also drawn out of the district before the next election.
"Mommy, why is our district shaped like a swastika?"
That's our democracy at work, honey.
because steve bannon lives near by
Syrup & Pancakes *Mississippi
Joshua Kastle I live in the earmuff district
Joshua Kastle there's a district in Michigan (Macomb county) that is shaped like a cross. obviously God's work.
"So how do you know whether your district was gerrymandered?"
I live in North Carolina. That's how.
As a resident of NC, I can assure you, we have some shady elections in nearly every branch of our state government.
Josh Beane
At least it's not Florida, because everyone hates Florida, or even California. Seriously, the only good things about California are Hollywoodand some songs by bands named after spicy Mexican plants of a distinct colour. Bad things, however can include being a hot spot for human trafficking. Seriously, (correct me if I'm wrong) two of the cities most used in America for human trafficking reside in California. And it's still not as bad as Florida,in my honest opinion. I've seen Florida in a light tropical storm, it wasn't fun.
laughinsohard Agreed. But idk I still like nc
same
I seriously live 10 blocks away from I94 in Chicago.
I’ve watched so much John Oliver recently that my inner thoughts are in his voice
My god same!
Disturbingly relatable
i know this seems complicated, but let me break down for you !
I'm still kinda puzzled by the idea of having just two political parties... I mean who do you vote for if you don't like neither of them?
If you like neither of them you're fucked. Your opinion doesn't count. If you're part of one party but you don't like the current leader; like how many republicans dislike trump, then you're fucked as well.
Basically there is no third option. If you don't like your current leader but you still like republican ideals then too bad.
This is the harsh reality of this ridiculous " democratic system "
From the botched electoral college to the silly party system, it's basically a politics game with the illusion of free will.
you suck it up and vote for whichever corrupt millionaire might cause less damage. basically, an oligarchy.
To remove a little cynicism here, you vote for one of the couple third parties. The idea is that you'll get some reimbursement from the government for campaign funds IF you can get 5% of the popular vote. To move back into cynicism here, this is a terrible system that threatens to bankrupt anyone without enough money or political clout to gain a voting following. This is one of the many reasons that third parties don't gain traction here: if you're not immediately appealing, the deck is stacked against you monetarily. So third parties are generally a joke, a la Joe Exotic, or they're funded by the same kind of people that fund Dems and Republicans, just to a lesser extent.
the one you hate the least. this is why we should have a ranked voting system. first past the post ALWAYS ends in a 2 party system
@Julie W. with the way our voting system is set up, that will never happen. If there's a good third party leftist option that gains a lot of traction, that will only split the vote and make all left wing candidates lose. Same case if the independent party is right wing.
Am from Africa, i think this is best show in the world... I never knew i can learn this much from a comedian
where in africa i am in moz
Why does you being from Africa matter at all
Comedians have become damn serious and politicians f***ng clowns...
@Josny13 wot the fuck are you talking about? Africa is just like any other geopolitical region in the world, its developing, just not nearly as fast as other regions. Mostly because AFRICA IS A HUMONGOUS CONTINENT WITH WILDLY VARYING CULTURES AND PEOPLES.
Not to mention the rest of the world has been exploting THE SHIT out of its peoples for centuries, so politics is very VERY volitile and messy. But don't let the absence of major coverage deceive you, Africa is moving up in the world. So is India. Just not at the speeds the west has seen.
@Josny13 devolving sounds a bit harsh there, As a South African I can assure you it's not that bad
Why can't we just have 13 districts based on their resource specialty. Then one main capital region to manage the districts.
That is a perfect plan!
Yess and than kill off district 12
And then make a secret district called district 13. It can house refugees.
and lets have people in the first few districts be born with more wealth
Can we also have a train that goes through all of the districts and takes a couple people from each district to an arena?
Unicorns
"A map that churns out republicans like Ann Romney" is a joke that still lands in 2020 lol
Well, gerrymanding is apparently fine now. Thanks Supreme Court! Glad to see American """"Democracy"""" is alive and well!
I came here today for the same reason as you.
RIP RBG.
Fr
The more I learn about the american election system, the more baffled I become.
It is set up to restrict majority rule as often as possible. Well the electoral college part. Removing it would give large cities vastly more power over small towns and cities. Despite the rhetoric of democracy. We are far more a Republic. We just like catch phrases to sound cool and Democracy is more catchy
I came to the comments specifically to check if anyone else shares these thoughts.
@@JohnDoe-yz5wh No it's Not. Every Vote should be equal. In Germany, for example, that's the case, in the US it's not.
And i would argue that US politics are far more fucked up and chaotic than germanys'
@qwertzuiop how many german people watch john oliver? Cause there are like 6 in basically every comment thread.
@@momopenguins7335 yeah dunno i guess it's pretty popular considering it's not even in TV here
I love how comedy shows these days are doing a better a job than major news stations at covering political and social issues here in America.
Andrew Hong that's because they kinda dumb it down and make it funnier so the majority of Americans can swallow it without falling asleep. Also comedians are allowed to use political satire. if news anchors did that, they'd be fired
I would not say he is dumbing it down: he mixes it with (mostly superfluous) jokes, yes... but despite of his opinion he tries to stick to the facts, actually explaining what terms mean, talking about their backgrounds
this is what news should cover too, instead of just repeating catchphrases
They're the only ones allowed to call anything bullshit. Journalism outside of comedy has come to accept that to retain viewers they have to present nearly every issue impartially, and without bias for either side. Even when one side is the truth, and the other is false.
Think Flat Earthers... now think how modern journalism in the USA would cover it... yep, they'd have a Flat Earther on who talks and debates his points, to ensure both sides are heard from. In reality, news should be biased towards the truth, regardless of political agendas... "creationism isn't valid science", done. No need to talk with one and have them present their views like somehow it's a valid argument.
the thing is pretty much all other media stations are not even trying, they are just crapping out clickbait
Someone saw the Vox article :X
It is amazing to me that John Oliver said "Everyone should get a say in government" and five thousand plus people somehow disliked that sentiment
It's okay, CZcams took away the ability to see sad numbers 🙃
Because of his framing. 30 mins to say 5 or so simple points sandwiched by selective coverage of facts baked into partizan implicatkons. And 90% memes
"Donald's Trump's tweets will be a threat to our democracy"
Me: *chuckles nervously in October 2020*
*Chuckles nervously in November 2020*
More like twitter censoring is a threat to our democracy
@@MrRafagigapr lmfao no.
Laughing happily in November 8
@@loljewlol *happy european noises*
This video is so very important, regardless of which party you identify with. If you're a democrat, you're probably pissed about gerrymandering now. But as a republican, you should be pissed if things switch in favor of democrats. As a members of the United States, you should be pissed that the system is favoring one side or the other.
Robert Hutchison another problem LWT didn't cover is safe districts. if you are a Dem or a Rep, if you don't have to worry about re-election because your district is safe (packing) then you have no mathematical reason to listen to your constituents - you're gonna get reelected anyway. you could be a decent person who listens to your voters anyway, but that's despite of the system that all but guarantees your job.
Robert Hutchison and if you're a Rep in a guaranteed safe Dem district, or vice versa, good effing luck being heard
Jennifer Schlicht This is also contributing to, if not the leading cause of, the increasing tribalization in American politics, since if you live in a safe district, you don't need to appeal to the other side to get elected, so you'll continue to get more and more extreme in order to avoid the only thing that can threaten you, a primary fight.
It doesn't matter. Politicians represent corporations and money, not the people. So all of gerrymandering and you being pissed is just an pointless exercise in democracy.
For the most part we think of Republicans as anti progressive. For example, they don't approve of same-sex marriage. So if things switch and we get a party (Democrats) that try to be more inclusive, what's wrong with that?
I really respect that John will throw Democrats under the bus, too. It's not about sides, it's about policies. The US has a lot of defective POLICIES which need improvement, regardless of which side abuses them more.
For example, don't have all of your voting based on landmass.
Captain Doomsday kil
True, but Republicans still engage in more bullshit manipulation and lying than Democrats in my experience. I've never heard of a Democrat gerrymandering a district to get elected. Apparently its the only way Republicans can get elected.
Captain Doomsday m
@@frankm.2850 Sincere question-- in what state do you live? I live in Massachusetts and it's the exact inverse of what is describes here-- Democrats and Republicans are like 60 D/40 R or maybe 65 D/35 R here, but Massachusetts hasn't had a Republican in congress since 1997-- 22 years ago. We have some Republicans in the state legislature, but it's extremely lop-sided.
@@frankm.2850
Voter fuckery genuinely does happen extremely frequently on both sides of the fence. Don't let people tell you otherwise- the whole system is impossible to be salvaged. As example, Democrats have been found being voted for by deceased persons, and non-citizen immigrants in California have no issue legally obtaining a driver's license (sensible), which is all the ID you need to vote in that state (crazy). It's all fucked, my friend. One side will point the finger at the other to keep this "us vs. them" going, because keeping the people divided is key to keeping us unaware of how they work together. Don't buy into the party bullshit.
This episode made me realize that in "Parks and Recreation", Gerry's name being mistaken so many times was a deeply seeded political pun.. Thanks for that one John xD
"First, that's racist," is the one of the most hilarious lines from this segment lls
why is that no one ever thinks a system dominated by 2 parties might be a problem?
This was exactly what I was thinking.. A point that was glossed right over until he slights the Jill Stein voter at the end. His half baked bashing her take on quantitative easing prior to the election was enlightening, while he was waving that corporate Pant Suit flag, and devoting most of his shows to making fun of the Con Man and his supporters.. Ironic.. especially considering who got the last laugh.
A two party system means the majority of the people will support one candidate, if there were something like 3 major parties, than it isn't guaranteed that the majority of the population will support the winner. In the same 3 party example the winner could only have 40% of the vote, while in a two party system it guaranteed that the winner will have the majority.
Ha! The electoral college just crushed your position. The 2 party system is broken. The Demwits and Reptiles no longer represent the majority of anything.
www.selfgovernment.us/news/3
But, that's not how it works. Just because a candidate gets 50 % of the votes doesn't mean that it has 50 % of support. And in a presidential election with more than 2 parties the candidate that won will have won with 50 % of the votes, only it would have happened during the second round of voting.
In a state with more than 2 parties all(well, most at least) opinions will be represented, instead of forcing people to choose between two parties and therefore two opinions(this is obviously simplified since every party has different factions in it, and the voters in the US choose a candidate instead of a party(although since the candidate is tied to a party they will of course have to follow the party line most of the time), but in general this is the result).
A system with more than two parties also allows for proportional representation(meaning no gerrymandering), which in a two party state is problematic since it means that the variation of options of what opinions exist in the political system would be even more limited than now, since the party chooses the candidate instead of the voters(with more parties this is not a problem).
honestly other than the president no politician's beliefs should matter. Ideally their job would be simply to do what a majority of their constituents want and to make sure the bills don't harm anybody with hidden features. Cuz instead I vote for someone cuz most of their beliefs line up with mine and then everyone else does so now on the issues I disagree with and possibly other people I am represented as if I did.
"But that move was gangsta"
😭😭😭😭
Its funny
Until they fly airplanes into buildings
Kill a million people for the Oil Mafia
Allow Monsanto to give millions cancer
Brain damage babies with lead in the water
@@APEX-qv7rm what
@@majikss
Politicians + Corporations
Kill people by the millions
@@APEX-qv7rm drug abuse is a problem
@@GoogleGebruiker
Drugs are not as evil as Beliefs
Beliefs kill 100's of millions of Innocent people for 5,000 years
Ive learned so much about illegal goverment actions from john Oliver. They should teach this stuff in school.
Ive learned so much insane legal government actions That definitely shouldn’t be legal from him 😂😅 *cries in American*
Can't teach kids the truth in America, that's against the law.
Gerrymandering is covered in the required civics/government course needed for a high school diploma. You just didn't pay attention... the Mandela effect isn't just for oddly specific stuff on social media.
I don’t know how American still go around claiming their country is the most democratic, I think we Australia have a far more fair and efficient system when it come to representation, and we never try to rub it on other’s face!
shao19851 No I really do like to rub it in other people’s faces and especially on Donald Trump and how they voted him into power and how I’m laughing at them right now.
I let John Oliver tell me about things I've heard passed around but was too bored or lazy to learn much about. (Usually politics.) Thank you John, for tricking me into educating myself.
Look, I love Oliver, but for the love of god do some reading alongside. John is NOT a new reporter. He's a comedian. A lot of his videos are extremely biased, such as the Kavanaugh one. But even if he wasn't, never EVER EVER get your news from ONE source.
You made me laugh, but it was a nervous laugh. Your phone has Google, right???
@@davidralphsky Kavanaugh is a pile of maggot filled dog shit, his opinion about the man may be biased, but the facts he states are not, you can easily look them up for yourself and see they are true.
Same
Politics is kept boring to keep people powerless
The speech at the end was awesome!
I was surprised no one else mentioned this yet.
LadyCeag840 I
The whole joke about the Jill Stein voter was the fact she was never going to win being a third party candidate in a two-party electoral system, hence it was a crazy choice for that person to back her. If you think Bernie would have won (which I'm not disputing btw, I would have loved to see him run against Trump), why would you want that joke made about him?
People are not crazy for voting for someone you would not vote for. It is a democracy. So ridiculing the choice is an expression to support fascism to an extent. I did vote for Stein. I had no one left to vote for. Bernie ran away so I was left the tournament winner. Hell no she would not win. People who dislike but clearly support the so-called two-party system prohibited her chances more than the government.
Did you notice that the whole Gerrymandering thing is about racism with a cover of base-control and division?
If so, then you may find this odd. His interest selection at the end was diverse. The gender was diverse. Racially, it was a mere token black dude barely in the shot on the far barely lift left side. I don't know if that was part of the joke, or just end-skit gerrymandering. What do you think?
Anyone else come here from the Census episode?😂
Me!!!! 😂
Lol I never usually click on the recommended videos at the end either, but for some reason this one stood out to me
Slayed me at 11:12, "water is warm today. Enjoy your swim." oh!
What the hell even is American politics?
Vonix #FoxGuardingTheHenhouse
Vonix A shitshow
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Well I'm living in america and my lifes pretty fair so I don't give a fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
A dumpster fire fueled by religion hurdling down a hill straight into an orphanage.
I thought that was what the 2016 election was also know as?
I like how John Oliver doesn't always talk only about Trump like other talk show hosts do. He focuses on other topics that are interesting, but don't have as much exposure.
Hammad Ali umm he talked about Trump this episode this is just a clip from that episode
but you're right he's probably the one who does it the least but I think it's more dependent on his writers and what hbo wants to air
Joseph, (and this may come off a bit patronizing), if he's becoming political, and this leads to more nuanced political discussion, isn't that a net positive?
This segment is also about Trump because it shows how republicans use gerrymandering to win elections even when they don't have a majority of voters
Gerrymandering only affects house and state representatives. It's unrelated to Trump except for the thin connection of being "republican"
I have a radical idea: whatever percentage of people who vote for someone get that percentage!
You’re right that is a radical idea
"COMMUNIST" - USA 45th president
ADSM17 “IDIOT”
That would make too much sense, go back to any other developed democracy.
That is what happens?
That's what happens for the senate, because the whole state votes. You can't do that for the HoR because then everyone would have to vote for every representative. So they have to have districts. And the people who do get elected ARE the percentage in that district; the problem is that the district is badly drawn.
I never realized how much funnier the show is with the audience....Come baaack 🥺🥺🥺
Jesus Christ, American democracy is a fucking joke. And I say this as an Italian, so my standards are already pretty low.
I've got a faint interest in this so answer me if you will: Which is worse, Trump or Berlusconi?
The whole country is a joke.
That's a hard question to answer in a few words. Berlusconi controlled most of the media, whereas Trump sees them as an opposition force. Berlusconi would make us look ridiculous, use his political power for his own financial gain and do nothing good for the rest of the economy - Trump looks like he's going to be the same. The real difference here is that the POTUS office yields so much more power internationally, and has access to the nuclear codes. Italy doesn't even have nuclear plants and is way less influential on the global scale.
Gabriele Catalano we are not a democracy. We are a republic!
Gabriele Catalano the U.S is a Republic
So can we all agree that there should be a federal law against Gerrymandering?
Joshua Graham There is one. Politicians have just found loopholes and ways to get around it.
Loopholes? People move and communities change. Is not a loophole
But who makes the law?
@@joeypoil9370 but they aren't drawing it according to people.moving and communities changing.. both sides change it to Make it better for them instead of fare
NO!
"We should all be relevant...that's the point of this country."
Yes, John, that's definitely the point of that country.
The term Gerrymandering was coined in 1812
@@nobackhandseven if the term is new, anythings existence is always vastly older than the name.
@@kempolar9768 "the term is new" over 200 years old
At 5:07, it shows that Iowa has their districts drawn by legislators: This is inaccurate. Iowa is the only state that has theirs drawn by an independent commission.
This is why I'm glad that in Canada, at least for federal and provincial elections, voter districts are drawn by a nonpartisan independent organization
Bull shit
Jeremy Boily why?
@@jeremyboily1551 evidence please
@Jeremy Boily It is independent.Google electoral district Canada and read.
Gotta love how you say something reasonable and true and someone is just like "nope, don't think so"... could make too much sense. That seems to bother people too
Can someone please tell me something that is genuinely good about the US voting system?
Pretty much each and every step seems to be shit based upon the infrastructure nearly two centuries ago when people had to ride around on horseback to share a message.
FieserMoep nothing
I know something! If you have no clue about any of the details or steps, it seems like a perfectly fine one!
direct election of senators?
Tom Windle I personally agree with you, but even that is fairly controversial.
It has provisions in place to protect the voices of small states.
"Americans don't live in squares"
So where do you live?
Oh, you know, a few blocks from here...
I know it's many years later but I just want to say that the funniest part is that springtime genuinely is the worst season for historic carousels😂
Not sure why I look at the comments. It's always a narcissistic superiority competition. Congratulations, you're objectively better than a stranger on the internet.
Sean Porcelli I know its a nasty place but I still join in to share my opinion. Its a place to get corrected or know the opinions of others.
Well said TF2 scout memes.
hit the nail on the head.
Fuck off Sean, think I don't see right through you; tryina maintain a fucking moral high ground.
Jews are responsible for Pokemon not being real.
Everybody’s vote should count equally huh? Talk to Electoral College about that!
Without electoral college America would fall. It's what made ur country United.
@@joeypoil9370 ...What?? How does it make the USA united to have a system in which someone can win the majority of the votes from the people and NOT be the person in office? All that does is leave the literal majority of American citizens feeling cheated.
@@animeartist888 without electoral college, only 2 states would matter. (CA & NY). They would be the 2 states that decide the government for the rest of the country. The electoral college is how all states agreed to be United.
@@joeypoil9370 With the electoral college, a person in North Dakota's vote counts >1000 times more than a person in CA due to the dilution of 2 senators across the whole state's population. How is that any more fair than your scenario? Also, you left out Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania as high population states. Plus, how would 60M people (population of those two states) decide the will of 350M? Your point is a Fox News scare point.
@@buckosoft 350million people, yikes your country packed. What's your voter turn out? ...50% on a good year...maybe. yes, your country has other high population numbers. New York state and California have the most. The states with the most people (under your scenario of equal vote) would mean the highest pop state would get most of the attention by the federal government, then the second highest pop state and so on. The smallest states would get no attention and have no voice.
This issue is not new, this issue is what kept ur country divided. The electoral college is what United your states and made you the solid country that became the empire.
Spoiler alert; the Supreme court said gerrymandering for partisan reasons is pretty much okay by claiming that it's not a federal issue.
I hope most natural citizens of America realize how much Mr. Oliver truly loves this country. Big fan. If you're watching this, you already are as well.
Why divide districts at all? In the Netherlands we just count the votes and divide it between seats of parliament. It's the fairest system
how do you then decide who sits in those seats?
@@johnclose4201 we get a list with all the candidates from all the political parties on the ballot. We can choose from those and the votes are counted on a national level, so that a party with less votes doesn't grt more seats
John Close it’s called party-list system in my country (Thailand). We used to have it for senate election... although now we are under a military government who came to power by a military coup ... so now we have one-house system (we used to have House of Reps and House of Senates - both have different election rules) and all seats are now appointed by the junta ☹️
Guinness I can see at least an advantage in district election - that people can directly choose representatives who should most represent their local interests/affiliations.
And I’m thinking the party-list system might work in NL due to the size of the country/population ... but may be too complicated for some country like the US (with different federal & states systems too)...
Though I don’t know much details about both countries’ systems so my comment is just theoretical.
@@khamfai You're right about the complexity of replication of a similar system in the US, but even in the US, people don't elect a party based on the candidates running on a district-to-district basis, but the frontrunner candidates for the highest government position, so it doesn't make sense to allow gerrymandering to continue.
In New Zealand electoral boundaries are done by an independent Electoral Commission to avoid gerrymandering. Gerrymandering in any form is a crime here because it's seen as only one step below vote rigging. Boundary drawing in New Zealand also take into consideration communities of interest. In other words they try to avoid dividing communities but if a town or city is too big they prefer to put the boundaries along a major highway or a natural feature like a river. Electoral boundaries can also be challenged by both politicians and voters to ensure fairness. No method of electoral boundary drawing will get rid of districts (or what we call electorates) being dominated by a particular party but having the boundaries drawn by politicians is effectively election rigging in all but name, no matter what the politicians claim. I should add that Electoral Commission staff are not allowed to be members of political parties or serving or former politicians.
Sounds like the rest of the world could learn a thing or two from New Zealand.^^
I mean this is true, but we also made the districts almost completely irrelevant. our version of MMP has a baked in system to ensure that party vote almost entirely represents the eventual allocation of seats
In Germany we simply count the votes for the parte and sum them up. So the form of the voting area does not play any role. Why is that not possible in America? Am I missing something?
It's the same process in Australia. The commission that decides new electoral boundaries remains independent from political parties and parliament. I'm assuming the UK has a similar process as well, considering the comments in the video. It makes sense to have an independent commission redraw electoral boundaries instead of highly partisan politicians.
The US might like to think of itself as a bastion of democracy, but it's a rather flawed democracy and I find it puzzling that gerrymandering is so blatantly allowed.
Miles Lacey n
As a Greek, I cringe when I hear John describe Chobani as a "Greek export", given that it's an American brand started by a Kurdish man in New York. The word "Chobani" itself is Turkish. Just because you like to call that stuff "Greek" doesn't mean it is, and in fact I can assure you our dairy products blow that processed garbage out of the water.
I understand your concerns, but I dare not try to speak your name lest my furniture start floating again.
Also, it was a joke.
Maybe it's Greek style?
But I get it, Thin Mints are also false advertising. I can eat boxes and boxes of them and never get thin, LOL.
you owe me money
I have always found your monologues to be informative while being well-crafted and funny. But this one takes the "earmuff" cake!!! It is hilarious, informative and above all eye opening. Hopefully, this will allow misinformed people on the topic to take stock, remember they still live in a democracy and go out to vote like they never did before. 🇨🇦❤️👍🏾
Everytime when I watch his Show, I am glad to life in Germany.
I'm glad to live in here in Germany as well. But truth to he told, we aren't anywhere _near_ perfect either.
Sure we are far from perfect, but we are one of the best. The Scandinavians may be better.
That's why I'll be going to college there! (That and dozens of other reasons, but politics is in my top 15 reasons)
How are those gang rapes working out for ya? Oh wait you must be with the Merkel crowd. Nothing to do with mass immigration right?
How come, that you think I like Angela Merkel. However she is not a bad politician, she and her party are to conservative for my opinion. I would be glad, if she will lose the next election against Martin Shulz. Also the last time, I heard about gangrape, I had missclicked on YouPorn!
As a GIS professional, we have AAALLLLL the data and ability in the world to make perfectly bipartisan districts. We just need someone to make them. How much are you willing to pay me?
GIS professionals, secret saviors of democracy!
There's the rub- someone will always pay more to make them partisan as hell
David Angeletti Please run for office. There will be free healthcare.
"we have AAALLLLL the data and ability in the world to *make* perfectly bipartisan districts."
That bold word is the problem. There shouldn't be any drawing of lines at all. I don't understand why we can't just group up counties into districts.
I have $1.30, is that enough? I can pay up front in cash.
And... The supreme court decision just made Gerrymandering a lot easier/have less consequences.
Who would have thought I'd be watching this 3 year later and yearning for the good ole days.
It's sad when a British man is more American proud sounding than an American
Duh duh duh?
It's not surprising - immigrants typically care more about the country than natives - they went to a great deal of effort to choose to live there
@@Septimus_ii being English not only a great deal of effort to get here but also a great deal of money
Aw come on you should come to France and just point me towards any single person saying anything good whatsoever about France. It's impossible.
@Moss : food is good ;-)
Oh and we have perfected strikes on art level. No one does strikes as we frenchmen do XD
In Australia, we have an independent commission, the AEC, to draw our federal electorates to avoid this problem. Same for all our states; I'm from Victoria, and it's the VEC that handles it. It works; we've never really had any problems with gerrymandering.
Also, preference voting is pretty great too at avoiding some of these problems. We've had that for almost 100 years.
Reece Druiven Maybe the US should outsource their district selection to Australia if they cannot find any unbiased people in their country.
In india also we have an election commission which js out of government control....
And the same in Canada. Don't want that Fox keeping the keys to the hen house...much?
Ah no... you clearly need to read some more Austrian political history... Queensland under Joe in the 70s and 80s was heavily gerrymandered... but all that was blown sky high when he was eventually kicked out. Eternal vigilance is the only cure. Australia's next reform hoop is removing politician's power to set their own salaries.
Followed shortly after by removing politician's powers over: immigration policy, energy, drugs including alcohol, hospital funding, human rights, national parks management, compliance with international treaties, consumer information and labeling, legal aid, law reform, waste management, and prison sentencing. Get the politics out of areas where expert knowledge and world's best practice are never going to be popular, or has proved to be an irresistible asshole magnet.
Reece, in the USA Republicans are horrified at the thought of having a fair and unbiased system to determine political representation for the American people! How else would they be able to control all branches of the American government (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial) when Republicans are only making up 26% of the American population?
They don’t teach you all this is high school. This is insane!
This is why I keep watching John Oliver. Every person's vote should count and be counted equally, no matter their views, no matter their history, no matter their choices. For my vote to mean anything, so must theirs-- even if I disagree with them. That's what democracy needs to work.
I learn more from John Oliver than I ever have at school.
JohannsSOCKS lololol xD
GunsMc$h00t Right!?
Pooponastoop xD
StampedingSquirrels you know it!
JonSnow :P
Everytime I see LastWeekTonight I think that the American political system is pretty messed up.
Well, that's because it's kinda true....
The biggest problem is we're using a system that was invented when mail traveled by horse or boat. We don't really need "representatives" as we can all now vote for our favorite celebrity dancer we see on TV.
it is
I disagree with John Oliver often (because I am right wing) but he is the only comedian on mainstream media who is actually funny and I respect that.
Same here. The only reason I’m here is because my libtard professor thinks this guy knows what he’s talking about.
I mean, his team does a lot of research for the show and just because something goes against your interests or beliefs doesn't mean it can't be factual. I can't think of anything they would've gotten so blatantly wrong that it would affect their credibility negatively.
I used to gasp at my friends who told me that they don’t vote. I’d be like - “WHAT?!?! “YOU DONT.?!”
They’d say - “who cares, it’s not like my vote matters or anything.” Then ......
I’d excitedly try to explain to them why it DOES in fact matter. HOWEVER, in doing so...... I explained the whole electoral process.. THEY’D SAY
“See bro? I told you it doesn’t matter.” I’D SAY😔 “$hit...... I uh..... guess you’re right dude.... Pass the salt.”
America's political system is so fucked up it hurts.
gerrymandering needs a darker name
Buggery?
GritsnBeans to funny.
Deathmarking? Angerlining? Evilcoiling? Darth Gerrymandering?
david gonzalez ratfucking? www.amazon.com/Ratf-ked-Behind-Americas-Democracy/dp/1631491628
How about "State Rape"?
Perhaps relevant to the discussion, two versions of that graph strongly resemble the imperial rank badges from Star wars.
i'm fascinated by the fact that the "US-multi-party" democracy is basically a two-party-dictatorship and everyone has silently accepted that. with the rise of identity/group politics in the last decade or two, i do not understand how there's still basically just two parties to vote for.
Yeah most of us don't understand it either but those two parties are so entrenched into the way our government works, and they have so many resources dedicated to them as institutions I legit don't know how we will ever un fuck it
Honestly I loved that last part in the end!!! Everyone voice should be heard NO MATTER WHAT!!!
Mario Armia You like that he bashed Jill Stein supporters in the end?
+andrewwantsafreetibet so? whats your point?
allthatishere I supported Jill Stein.
Were you in a competitive state? Because if you were that's a guaranteed stupid decision.
Freedom of speech
Maybe I am missing something here, but why do we need districts? Why not look at the stats as a whole? If a state votes 44% blue, then why not give them 44% of the seats?
The go-to argument would be that the DNC and RNC would just send whomever to fill those seats instead of people with a vested interest in districts that need representation the most (minority communities, sparsely populated farmlands, etc.). Also, it could make it impossible to "vote out" a particular candidate.
well if we had proportional representation the democrats and republican parties would collapse, so it wouldn't be an issue. Minorities could have their own party
+sleazycakes you're assuming all minorities want the same thing, diversity exists even within minority groups.
That are the advanteges of majority voting with districts. And thats why we have both in Germany, half the representatives are voted in districts (Wahlkreise), the other half with party lists. Its also really complicated ;)
Because big cities are always blue, without exception, and that is where democrats get their votes. Under a democracy, majority (or mob rule) wins. That is not the way America was founded and why the word democracy is not in any founding documents. We live in a constitutional republic and protect the minority opinion. Most of the land throughout out the country are hard working people who should not have to be forced to live the way people in the city want them to live.
There will be no Cinco de Mayo tweet, John, or any other tweet. I will now chuckle in the form of permanent suspension. *Muahahha*
We had to learn about gerrymandering in my civics class, but I’m probably the only person who actually payed attention because we were only required to write the definition and move on. My dad was surprised when I brought it up saying “ isn’t this illegal, it sounds illegal”. When I talked about it someone literally said “ that isn’t a thing, shut up.” That was the only other kid to get an A on the quiz
+LastWeekTonight can you do a segment on the famine in Yemen and East Africa. The UN described it as possibly the worst humanitarian crisis since WW2 and it doesn't seem to be getting any coverage in the mainstream media.
likhith chandragiri worst humanitarian crisis since WW2 is probably Rwandan Genocide, but the U.N was barely involved in it so they don't count it
DmacAttack At least somebody was involved.
Its not covered because its caused by islamists and maistream media loves islamists.
likhith chandragiri never heard of it xD.
The worst crisis is the immigration into Europe but ya'll don't care about that cause you hate white people
Crazy old president, districs, walls... Are you guys trying to get your own Hunger Games?
We're really going more for Mad Max than the hunger games...
Aoshi Kearun yeah I agree hunger games is a little too hopeful, but mad max is exactly what we are going for
Given the level of corporate involvement, it's more Blade Runner
Yeah right. That would entail poor people getting food. Too close to socialism. Lol
Collin McLean we already have a mad max, it's called Florida
There's a game called Berrymandering which uses actual physical tiles to teach people about gerrymandering. You can also buy two sets and combine them! It's really fun and kind of cute, so it's a little bit for kids by being about berries but adults who like board games find it fun, too. I highly recommend it!
I typically stay away from political stuff but a man from Poland told me I should watch this when I realised he knew more about my own country than I did, I don't know you name or if you'll see this comment, but thank you
The end of this was a more patriotic speech than any I heard in the presidential election by far.
The little old lady at the end is adorable.
The grandma at the end was so adorable 😂
The amount of research involved in making this video is supremely outstanding!
What sort of democracy allows the party in government to draw the boundary lines of the electoral districts? Won't the government rig the boundary lines to give itself an unfair advantage? Of course they will. So in advanced democracies, the drawing of electoral lines is entrusted to an electoral commission which is apolitical. But not in America? The mind boggles!!!!!!
Now you know why when the Democrats wanted to change the current system of drawing electoral districts to a more fair and non-biased system by creating a non-partisan commission that is responsible for such duties the Republicans vehemently refused! States that are controlled by the Republicans and are guilty of massive Gerrymandering accused the Democrats of imposing federal power over their state rights and conspiring against them!
@@liquidKi Aye, there's the rub. An "apolitical commission" may be less exploitable than our current system, but politicians will inevitably find a way to thwart it. We should still do it, though, because a half-fix at least fixes half of the problem.
*"How do you make this commission apolitical?"*
Staff it with foreigners. That way, the people drawing the boundaries will be apolitical, since they neither hold power in the US, nor reap any potential benefits for rigging the system. Ideally, you'll want people who think the US electoral system is stupid, so most Europeans are eligible (Although not UK Conservatives).
@@liquidKi my country is so small that this doesn't help as only 2 mil people means every vote counts.
We just devide the country and cities to easily register people so the voting is fer(you know so one person can only vote at one place)
@@liquidKi The commission should follow a set districting procedure, with an accountability and appeals system. Like any other government commission in the developed world basically.
This is, in my opinion, the biggest problem with our (America's) democracy. Sure, the electoral college is poorly made but it in no way disenfranchises people so blatantly or to the degree that gerrymandering does.... Republican or democrat, if you support real American values of fairness and freedom, you should oppose this.
I'd say it comes close to conflicts of interest and money in politics.
But, in the words of Mel Brooks
We've got to protect our phoney-baloney jobs, gentlemen!
You are correct, Frodo Baggins.
The electoral college disenfranchised over 3 million people.
its actually way more than that when you taken into account that even people who voted for trump, the ultimate winner, in states that went to Hillary, their votes didn't matter either, they just got lucy that their preferred candidate won
One of the best night show closings ever. 😁🤣😊
If I had a "Single Transferable Vote" I'd give it to your reporting John, Thanks.
every time I watch this show I'm happy to live in Germany
You know that World WarII was about 70 years ago, right?
The Incredible Link Lol, judging a modern day German (probably a young one at that, given the channel's viewer demographics) based on Nazi atrocities. Classic
Janik Wieland die Überhangmandate der Unionsfraktion, die bis vor 2013 im Bundestag nicht ausgeglichen wurden, haben die parlamentarische Abbildung der Wahl auch verzerrt. Also Deutschland war, was das angeht bis vor kurzem auch nicht besser.
The Incredible Link Don't judge a book by it's cover. Plus, today's German youth have nothing to do with the war, so shut it.
Janik Wieland Yep can't wait for the next attack from your refugees and I hope you are there when it happens! Then tell us how great Germanistan is!
Phillip defraco said this was worth watching...so true. Guess I have a new show to watch each week
What if he also said bleach was worth drinking would you drink it?
tiagovalen Chill, Dude. He did his due diligence and actually checked out the video and found it suited to his taste.
So I should at least try the bleach?
watch the ones about church, tobacco and nuclear weapons. Then swear at the sky in anger due to the irresistible need to retroactively watch dozens of already aired episodes.
As a lifelong resident of Iowa, this state is boring other than the massive amount of Methamphetamine usage, the corrupt prison system, alcoholic judges, and pathetic public education system.
A letter I wrote recently to my Senator in regards on how to make everyone's vote matter the same:
The reason why I’m writing to you today is on the topic, no doubt with the midterm election coming up later this year, how the government no longer has this nation's best interest at heart anymore. That the previous President was elected not by the majority, but by the Electoral College. However, if each Presidents were chosen by the popular vote or every state counted as only one in the election, than inevitably one state would matter more or someone’s vote would mean less.
It comes down to equal voters rights. The foundation of this democracy is based on how everybody’s vote should matter the same as the next. The only solution we’ve been able to find is in the Electoral College. It isn’t perfect, with things like swing states, but it’s the only way we’ve found so far.
If it meant making some fundamental changes to our governmental structure, would you do so in order to dispose of it?
In all states, there is one governor, selected directly by the people. If in another election, regardless of whatever party the governor was, if two-thirds of the people elected differently, the governor should cast the vote that way. Thus, why each state would count as only one in the election. If the governor doesn't abide by their constituents? Impeachment.
A way of getting rid of political gerrymandering? Have the census draw up the district lines. They know the whereabouts of the citizens best and would be able to distribute the voters more fairly into districts.
In an interview with PBS News Hour Weekend, Former State Representative David Lewis stated “If I felt there were any way in the world that I could stand before my constituents and say ‘I believe that it’s possible to come up with a group of people who have no political bias whatsoever, who will simply sit down in a room and magically create districts, I’d be behind it. I’d be behind it 100%’ but those people don’t exist.” Apparently, here's a way possible, and his fellow colleagues should be behind it as well.
The core of our great Constitution was the Separation of Powers: Legislative, Judicial, and Executive. The system of checks and balances; unique in that it kept one branch from holding power over the others.
Our Congress is composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Even though a bill might make it past the House, it must receive two-thirds in the Senate in order to proceed to the President. If it’s vetoed by the President, it can be overturned only by obtaining two-thirds in both the House and the Senate. Why isn’t there a system to keep Congress in check? If everybody’s vote is meant to count equally, as it should, why doesn't the House have the same power as the Senate? The voice of the people should be the one to keep things in balance; two-third of the population deciding the outcome of their one vote. If the President vetoes a law? Then it’s put to two-thirds vote between the House, the Senate, and the People. The President doesn’t get to choose what laws pass in this nation; it states simply they’re only responsible for their implementation and execution.
I hope this may offer some amount of help.
Proportional voting and just a more parliamentary system of electing our officials would work much better.
Zachery Bishop *democrats
Zachery Bishop to be fair, Dems can when they will (and dropped the ball in 2010). district lines should be out of partisan control as much as possible altogether.
*politicians
this is not a partisan thing
*people
Political Parties in general
John, you are just the best part of my Monday mornings.
Thanks this helped with my debate speech so much
I love that the balls were blue in the map sectioning bit. Hehehehehe 😁
What a coincidence! My friends and I are cracking and packing right now!
Sadly, that joke about the pen running out of ink isnt a joke. It's the actual reason that we, that is the British, didn't draw the border between Pakistan and India into the Kashmir and consequently why Indian soldiers, Pakistani soldiers and militants are fighting there.
James Digby Palestine Israel and Cyprus too
James Digby I was wondering what incident that was.
It was not because they ran out of ink
That's more along the lines of an excuse than an actual reason.
In the middle East we had the French to help us
Damn i really should've watched more John Oliver when I was still taking History and Government classes. I remember a decent amount from the classes, but he makes it funny and even more memorable.
Every episode is superb
John Oliver has helped fill the endless hole in my heart since Jon Stewart retired. Another great bit!
this is what's happens when you have a two party system , everything get rigged to fuck!!!!!
Syed Abdul Wasay I think everyone knows George Washingtons favorite quote. The party system is the downfall of fair democracy. Government office holders don't fight or vote for what is right, they only bicker and trifle over meaningless issues to discredit the other party
Syed Abdul Wasay but a third party would actually hinder the process imagine party a and b in a two party system, and comes along party c. some of party a members move to party c but that actually helps party b. if originaly it was a 60:40 split for a and b respectively, if c omes and take 30% from a, b which had a minority would win.
paskal prasetya the problem wouldn't solve with one more party , elections have to be representative there should be more than 4 political parties to make it work , just look smaller countries like Iceland they got more than 4 ...........
Syed Abdul Wasay In India we have many political parties ... and an independent election comission to decide upon the districts or constituencies of voters.
Sharmishtha Ch Yeah the daily show (when John Stewart was on) showed how organised the elections are.......
I actually learned a lot here. Thanks, John.
And the end was so gratifying
That was obviously the sweetest grandmother in the world. she was trying to scowl and and look angry... she just couldn't.
excuse you slenderman would be a great babysitter. you will never see your children again but wherever they are they are in great care.
Finally, Wisconsin judge rejects Walker B. S.
I find John Oliver's show very fascinating and entertaining. What strike's me the most is that an immigrant is explaining the nuances of American politics to the world. Not only is he making you laugh but also creating informed viewers as well. Go figure. Keep it up JO!