John Oliver proves primaries and caucuses are the worst part of voting
If you feel like your vote doesn't count, you might be right.
Many times in our election process filled with strange math and mysterious delegates and super delegates, a candidate can actually end up winning an nomination even though they don't win the popular vote. But how does that even happen? John Oliver decided to dive into the issue on last night's Last Week Tonight.
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Bernie Sanders supporters and Trump supporters have been rallying behind the issue of voter disenfranchisement, particularly when their candidate lost a state due to not winning enough delegates.
"The thing is, I get why [Trump's] annoyed," Oliver said. "And there’s no clearer piece of evidence that our system is broken — no more thoroughly dead canary in the coal mine — than when Donald Trump is actually making sense."
The problem, Oliver pointed out, that our system of delegates and Super delegates was created in the 1960's when a candidate (Hubert Humphrey) received the Democratic nod even though he did not win a single primary. However, individual states and not the federal government regulate how delegates get assigned -- so the rules are different depending on where you vote.
Though it isn't always the case, this year, both parties candidates happen to be popular vote winners, according to Oliver.
"Sanders supporters might argue that doesn’t include all caucus votes, but when The Washington Post estimated the rest, they found that [Hillary] would still lead by 2.9 million votes," he said. "[E]ven if you give Bernie a bonus of 10,000 extra votes in every state that’s voted so far, and even if you tack on an extra 100,000 votes just for shits and giggles, she’s still comfortably ahead."
Ever the problem solver, Oliver noted that the middle of an election is literally the worst time to get actual legislation done. However, since our system is clearly an "erratic clusterfuck" every four years, he proposes that everyone mark their calendars for Feb. 2, after the elected president has been sworn in, to write their emails to their party's chair and ask for legislative change.
Depending on the response, this might be a new way of knowing whether we will have six more weeks of winter.
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Andrea Romano -- comedy writer, craft enthusiast, lady -- was a Watercooler Reporter. She worked as an intern at Mashable beginning in January 2014. Andrea recently completed her Masters degree in Media Studies and Film from The New School and writes sketch comedy at Upright Citizens Brigade and The People's Improv Theatre. She once watched three Paul Rudd movies in a row on a bicoastal flight and didn't realize it until she landed. She does things like that a lot. Twitter: @theandrearomano
