S7 E13: Voting by Mail, George Floyd & UFC: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Protests and Police Brutality

• Protests have erupted across the country in response to the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police, highlighting a legacy of police misconduct and white supremacy that prioritizes the comfort of white Americans over the safety of people of color (37s).
• The killing of George Floyd is part of a larger pattern of police brutality and violence against black people, who have been killed by police on the street, in their own homes, and by wannabe police, and have been threatened with state violence while engaging in everyday activities (2m1s).
• The concept of "order" is often used to justify police actions, but this order is designed to benefit and protect certain groups, while being hostile to black people (1m50s).
• President Donald Trump initially tweeted condolences after George Floyd's killing, but later tweeted that "thugs" were dishonoring his memory and threatened to assume control, using language that is code for racist sentiments (2m41s).
• Trump's tweet about looting and shooting is a quote from a notoriously racist 1960s Miami Police Chief, demonstrating his familiarity with racist maxims of the 20th century (3m5s).

Trump, Twitter, and Mail-in Ballots

• Amidst the protests and COVID-19 pandemic, Trump spent the first half of his week focusing on Twitter and its alleged political bias, after the platform added a fact-check footnote to two of his tweets about mail-in ballots (3m42s).
• Twitter's fact-checking of Trump's tweets highlighted the issue of mail-in ballots and the potential for fraud, which Trump has claimed is "substantially fraudulent" (3m57s).
• A tweet claiming Luke Hemsworth is the best Hemsworth has not been flagged as a damaging lie on Twitter, despite being a false statement, highlighting the platform's inconsistent moderation (4m6s).
• President Trump has repeatedly claimed that voting by mail in the upcoming election will be substantially fraudulent, tweeting about it numerous times in the last two months and stating that mail ballots are "cheaters" and "corrupt" (4m27s).
• Trump's claims about voter fraud and rigged elections are not only false but also actively harmful to the democratic process, and his repeated assertions bring back memories of his 2016 campaign (5m1s).

The Challenges and Importance of Voting during a Pandemic

• Despite Trump's claims, 70% of Americans are in favor of allowing any voter to vote by mail if they want to, and the COVID-19 pandemic has made mail-in voting a more popular idea (5m24s).
• Holding in-person elections during a pandemic poses significant challenges, including the risk of transmission among voters and poll workers, who are often older and more vulnerable to the virus (5m41s).
• Many poll workers are concerned about their safety, with one worker expressing fear for her safety and deciding not to work her state's primary, and health experts warning that the age group of most poll workers is among the most vulnerable to the virus (6m11s).
• Some state officials, such as Missouri's Governor Mike Parson, are not addressing the concerns of voters and poll workers adequately, with Parson offering unclear advice ahead of the local election (7m27s).
• The safety of voters is a top priority, and if people do not feel safe to go out and vote, they should not have to, but voting is a right that must be easy to understand and accessible to everyone (7m52s).
• One way to mitigate the dangers of in-person voting during a pandemic is to expand the option to vote by mail, which is often lied about by Trump (8m17s).

Wisconsin's Chaotic Primary Election

• Wisconsin's primary election was chaotic due to the pandemic, with a massive reduction in polling sites and a record number of mail-in ballots requested, many of which never arrived or arrived late (9m31s).
• The Republican-controlled State Legislature and supreme court thwarted the Democratic governor's attempt to delay the election, and the Republican assembly speaker Robin Voss delivered a mixed message about safety while volunteering at a polling place (8m55s).
• Many voters did not buy Voss's assurances due to safety concerns, leading to massive lines and chaos at polling sites, with some voters wearing garbage bags to cast their ballots (9m48s).
• The COVID-19 pandemic does not stop for elections, and it disproportionately affects minorities, making it essential to find alternative voting methods, such as mail-in voting, to ensure voter safety (11m0s).
• The general election in November will have a much higher turnout than the primary, making it crucial to address the issues that arose during the primary election (11m5s).

The Debate over Mail-in Voting

• The idea of making voting by mail easier is being considered to prevent issues like those that occurred in Wisconsin, but some argue it's a radical proposition that could lead to widespread fraud and manipulation (11m7s).
• However, voting by mail is not a new concept, as it has been used since the Civil War, and one in four Americans cast a mail ballot in the last two federal elections (12m2s).
• The question is not whether to have voting by mail, but rather how hard to make it, and the answer varies widely depending on the state (12m23s).
• Some states have Universal all-mail voting, while others require a reason for an absentee ballot, and some have restrictions in place, such as requiring a photocopy of a photo ID and a notary or two witnesses (12m37s).
• The argument for limiting voting by mail is to prevent cheating, but the process of cheating would require multiple steps, including knowing a dead person's personal information and signature (13m27s).
• The process of cheating would be difficult, as it would require filling out a form, redoing the voter registration, and knowing personal information like the last four digits of the social security number and driver's license number (14m11s).
• The restrictions on voting by mail vary by state, and some states have not decided whether the fear of COVID-19 will be a valid excuse for the general election in November (13m9s).
• Voter fraud through mail-in voting is difficult, high-risk, and low-reward, as it requires forging a signature that can be compared to the one on file, and if caught, it can result in several felonies and prison time, all to gain just one vote (14m34s).
• Despite periodic list maintenance, including cross-checking Social Security death records, voter rolls can still be vulnerable to fraud, but the risk is still relatively low (14m47s).
• A 2005 bipartisan report stated that absentee ballots remain the largest source of potential voter fraud, but in practice, it is still incredibly rare, with only 54 cases of suspected voter fraud out of over two million votes cast by mail in Oregon in 2016 (15m28s).
• The vast majority of people are not willing to risk prison time to commit voter fraud, and the only vote that might be worth risking prison time for in Oregon is a vote to get Portland Trailblazer Damien Lillard into the MVP conversation (15m53s).

Challenges and Concerns with Mail-in Voting

• Mailed ballots are rejected at a higher rate than those cast in person, and it doesn't work for all communities, such as people with disabilities who need to go to an in-person voting place for help casting a ballot (16m22s).
• Some places, like Native American reservations and remote Alaskan villages, may have unreliable postal service, making mail-in voting difficult (16m34s).
• Advocates argue that vote-by-mail is still a good idea, as it would reduce obstacles to civic participation, but conservative opponents speculate that increased participation would benefit Democrats, despite research showing that it hasn't obviously helped one party or the other (17m17s).
• Some conservative opponents, like Texas's AG, have gone to extremes to fight mail-in voting, threatening to prosecute anyone who encourages people to get an absentee ballot due to fear of the coronavirus (17m43s).
• The lieutenant governor of Texas has also engaged in fear-mongering, claiming that Democrats will take advantage of mail-in voting to steal votes, and that there is no reason for anyone under 65 to be able to say they are afraid to go vote (17m52s).
• Some people believe that voting by mail is a scam by the Democrats to steal the election, but this is not true, and people will likely vote by mail in large numbers due to the pandemic (18m13s).
• Even in states that try to fight mail-in voting, the odds are that many people will still vote by mail, which will require states to handle a high volume of mail ballots (18m40s).

Funding and Logistics for the 2020 Election

• States need money to properly run the 2020 elections during the pandemic, with estimated costs reaching $4 billion, but the CARES Act only directed $400 million to states (18m49s).
• Funding needs to come quickly, as jurisdictions will struggle to handle a high volume of mail ballots, and hiring and training additional workers or purchasing machinery will be necessary (19m5s).
• Pennsylvania, a swing state, had only 17,000 absentee ballots in their 2016 primary but received over 1.8 million applications this year, making it difficult to cope with the surge (19m11s).
• Machines like high-speed scanners and sorters can take several months to order and safely install, making it concerning that some officials, like Missouri Governor Mike Parson, are not taking immediate action (19m32s).
• Officials should communicate to voters how to get a mail-in ballot, when to do it by, and how to properly fill it out, and voters should prepare themselves for the possibility that it may take longer to count all the ballots (20m32s).
• If there is a surge in mail-in voting, it may take several days after election day to know who has won, and officials should prepare for potential discord among supporters (20m43s).
• Voters can request and return their absentee ballots early to help flatten the curve of vote tabulating on Election Day, and they can also use a stamp to mail in their ballots (21m16s).

Promoting and Encouraging Mail-in Voting

• Four custom "I Voted by Mail" stickers have been designed, which can be printed out at home, featuring various humorous designs including a hamster in a speedo, a ghost with an X through it, and an emu wearing a top hat with a nose ring, available at ivotedbymail.com (21m40s).
• Voting by mail not only exercises civic duty but also reportedly angers Tucker Carlson, which is presented as an incentive to do so (22m10s).

TV Hosts and Background Distractions

• TV hosts are shown to be distracted by objects in the background of their video calls, including a collage ball, a cat, a child's setup, a plumbing industry quotation, a steering wheel clock, and a platform with hot wheels (22m26s).
• The idea of seeing where people live and what's behind them on video calls is discussed, with some finding it interesting and others not (23m33s).

UFC's "Fight Island"

• The UFC is mentioned as a place to watch grown adults fight each other in an enclosed space, and their plan to stage fights on a private island, called "Fight Island," is discussed (24m1s).
• The name "Fight Island" is criticized for being unoriginal and obvious, with the suggestion that a more straightforward name like "UFC Island" would have been better (24m27s).
• The UFC filed trademark applications for the term "Fight Island" just two days after a show aired, and Dana White confirmed it wasn't a coincidence, with the UFC eventually obtaining the trademark thanks to John Oliver (24m59s).
• Dana White intentionally forgot John Oliver's name, which Oliver found amusing, and also pointed out that White was ranked 83 on GQ's list of the 100 most powerful men in the world in 2013 (25m40s).
• John Oliver isn't mad about the UFC using the "Fight Island" name and suggests the UFC should let him rename their events, providing some humorous suggestions such as "UFC Knuckle Opera" or "Dust Up at the Beef Factory" (25m57s).
• Oliver also jokingly suggests that Dana White's name could use a punch-up, as it doesn't sound like the head of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and provides some alternative name suggestions for White (26m19s).

Dana White and John Oliver's Back-and-Forth

• The UFC's Dana White accused John Oliver of using selective facts in a piece about the UFC, specifically regarding three people testing positive for COVID-19 before a recent event (27m12s).
• Dana White responded to the criticism by saying the UFC had three events with 1100 tests, but it was later revealed that those tests were administered to just 300 people, which seems to be a selective fact (27m43s).

Dana White's Trademarks and the "You Will Submit" Saga

• Dana White has trademarked several phrases, including "Dana White looking for a fight", "Fight Library", "Chicken Monster", and "Baddest", with the latter citing potential uses such as toy figures and action figures (28m10s).
• Dana White's trademark is being questioned, specifically whether it's legal to put the phrase onto other objects not covered by his trademark, such as a mug (28m40s).
• The UFC has applied for and obtained several trademarks, some of which have expired, including "You Will Submit" for use on baby booties, fanny packs, and walking canes (29m0s).
• In response to Dana White taking something that was created, the favor is being returned by attempting to own the trademark "You Will Submit" (29m21s).
• A website, tugslabmeatsbabypalace.com, is selling a baby onesie with the phrase "You Will Submit" (29m36s).
• The move is seen as a humorous and lighthearted way to poke fun at Dana White and the UFC (29m40s).