John Oliver read the new GOP state voting laws, and 'they absolutely make it harder to vote'

Election PSAs "are always basically the same: celebrities essentially begging you to vote," John Oliver said on Sunday's Last Week Tonight, showing a notable exception from 1988. But "as you undoubtedly know, the latest attack on voting rights in America is well underway," and "some of the biggest efforts to undermine voting rights have been concentrated in the closest states in last year's election," especially Arizona, Georgia, and Wisconsin, where 42,918 combined votes for President Biden kept former Donald President Trump out of office, he said. "I know things are bleak right now, but depressingly, it's also important to remember this is technically the better timeline."

Republicans insist if you read the bills they have enacted in 18 states this year, you won't find voter suppression. "But the thing is, if you do actually read these bills, you quickly find they absolutely make it harder to vote, and particularly for certain people," Oliver said. And the voter suppression is barely hiding in plain sight.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.