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  • YOU MAY NOT KNOW THIS, BUT PEOPLE IN OTHER COUNTRIES PAY

  • CLOSE ATTENTION TO AMERICA'S ELECTIONS, THE SAME WHICH

  • AMERICA PAYS CLOSE ATTENTION TO THEIRS.

  • BUT WHAT'S IT LIKE FOR A RECENT IMMIGRANT TO FINALLY SEE YOUR

  • FAMED ELECTION PROCESS UP CLOSE?

  • RONNY CHIENG GIVES US THE ANSWER.

  • >> AMERICA, WORLD'S GREATEST DEMOCRACY.

  • THAT INALIENABLE RIGHT TO VOTE? PURE GENIUS.

  • A PROJECTED TEN BILLIONS DOLLARS WILL BE SPENT ON PRESIDENTIAL

  • CAMPAIGNING ALONE!

  • CHA-CHING!

  • I SAT DOWN WITH AN EXPERT TO LEARN ABOUT YOUR AMAZING

  • PROCESS.

  • CAN YOU TELL ME HOW AMERICA GOT A PERFECT VOTING SYSTEM.

  • >> I WOULDN'T SAY IT'S PERFECT.

  • >> NO, THE VOTING SYSTEM IS PERFECT.

  • PLEASE DON'T RUIN THIS FOR ME.

  • >> I'M NOT SURE THERE IS SUCH A THING AS A PERFECT VOTING

  • SYSTEM.

  • >> NO, NO, NO!

  • IT'S PERFECT!

  • THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS!

  • >> THERE ACTUALLY ARE PROBLEMS.

  • IN 2000 WE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE VOTE MACHINES IN FLORIDA, SO

  • CONGRESS ALLOCATED ABOUT $2 BILLION TO BUY NEW VOTING

  • MACHINES.

  • >> YES!

  • $2 BILLION!

  • YEAH!

  • YEAH!

  • 2 BILLION MAKING IT RAIN!

  • $2 BILLION RIGHT IN YOUR POCKET!

  • >> WELL, MOST STATES BOUGHT NEW EQUIPMENT.

  • >> AND IS IT WORKING GREAT?

  • WELL, THEY'RE SHOWING THEIR AGE IS WHAT I WOULD SAY.

  • TECHNOLOGY DOESN'T LAST FOREVER.

  • >> ACCORDING TO HIS RESEARCH, THAT $2 BILLION FROM CONGRESS

  • WAS USED UP OVER A DECADE AGO.

  • NOW 86% OF MACHINES ARE OUTDATED AS A (BLEEP) FLIP FLOWN.

  • I VISITED WITH THE COMMISSIONER OF ELECTION TO SEE IF THINGS ARE

  • THAT BAD.

  • >> ROUGHLY HALF THE STATES ARE USING OLD VOTER EQUIPMENT.

  • >> WHEN YOU SAY OLDER, DO YOU MEAN OLD BUT COOL VINTAGE?

  • LIKE MACKLEMORE? THIFTSHOT SONG?

  • >> THEY'RE NOT HIP AND COOL.

  • THEY'RE JUST OLD.

  • >> OLD AS IN SHITTY?

  • >> YES.

  • EVEN THE GOVERNOR ACTUALLY HAD PROBLEMS ON ELECTION DAY WHEN HE

  • WENT TO VOTE.

  • IT WOULDN'T SELECT THE CANDIDATE HE WAS TRYING TO VOTE FOR.

  • >> DAMN!

  • ARE VOTING MACHINES THIS BAD EVERYWHERE?

  • I NEEDED TO SEE SOME UP CLOSE IN A LOCAL PRECINCT LIKE OAKLAND

  • COUNTY MICHIGAN.

  • GREAT, WE HAVE 1960s MICROWAVES.

  • WHERE ARE THE VOTING MACHINES?

  • >> THESE ARE THE VOTING MACHINES.

  • >> OKAY.

  • >> THE MEMORY CARDS USE A COIN CELL BATTERY.

  • WHEN THE BATTERY DIES, WE LOSE THE DATA.

  • >> IS YOUR GAME PLAN ON ELECTION DAY, PLEASE, JESUS, DO NOT LET

  • THE BATTERY IN THESE MEMORY CARDS FAIL?

  • >> RIGHT.

  • THEN HE SHOWED ME CRUCIAL VOTING MACHINES PARTS.

  • >> THEY'RE HARD TO GET BUT WE'VE FOUND THEM ON eBAY.

  • >> SO YOU'RE BASICALLY GETTING SHITTY TECHNOLOGY FROM eBAY

  • SECONDHAND?

  • >> THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING.

  • THIS IS WHAT WE CALL OUR ELECTION CENTRAL.

  • >> HANG ON.

  • WHAT IS THIS?

  • >> THAT IS A 56K DIAL-UP COME ON!

  • (SPEAKING MALAYSIAN)

  • EVEN MY GRANDMOTHER IN MALAYSIA WOULD LOOK AT THIS AND

  • GO WHAT THE (BLEEP)!

  • I READ YOUR REPORT. YOU COULDN'T DONE IT IN FOUR WORDS.

  • VOTING MACHINES ARE (BLEEP) -- FOUR WORDS.

  • GOOD LORD, I COME TO AMERICA FOR THIS?

  • THE VOTING MACHINES THEY USE IN INDIA, IS A BRIEFCASE, COSTS

  • $175.

  • IT WORKS FOR LIKE A BILLION PEOPLE.

  • >> BUT IN THE UNITED STATES MACHINES ARE A LOT MORE

  • EXPENSIVE THAN YOU EXPECT.

  • >> HOW EXPENSIVE CAN THESE BE?

  • EACH MACHINE IS ABOUT $6,000.

  • >> $6,000 -- FOR THIS?

  • >> YES.

  • >> CAN YOU ORDER STARBUCKS ON THIS?

  • >> NO.

  • >> CAN YOU LOG ON TO Facebook?

  • >> NO.

  • >> FOR $6,000, I EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO (BLEEP).

  • I GIVE UP, CAN WE CLOSE OUR EYES AND PRETEND THESE MACHINES

  • AREN'T A PROBLEM?

  • >> WHEN MACHINES BREAK, YOU GET LONG LINES, BETWEEN 500,000 AND

  • 700,000 PEOPLE WEREN'T ABLE TO VOTE IN THE 2012 ELECTIONS

  • BECAUSE OF LONG LINES.

  • >> SIMPLIFY THIS FOR ME.

  • WHO THE (BLEEP) DO I HAVE TO BLAME FOR THIS?

  • >> I THINK THERE IS A LOT OF BLAME TO GO AROUND.

  • THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ESSENTIALLY DOESN'T SPEND ANY

  • MONEY ON OUR ELECTIONS.

  • >> I'M SORRY, CAN YOU EXCUSE ME ONE MINUTE?

  • WOW.

  • THIS DEMOCRACY IS DOOMED.

  • MANY OF ITS OWN CITIZENS CAN'T VOTE BECAUSE THE COUNTRY WON'T

  • SPEND ANY MORE MONEY ON VOTING MACHINES.

  • IF ONLY WE COULD HARNESS THE BILLIONS SPENT ON THE CAMPAIGNS

  • AND STUPID ADS!

  • WAIT A MINUTE...

  • A VOTING MACHINE THAT RUNS ON ADS!

  • I'M A GENIUS!

  • THIS MACHINE RIGHT HERE.

  • >> IT'S AN iPad PLAYING A VIDEO OF DONALD TRUMP.

  • >> HOW DO YOU VOTE ON IT?

  • >> YOU WATCH 10 TO 15 MINUTES OF CAMPAIGN ADS AND YOU ACTUALLY

  • VOTE.

  • >> THIS WOULD ACTUALLY VIOLATE A LOT OF LAWS.

  • >> IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE ADS, YOU PAY A $99 FEE.

  • >> LIKE A POLL TAX?

  • >> MORE LIKE SPOTIFY.

  • >> WE'RE NOT IN THE BUSINESS OF MAKING MONEY OFF VOTERS CASTING

  • BALLOTS.

  • >> YOU DON'T WANT MY VOTING MACHINE, AMERICA?

  • I HOPE YOU ENJOY WAITING IN LINE FOR 12 HOURS ON ELECTION DAY.

YOU MAY NOT KNOW THIS, BUT PEOPLE IN OTHER COUNTRIES PAY

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