John Oliver’s first voting experience as a U.S. citizen was emotional: ‘I nearly burst into tears’

“Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver officially became a U.S. citizen last December, and on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”, Monday, he shared just how emotional it was to vote in his first presidential election.

“Scanning [the ballot] into the machine and the machine saying your vote has been counted, I nearly burst into tears,” said Oliver. “That is the truth. My eyes got misty and I thought, ‘I don't know if I can cry in the voting station?’”

While his voting experience was emotional, he admitted he had to wait in line for an hour and a half. Which when compared to his experiences with voting in England, was much too long.

“To have to stand in line for that long is an absolute disgrace wherever you are,” said Oliver. “Nobody else has to stand in line for seven, nine, eleven hours, whatever you're hearing about. It's absurd.”

Video Transcript

STEPHEN COLBERT: What did it feel like to go in there and-- and pull the lever, or however they did it at your polling place?

JOHN OLIVER: Well, yeah. There was no lever, that was disappointing. It was, honestly, it was amazing.

KYLIE MAR: "Last Week Tonight" host John Oliver officially became a US citizen last December. And on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" Monday, he shared just how emotional it was to vote in his first presidential election.

JOHN OLIVER: Scanning it into the machine, and the machine saying you're vote has been counted. I nearly burst into tears.

STEPHEN COLBERT: Oh.

JOHN OLIVER: That is the truth. I got-- my eyes got misty. I thought, I don't know if I can cry in a voting station?

KYLIE MAR: By voting, Oliver earned a fancy "I Voted" sticker, which will go great with his collection of Emmy awards.

And while his voting experience was emotional, he admitted he had to wait in line for an hour and a half, which, when compared to his experiences voting in England, is much too long.

JOHN OLIVER: That you have to stand in line for that long is an absolute disgrace wherever you are. No, no one else-- nobody else has to stand in line for 7, 9, 11 hours, whatever you're hearing about. Its absurd.