For better or for worse, television sometimes has a way of reflecting reality even before it even happens. The West Wing famously predicted the Obama campaign with Matthew Santos. Now, the most recent season of Veep eerily predicted Nevada's role in the 2016 election.
In both real life and the HBO series, a key turning point in the election is the state of Nevada. Veep Season 5 began with a presidential election in which there was a possibility that ballots had gone missing in Nevada, so there was a recount. If you need a refresher, in the episode "Ne-VA-da," the show's election stated that "according to Nevada law, if the recount sample shows a difference of one percent or more, which in this case comes to 512 votes, we go ahead and recount the whole state." Votes in Nevada are counted by touch screen, and thanks to the 2012 court case Crowley v. Nevada, paper audit trails do not have to be recounted in local elections — which complicates recounts.
Now, in our world, Donald Trump's campaign engaged in a legal battle over Nevada's early voting. It's not exactly the same issue. This suit was issued Monday, well before the possible need for a recount. Clark County responded to the lawsuit on Twitter, saying,"Trump campaign petition asks to preserve early voting records. This is required by state law & so it is something we are already doing."
The fact that this election could come down to Nevada, just like it did for Selina Meyer, is so interesting and surprising. There are always some states that you expect to be more contested than others, and Nevada is not exactly one of them. That Veep could have predicted this, in its own way, is pretty wild — but so has this entire election been.
Image: Lacey Terrell/HBO
