If all of the people who didn’t vote because “It would never make a difference” actually voted, we could have had a constitutional amendment by now removing the electoral college.
Seriously
I love how the takeaway from this is “yeah fuck politics amirite” and not “dude it is THERE FOR THE TAKING for anyone who is inspiring enough to actually get people voting for them”*
(*and who feels like overcoming the significant hurdles of the media and the DNC cooperating to do their best to tank their campaign which they will definitely do if you are inspiring enough for people to want to vote for you)
THERE FOR THE TAKING I tell you
Nah. There’s always going to be those, “They’ll never win”, “they’re not a practical choice”, “Voting third party is a waste” types.
Democrats and Republicans can only agree on one thing. They don’t want more competition. I think that’s why voter apathy is so bad
I have a former roommate that her reason for not voting is that she doesn’t think it effects her. She thinks she can live an apolitical life because she just doesn’t want to deal with it. Meanwhile she can’t afford anything because our state makes it really hard to get food stamps
voting third party will just split the vote for the side you want though (and thats a big problem when the opponent is literal evil or whatever, and the margins are so tight), we need to switch to a better voting system like ranked choice voting to allow more than 2 options.
Wait, what was that quiet bit in the middle? /s
democracy may not be available in all areas, ask your local TV conglomerate whether democracy is right for you
“We’ve tried nothing and we’re all out of ideas.”
Just having the vote on a non working day or giving (almost) everyone obligatory paid leave that day is way easier and could already have quite an impact.
For anyone like myself that was interested in 2020:
Found it here (Although the data source is shown on the chart)
I think trump woke a lot of people up. clearly there’s still ground to cover but it looks like clear progress in voter turnout
Everyone was also at home/working from home/on flex schedules due to covid in 2020. People had time to vote, they had time to research things and take part in political discourse. Everyone always forgets that little historical tidbit.
2024 may hit record low voter turnout as the nazi’s ratchet up anti voter laws, removing polling places, and companies keep putting the economic screws on their workers with stagnant pay and forced return-to-office so citizens don’t have time to think about the political process.Can Biden just say fuck it and declare a national holiday? Would that help at all? What about making voting mandatory like we have in Australia? You get a small fine if you don’t vote which is usually enough incentive.
It wouldn’t really help I think, I think what needs to be done is a change in the verbage and communication, nov 5th should be communicated as the deadline, and early voting should be renamed to just be the voting period.
In my state early voting starts on Oct 17th, meaning you have more than two week for in person voting.
Absentee ballots (mail in) can be cast as soon as you get it, which is typically almost 2 months in advance.
Besides, the people who would get ‘national vote day’ off as a holiday are the people who probably already have the means to get to a ballot box.
Having a national work holiday would do wonders for voter turnout. Most people in states who are required to vote in person can’t get the time off to visit a poll booth while they’re open.
Another shout out to all the states that have at-home voting through the mail. You get a pamphlet with their stances and websites and you have a long time to get it in. It’s an amazing thing.
This is an example for the primaries in August: https://voter.votewa.gov/genericvoterguide.aspx?e=888&c=99#/
I live in Oregon and can vouch for this system. Voting is super easy. You get mailed your ballot, you can fill it out and mail it back at your leisure, or turn it into your local county drop box if it’s too close to election day. The system is secure, all ballots are verified locally and create their own paper trail. No voter fraud, and anyone who claims there is is just a piece of shit.
Seconding your vouching. It really is painless.
In most of the countries of the World elections are on Sunday and Saturday for this exact reason, US could change to weekend voting days as well:
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/46ukem/so_camerons_eu_referendum_is_on_a_thursday_which/
2020 was the highest US voter turnout in over 100 years (percentage wise), and it was still atrocious. Also worth noting, trump got the second most votes of any presidential nominee in US history, thankfully beat by Biden, but it’s not like all of the new voters were purely against trump.
…okay, you’ve convinced me. As someone from a beige state that’s been presidentially blue for over 30 years (meaning my vote means dick-all due to EC shenanigans), I will continue to show up and vote to make sure it stays that way.
Maybe one day I’ll even get an inspiring candidate to vote for.
I’m assuming you’re showing up for more than presidential elections, though, right? Where your vote counts even more?
If you think presidential participation is low, you should see state and local numbers. Or don’t, if you’re prone to depression.
Yes. Unfortunately I live in a nepo congressional district where the mob boss’s — I’m sorry, party power broker’s — little brother has a seat for life and runs unopposed every primary. And said “power broker” is VERY deeply embedded in the state dem machine (and much of the business dealings in and out of the public view), to the point where court action was needed to stop the ballot placement fuckery.
It’s also next to impossible to dig up information on county commissioners, township committee, and school board candidates. “John Doe was born in neighboring Othertown but has lived and worked in Hometown for decades. He has three children in the local school system with his wife Jane. ‘I care very deeply about policy and I think things should be good, not bad.’ John likes to go for long walks in the local park when he’s not hang gliding at his mountain vacation house.”
Unfortunately techniques like this work, as (at least) one of the Moms Against Liberty types got voted onto the school board last term. The term before that, they were all mask-off for the standard conservative Covid crap and lost… but not by much. They scrubbed their online presence to be as generic as possible… and the only POC on the board lost her seat.
And yes, I am prone to depression.
And yes, I am prone to depression.
Felt.
You intend to vote red?
No, they were saying they didn’t bother since their party was winning anyway. Easy to misread though.
Ah, that still seems like a risky move.
Yup, that was the point. They used to do that but now realize they might actually be needed.
I did vote in 2000. “Wait… so the son of the VP during Regan’s Reign of Dementia is really a for real candidate?” Didn’t matter, state went blue, Florida did not because some guy named Chad Brooks hung his brother in front of SCOTUS.
I did vote in 2004. “Well this guy is completely forgettable but at least junior is going to follow in daddy’s footsteps and be a one pump chump.” Didn’t matter, state went blue, I begin to question reality.
I did vote in 2008. “I have no idea who this guy is but he talks a good game and he pisses off the bigots.” Didn’t matter, state went blue, record numbers came out to vote, and my mom suddenly cared about politics because she’s a racist piece of shit.
I did vote in 2012. “Let’s keep this rolling please and thank you.” Didn’t matter, state went blue, Bain Capital went on to kill both KayBee Toys and Toys R Us as revenge.
I did not vote in 2016. “These choices are bullshit, what the hell.” Didn’t matter, state went blue, large areas of empty space went red, and the oval office went orange despite almost three million more people voting for Buttery Males over Fraud Inc.
I did vote in 2020. “This election smells of mothballs and Icy Hot but at least I don’t have to stand in line.” Didn’t matter, state went blue, record numbers came out to vote, fascists went mask-off.
I will vote in 2024 (and already voted in the primary, which… didn’t matter). “I truly believe we are living in some sort of simulation, how can this possibly be real life?”
Pass the coconuts.
Thank you for elaborating, and apologies for assuming I fully understood.
I totally get the existential dread, anxiety, and depression. Never easy to cope with.
All good, you covered for me while I was trying to be witty >_>
Leaving the office empty for a term is the only democratic outcome.
Australia has mandatory voting. Why not the US?
Lmao the same people suppressing voting rights wont agree to that
Just wondering, how is mandatory voting enforced? I assume vote cops don’t show up at your door… What if you turn in a ballot with no choice marked?
You receive a penalty notice in the mail and have to pay a fine. Similar to a traffic infringement or parking fine.
All elections are held on a weekend and voting booths are everywhere, to make it a little easier for everyone to vote.
You can choose to not mark the ballot, no one would know. As long as you turn up to a booth and get your name marked off, then you are considered to have voted.
As a result, voter turnout is generally over 90%.
And yet they still regularly have a right wing government fucking things up for them. Perhaps turnout is not the primary issue after all.
Not sure how it is there, but in a few areas you basically lose your right to vote of you don’t. Which is fair motivation.
Looks like they mostly pay fines. So let’s figure out approximately how much money it will make and sell it to the Republicans as a money making venture!
Teacher: If you don’t go to school, you’ll be punished!
Student: Oh yea, what’s the punishment?
T: Suspension from school
S: Great, glad we’re on the same page, see ya never
Because mandatory anything is spun as an attack on our freedoms, and our generally-undereducated masses eat it up.
We could probably spin it around and give a tiny tax break for those who vote. It’ll still definitely get attacked though.
We could probably spin it around and give a tiny tax break for those who vote.
Now you’re talking!
It’ll still definitely get attacked though.
Yeah. It’ll be presented as unnacceptable to us temporarily-embarassed-billionaires.
We could probably spin it around and give a tiny tax break for those who vote.
Now you’re talking!
Make tax refunds and all tax write-offs contingent on proving you voted. >:D
If they can find a way to block student loan forgiveness they’ll find a way to stop this. Just need to get it in front of the SC and it’ll be squashed.
You still have the freedom to not vote. However you have to go to a polling station and get your name marked off but no-one can force you to write on the piece of paper.
Because the government really doesn’t want people to have a say. People are stupid. So let’s just have a mock vote with some old wizard math that adds up to who the fuck knows but your guy lost.
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Would input from the people who otherwise wouldn’t have bothered to show up be useful?
It’s a dangerous line of reason you’re skirting around there buddy.
Ideally an electoral system should have the “none of the above” option. If it gets the majority the elections are repeated with new candidates, and previous ones are disqualified for a number of years.
I’d rather have ranked choice voting. And get rid of the stupid electoral college.
A national RCV race would be an absolute nightmare to count if it ever became remotely competitive. Approval Voting is better in general, but especially for big, competitive elections.
I’d love to see something like ballot included in tax returns (for folks who don’t otherwise request a ballot). Near-mandatory voting, with abstaining being allowed.
Clearly the office of President should be left vacant.
Wow this diddnot voté guy seems wildly popular 🫨
None of my coworkers that want Trump to win are registered to vote. I don’t know if that means anything.
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Let’s not forget the third party and Harambe stuff. Some of that flipped swing states Red.
I don’t think Harambe got that many votes but I’m too lazy to look that up
Are the states that have a majority swing states, so have more advertising and campaigning, or are they just more politically active?
Since I moved from a red state to Colorado it’s been mind blowing how painless and accessible it is to vote in this state.
Before every election all registered voters automatically get a mail-in ballot, as well as a detailed book explaining every issue & candidate on the ballot with sample arguments for & against. You can then either mail the ballot or drop it off in very convenient drop boxes that are usually less than 10 min from your place. In some ways it’s difficult to not have at least some idea of the political landscape for most voters.
Since I moved from a red state to Colorado it’s been mind blowing how painless and accessible it is to vote in this state.
I think that is something we need to stress here: A lot of people in America don’t vote not because they are apathetic but because, well, they often don’t have access because they have to work and can’t get time off, and it doesn’t help that certain states cut and limit the amount of voting places to prevent people from voting.
I remember seeing the images from Georgia in 2020 where there were queues around the block, hell, some fucking states have laws preventing people from offering water for people waiting in line, knowing that people will be waiting in line for a long time. And the fact the places where those polling stations tend to be set up in ways to stop certain demographics from voting is another thing. There’s laws there to prevent students from voting in some states, there’s laws making it hard to vote by mail, you fucking name it.
Meanwhile in the UK, I just had to fill in a PDF form and send it to my local valuation office and I could get a postal vote. No restrictions on who can do this, you can just apply.
Yep! It’s real bad, I had to wait in a line around a building on a Tuesday morning the first election I voted in. One of the big things too is that there are fewer polling centers in the city, and usually more in the suburbs (proportional to the amount of people there).
So while you have a quarter of the eligible voting population in a city go to a single voting center, in the suburbs you have a much smaller group with a less crowded (& usually more convenient) polling area.
Yeah but you see, the suburbs vote for the people in power.
This is the epitome of lying with statistics.
we really do need a default option for “fuck off im not voting”
