#Election process

[internationaldayofdemocracy]

Protect free and fair elections.

With billions of people headed to the polls in 2024, it’s vital that democratic govts, civil society, & tech companies work to protect free & fair elections—the cornerstone of any democracy.

[ajmal-v]

Understanding the Lok Sabha Elections: A Comprehensive Guide for Political Science Students

The Lok Sabha elections, a pivotal event in India’s democratic framework, offer a rich field of study for political science students. Since India’s independence in 1952, these elections have been a cornerstone of the country’s democratic process, shaping its political landscape and governance.

Key Stakeholders in the Lok Sabha Elections

The Lok Sabha elections involve a diverse range of stakeholders, each playing a crucial role in the electoral process. These include the Election Commission of India, which oversees the conduct of elections, and the political parties and candidates who vie for the electorate’s votes.

The voters themselves, the media, civil society organizations, security forces, and observers/international agencies also play significant roles. Each stakeholder has a unique part in shaping the election’s outcome and, by extension, the country’s political future.

The Lok Sabha Election Process

Understanding the Lok Sabha election process is fundamental to grasping the complexities of India’s democratic governance. The process involves several stages:

Electoral Constituencies: The country is divided into various electoral constituencies, each represented by a Member of Parliament.

Voter Registration: Eligible citizens are registered as voters.

Nomination of Candidates: Political parties or independent candidates file their nominations for the elections.

Campaigning: Candidates and parties campaign to win the electorate’s favor.

Voting: Registered voters cast their votes on Election Day.

Counting of Votes and Formation of Government: Votes are counted, and the party or alliance with the majority of seats forms the government.

Focus Areas for Political Science Students

Political science students studying the Lok Sabha elections should focus on several key areas to understand the complexities of democratic governance and political evolution. These include learning about electoral systems, political parties and alliances, election monitoring and reform, and voter behavior and participation.

By studying these areas, students can gain a comprehensive understanding of the Lok Sabha elections, equipping them with the knowledge to analyze and interpret the dynamics of India’s political landscape. To know more, read this blog

[rightnewshindi]

भाजपा को कब मिलेगा नया राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष, जेपी नड्डा के बाद कौन संभालेगा पद; जानें चुनाव का प्रोसेस

भाजपा को कब मिलेगा नया राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष, जेपी नड्डा के बाद कौन संभालेगा पद; जानें चुनाव का प्रोसेस #News #NewsUpdate #newsfeed #newsbreakapp

BJP New President: भारतीय जनता पार्टी में नए अध्यक्ष के चुनाव की प्रक्रिया शुरू होने वाली है। खबर है कि पार्टी ने संसदीय बोर्ड के सदस्य के लक्ष्मण को राष्ट्रीय चुनाव अधिकारी नियुक्त किया। फिलहाल, भाजपा की कमान राज्यसभा सांसद जगत प्रकाश नड्डा हैं। खास बात है कि आम सहमति से चुने जाने वाले भाजपा अध्यक्ष का कार्यकाल 3 साल का होता है। नड्डा ने पद जून 2019 में संभाला था। एबीपी लाइव की रिपोर्ट में…

[dwuerch-blog]

God is Still in Control

We’re in the thick of “He said, She said. They said. Let him go, Let him stay!” The race for our next president is intensifying. I married a man passionate about our election privileges and responsibilities, so we keep vigil in our actions, reactions, and prayers. Time flies in the election process, and soon we’ll be at our Election-serving posts where we’ll be assisting people of all faiths,…

[b0bthebuilder35]

This man gives more class than these racists deserve.

[quillsword]

Super Tuesday and the State of the Union

Well that was a busy week wasn’t it? In a surprise to absolutely no one, Donald Trump won 14 of the 15 states on Super Tuesday. In a shock to absolutely everyone, Joe Biden made it all the way through the State of the Union address without collapsing, wandering off the stage or otherwise showing advanced stages of dementia. Having won Vermont, Nikki Haley, finally getting a clue, has dropped…

[dostoyevsky-official]

Here's a guide on how to follow along the election results and what to keep in mind:

Have as many sites and channels open as you can on as many screens as possible.

Anecdotes are more real than data.

Believe EVERY number you see AS SOON as you see it.

Vibes are all that matters. Your heart rings truer than any poll.

It's ok to get emotional. Today is a great drama, and you, as a voter, are one of the stars—the main star.

Post as much as possible. Hear America sing, and join the chorus.

[demonsandpieohmy]

[pi3rat]

if you're trans, you have to live.

if you accomplish something else, then good.

if you accomplish nothing else, then good.

but you have to live.

🤍

[fremedon]

I'm not making this a reblog because there have been a lot of posts this applies to and I'm sure there will be more.

But if you ever do find that perfectly pure candidate that you feel can vote for without morally compromising yourself--that person with a completely stainless career and no blood on their hands--they will still step into the morass created by all their predecessors. They will have blood on their hands from the moment they take office. The blood comes with the office. There is no way to avoid that.

If they want to not execute the evil and unjust laws which they have just sworn to faithfully execute, they will have the choice of flouting the law or changing it. Both of these are difficult, take time, and cannot be done by one person's fiat.

Laws are made by Congress; changing a law--even the worst one on the books! even that one!--means getting a majority of both houses on board. This is drastically easier if the president's party has a majority in both houses, but still requires coordinating literally hundreds of people to do what you want; if the president's party does not have that trifecta, it may simply be impossible until after the next elections.

Flouting the law--just deciding to ignore it--sets a worrisome precedent: In general, we would like the executive branch to follow the laws of the country! But beyond that, it is also difficult and also requires coordinating with hundreds of other people. The administrative state is designed to run on rails. The administration can hand down guidance on the interpretation of laws--which often as not gets challenged legally and needs to be resolved by the courts, which is a whole other level of complication and, currently, a whole other level of fucked up--but ordering federal agencies to violate the law wholesale is usually going to be a non-starter. Even when the law is bad. Until the law is actually changed, which, see above, sometimes the most that can be done is harm reduction--delay implementation, narrow the scope, tie it up in red tape.

And. Look. I want you to find that perfect candidate. I long for the day that someone can make it all the way into the highest office without ever compromising their morals. But if they do, they will become complicit with all the horrors their predecessors left to us. There is no way to dismantle those horrors without taking on some degree of complicity.

When the machine is covered so thickly with blood, pulling the off switch still gets blood on your hands.

[internationaldayofdemocracy]

Freedom in the world 2024.

Highlights from Freedom House’s annual report on political rights and civil liberties. Gains in aggregate score reflect improvements in conditions for political rights and civil liberties.

Global freedom declined for the 18th consecutive year in 2023. The scope and scale of deterioration were extensive, affecting one-fifth of the world’s population. Almost everywhere, the downturn in rights was driven by attacks on pluralism—the peaceful coexistence of people with different political ideas, religions, or ethnic identities— that harmed elections and sowed violence. These intensifying assaults on a core feature of democracy reinforce the urgent need to support the groups and individuals, including human rights defenders and journalists, who are on the front lines of the struggle for freedom worldwide. A total of 52 countries suffered declines over the past year, while only 21 improved. The manipulation of elections was among the leading causes of global erosion in freedom. In Cambodia, Guatemala, Poland, Turkey, and Zimbabwe, incumbents took steps to prevent the political opposition from competing on an even playing field. Leaders in El Salvador and Venezuela bent the rules to ensure their own victories in planned contests. Ecuador’s elections were marred by widespread violence, including the murders of several state officials and political candidates. As a result, that country declined from Free to Partly Free status. Thailand inched up from Not Free to Partly Free thanks to highly competitive national elections, but a military-drafted constitution allowed unelected forces to distort the government-formation process and box out the leading opposition party

Coups continued to obliterate democratic institutions and strip away people’s right to choose their leaders. In July, Niger became the sixth country in the Sahel region of Africa—after Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, Mali, and Sudan—to experience a coup since 2020. A military junta ousted the democratically elected government, resulting in an 18-point decline on Freedom in the World’s 100-point scale. Freedoms also continued to deteriorate in Burkina Faso, which suffered two coups in 2022. Armed conflict over disputed territories unleashed devastating violence and further degraded political rights and civil liberties. Nagorno-Karabakh experienced the most precipitous score decline of the year, losing 40 points after nearly its entire population of 120,000 ethnic Armenians was forced to flee the enclave under intense pressure from Azerbaijan’s military. Hamas’s massive terrorist raid into Israel on October 7 killed some 1,200 people and destroyed Israelis’ sense of safety in their own homes. Israel’s ensuing military campaign in the Gaza Strip, already among the least free places in the world, had resulted in the deaths of an estimated 22,000 people by year’s end, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, as well as the internal displacement of 1.9 million others. The global struggle for freedom faces a crucial test in 2024, during which about half of the world’s population will head to the polls and conflicts will continue to rage in Myanmar, Sudan, Ukraine, and elsewhere. Ongoing attacks on pluralism have the potential to fuel voter apathy, further division, and even violence, as they undercut the promise that democracy can deliver for everyone and that diversity of political ideas, belief, and ethnicity is a source of strength. If democracies do not respond to these challenges, more of the world’s people will be denied fundamental freedoms in 2025. There is still a path toward stronger democracies and greater freedom for all. Recognizing that threats to an election can emerge before, during, and even after the day of voting, democratic governments should redouble their commitment to holding free and fair elections at home and supporting the same abroad. Rigged balloting, military coups, and political or disinformation campaigns that promote exclusion should be quickly and widely condemned. Those who claim or come to power through these means should not be recognized as legitimate leaders. On the international stage, democracies should build broad partnerships based on shared principles, and reaffirm the norms of sovereignty and self-determination that are being subverted by authoritarian aggression from China, Iran, Russia, and others. As it has for decades, the United States can play a vital role in the expansion of global freedom. But much depends on whether the November 2024 presidential election reinforces or weakens America’s democratic values, processes, and institutions, along with its will to uphold the cause of democracy around the world.

[hairmetal666]

Eddie stands at the edge of the ruined, stinking field, heart somewhere down by the soles of his feet. He watches the grey vines creep across the rotten earth, bracketing the blackened and split pumpkins.

"This can't be happening again," Steve says next to him. There's nothing in his voice, in his expression.

And Eddie doesn't know what to say because it is happening, the Upside Down is creeping into Hawkins, Vecna defeated or not.

"We have to tell the others," is Eddie's response. He doesn't know how he sounds normal when his heart is breaking, when Steve's blankness is killing him.

They walk back to Eddie's van in heavy silence. He can't read what Steve is thinking and that's--they're not something, not yet, but they spend all their time together and it's right there, under the surface, and--

He always knows what Steve is thinking, now. Can read his face like Tolkien wrote it, no matter what's happening, but right now it's empty, unreadable, unfathomable, untouchable King Steve risen from the grave.

The drive back to Hop's cabin is silent. Eddie doesn't even turn on music, his brain can't take it.

Cars fill the cabin's driveway, everyone in attendance, everyone waiting. On the porch, they hear the TV, the tinny whirr of lightsabers. It all stops when they push open the door, movie paused, conversations broken off, every face turned in their direction.

Neither of them speaks. Looking at all these faces, the kids, Nancy, Jonathan, Robin, Hop and Joyce, the hope and trust, and he can't--he can't.

"Well?" Joyce prompts. She's working a kitchen towel between her fingers.

He nods as Steve says, "it's back."

Eddie expects an outcry, horror, an explosion, but it's quiet. Quiet enough he can hear Steve's soft breaths next to him. Quiet enough he gets to watch as the news hits on each face in the room. It's like a punch every time.

It's so much different from planning the fight against Vecna. There was so much energy, drive, to get it done, to defeat the Upside Down forever. There wasn't silence, not ever, no faces painted with grief. Even when things were at their worst, an undercurrent of hope buoyed the group.

"Are you sure?" It's Nancy who breaks the silence, of course it is.

"It's the tunnels all over again," Steve answers.

"El?" Hopper asks. "Have you--?"

Will and El are looking at each other, Eddie's sure that no one else in the room exists for them.

"We haven't felt anything." El finally says.

"Nothing?" Mike's eyes flick between them.

"Not since Vecna," Will says.

"It's--it feels--" El waves at the back of her neck.

"Blank." Will finishes.

"Blank isn't gone," Erica says.

Dustin hums, eyes distant. "So, it went dormant."

That gets all the kids going, arguing and shouting over each other, and it isn't long before everyone is involved.

Eddie throws himself into it, grateful to be back in a familiar place of planning, discovering what they're up against, fighting. They're at their best like this, all of them, and it takes the edge off the fear eating up his insides.

He doesn't really get a chance to talk to Steve one-on-one, but Eddie's aware of him always, catches the moments in between bickering with Mike and shouting with Dustin and whispering with Robin where he goes distant, empty, just like at the field, just like in the car.

Eventually, everyone trickles home for the night, Hop's cabin emptying until it's just the Byers, Hoppers, and Steve. And since Eddie goes wherever Steve is--

Steve stands at the window in their room, back to Eddie. His shoulders are rigid, and Eddie is--he's scared in a whole new way. Steve is--he's strong, he keeps them together, he. They look to him to be brave, to be the first to jump, and--

"Steve?" Eddie comes up next to him.

His eyes are squeezed shut, fists clenched.

"Sweetheart?"

Steve opens his eyes, tears track down his cheeks. "I don't think I can do this again," he sobs. "I don't think--" He presses his fists to his eyes, like he's trying to force the moisture back inside.

Eddie grabs his wrists, gentle, murmurs, "it's okay, it'll be okay, I've got you."

"How can it be okay?" Steve asks. His face is wrecked and Eddie's heart shatters. "This was supposed to be over, Eddie. We were supposed to be done with fighting, we beat Vecna. So, tell me how it's going to be okay."

He freezes, unsure how to respond. In the end, "you're right," he says. "it's not okay. And I don't want to pretend that it is. It fucking sucks. We did the work already. We shouldn't be right back here like it never happened."

"But we are," Steve sniffles.

"But we are. And you know what?"

"What?"

"We're going to get through this. Just like we did the last time."

"We almost lost you last time, Ed. We almost lost Max. What if--what if--" Steve's eyes fill again. "I can't do this without you," he sobs.

Eddie doesn't hesitate, pulls Steve into his arms, holds him as tight and close as physically possible. "You won't." Eddie soothes. "You won't. I'll be right here with you. I promise."

"How can you know?"

Again, there's only one answer for that. "I don't. But I know I'll never leave your side willingly. None of us would. And I know that we're going to fight--all of us--like we always do."

"How can you have so much hope?" He asks. "After everything?"

"It's hard," he answers. "I'm terrified. But I know I have you, and Robin, and Dustin, and Wayne, and--everyone. We fight for each other, you know?"

"We keep going because we have to," Steve says.

"Yeah, sweetheart. We protect each other and this godforsaken town, no matter how much it sucks."

Steve's laugh is husky and short. "It sucks so much."

"Real trash heap of a place."

"And that's without the alternate dimension and monsters."

"I think we've got a really strong ad campaign for the Hawkins tourism board." The giggle that escapes from Steve is the sweetest thing Eddie's ever heard.

Later, the lights off, Steve pulls him close. "I'm so glad I have you," he whispers, fingers trailing through Eddie's curls. "You give me something to hope for."

[splickedylit]

@ USAmericans that are following me, if you (like me) get anxious you'll somehow have issues with a mail-in or drop-off ballot: I forgot that in a lot of places (here's a site to check!) early in-person voting is an option, so I figured maybe you did too!

Lines are MUCH shorter than election day,

which means it's quick and you have more time to look things up at the voting booth if necessary,

and you have a LOT more ability to find a time that works for you than if you just vote on Nov. 5th (which I would be have been almost completely unable to go out and vote on).

Early voting y'all it kicks ass. A quick google of "early voting (my city/county" immediately brought up the exact address, days and hours of where it was available. Will definitely patronize the fine folks at my local polling center again in four years assuming that. Things go well. And we still have a democracy in four years. OTL

[themissingmango]

[segernatural]

sure it was a perfect storm of a pressure cooker but i promise destiel was about destiel

[not-communist-usa]

stop acting as if an authoritarian regime hasn't been toppled before.