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How Recent State Laws Are Making It Harder to Sue Trucking Companies After Crashes
— July 12, 2023 | By James O'Donnell | Frontline
The trucking industry is engaged in a concerted lobbying effort that critics say will make it harder for victims of crashes to sue the companies involved and limit the compensation plaintiffs can win. In the past three years alone, the industry has helped prompt new laws in seven states including Texas and Florida, which rank among the highest in the nation for fatal truck crashes.
The industry says those new laws will help curb frivolous lawsuits and excessive payouts, but safety advocates say they instead shield trucking companies from legitimate liability after crashes and disincentivize the companies from working to prevent crashes in the first place.
The new laws come as fatal truck crashes are on the rise. More than 5,000 people die each year in crashes with large trucks, up by more than 50% compared with a decade ago. FRONTLINE and ProPublica’s recent documentary, America’s Dangerous Trucks, examined one gruesome kind of truck accident — underride crashes — and why they keep happening.
After a crash, the best way a survivor can receive compensation for serious injuries or the loss of a loved one is to sue the trucking company and driver, according to Joe Fried, an attorney in Georgia with two decades of experience in truck crash litigation who spoke to FRONTLINE. That’s because most truckers carrying general freight across state lines are required by law to have $750,000 in liability insurance, but lifetime medical costs after serious crashes can quickly exhaust that amount. Carriers may be ordered to pay more than that figure, but if the company goes bankrupt or does not have the assets to pay, victims may never receive it. The $750,000 minimum was set by Congress in 1980 and, despite numerous efforts to increase it, has remained unchanged.
In late 2019, one of the trucking industry’s most vocal leaders, Chris Spear of American Trucking Associations, described crash lawsuits as an “all-out assault” on the industry in a radio interview. In a speech to ATA members around that time, Spear announced curbing crash lawsuits as a “tier-one priority” for the organization and vowed to work with state governments and state lobbying groups to pass new laws to do so. Since then, the ATA has also said that crash lawsuits are becoming more frequent and expensive, therefore raising insurance costs for carriers.
Mark Geistfeld, a professor of civil litigation at NYU Law and the author of five books on liability, told FRONTLINE he’s heard similar refrains about frivolous lawsuits from industry groups since the 1980s. That’s when industry lobbyists began trying to pass what they called tort reforms at the state level. Geistfeld has examined tort reform since then, noting that while the movement is less active now than it was in the 1980s, industries like trucking are ramping up their efforts.
“They call it reform, but historically most of the reforms have been about cutting back on liability,” Geistfeld said, referring to the industry groups.
He called the issue of meritless lawsuits a “bogeyman,” as the legal system has ways of sanctioning plaintiff lawyers if they knowingly bring frivolous cases. Industries campaigning for tort reform, he said, are typically more focused on reducing the amount they’ll be liable to pay if found responsible. They do so through campaigns for new state laws that change things like how trials are conducted, set caps on damages or redefine what evidence can be produced at trial.
Iowa, Montana, West Virginia, Louisiana and Missouri have also passed new tort reform laws supported by the trucking lobby. They take different forms in each state: Louisiana and West Virginia repealed rules which had prevented defense lawyers from bringing in evidence about whether the plaintiff had been wearing a seatbelt, and a law in Missouri raised the bar for ordering a trucking company to pay punitive damages. Jeremy Kirkpatrick, spokesperson for the ATA, said the state laws mark “initial successes in a long term campaign.”
While negligent trucking companies should be held accountable, he said, the new tort reform efforts the ATA is supporting aim to restore “balance and fairness” to the litigation system and are not about reducing liability. When a trucking company’s insurance premiums go up after large verdicts and settlements, according to Kirkpatrick, leadership may cut costs by lowering wages, which can mean hiring less experienced drivers and can have a negative impact on safety.
“The trucking industry has become a target for plaintiff-attorney profiteering,” he said. “This is about reforming specific rules and practices that enable plaintiffs’ attorneys to inflate damages and engineer nuclear and disproportionate verdicts and settlements.”
Texas: Limits on Company Liability and Evidence
Texas, which ranked first in the nation for truck-related fatalities in 2020 with 643 deaths, passed a law in 2021 that says trucking companies cannot be sued for their role in a crash unless the driver has first been found liable by a court — a process called a bifurcated trial. It passed with support from the Texas Trucking Association, a state lobbying group and ATA member, which said the law will protect trucking companies from “biased and unfair courtroom tactics.”
Previously, according to trucking lawyer Fried, plaintiff attorneys could bring in evidence about a trucking company’s broader practices — such as how many other accidents it was involved in — to convey to the jury that the crashes were a systemic problem. It’s a practice long-derided by truck lobbying groups, which refer to it as “reptile theory” and say it wrongfully aims to rile up the jury against trucking companies to encourage larger verdicts.
The new Texas law changed that. In the first phase of the trial that determines compensatory damages, attorneys are now more confined to the facts immediately surrounding the specific accident and whether the company was negligent in hiring or vehicle maintenance before the crash. Broader evidence about the company’s past is only allowed if the driver or company is proven at fault and the trial moves to a second phase. It’s a legal change Fried expects trucking groups will try to bring to other states.
“This passed in Texas because the politics were ripe for it there,” he said. “But it’s definitely being pursued elsewhere.”
Florida: Shrinking the Window to Sue
The trucking lobby also notched a win in Florida, which ranks third in the nation for truck-related fatalities, with a law passed in March that made a number of changes to civil litigation that are particularly relevant to trucking. Alix Miller — president and CEO of Florida Trucking Association, an ATA member — lobbied heavily for its passage.
“Florida is one of the worst when it comes to trucking litigation,” Miller told FRONTLINE, saying that the state’s new law and others like it aim to make the legal system more balanced for defendants. The Florida law changes how medical bills are presented at trial by only admitting the amount paid versus the amount initially billed. It also reduces the statute of limitations from four to two years for personal injury cases.
Safety advocates say that a shorter time frame in which one can sue becomes an obstacle to victims in their effort to pursue accountability after crashes.
“When you talk to victims who have been through this, they will tell you that the first two to three years are completely disorienting,” said Zach Cahalan, executive director of Truck Safety Coalition, a group that provides resources and support to people involved in truck crashes and advocates nationally for safety regulations. He noted that victims often have to deal with a deluge of paperwork, medical bills, physical therapy appointments and other demands as they process the crash.
“By the time they realize that ‘Hey, I might need to pursue a civil trial,’” he said, “sometimes the statute of limitations is over.”
Iowa: Caps on Damages
Another path these laws have taken is to cap the amount of noneconomic damages awarded to plaintiffs — compensation for losses that, unlike medical bills or wages, cannot be easily measured, such as the loss of a child.
The Iowa legislature passed a law in April, supported by the Iowa Motor Truck Association, an ATA member, that caps pain and suffering payments to $5 million in accidents involving commercial vehicles, though it includes exceptions for certain situations of extreme negligence, like if the driver was intoxicated.
Supporters of the law say that plaintiff lawyers profit too much off of crash litigation and that the cap will help fix this. But Cahalan of the Truck Safety Coalition opposes such limits on damages, and he said instead that juries should continue to have agency in determining how much should be paid after a crash.
“Your ability to be made whole following a crash should not be arbitrary,” he said.
Geistfeld, from NYU Law, said that whether in trucking or another industry, the outcomes of tort reform efforts decide who is responsible for paying for the cost of injuries. They also shape the incentives that businesses weigh when deciding how to conduct their operations safely, he said.
“The idea, ultimately, is if the businesses are forced to pay for the liabilities of their drivers, then the businesses are going to adopt safety measures to try to make sure that they can do as much as possible to keep drivers from getting into crashes,” he said. “And that’s obviously good for society.”
— “America’s Dangerous Trucks” is part of a collaborative investigation from FRONTLINE and ProPublica. The documentary premiered on June 13, 2023, and is available to stream in the PBS App and on FRONTLINE’s Website.
#James O'Donnell#State Laws#Trucking Companies#Accidents#Crashes#Texas | Florida | Iowa#Frontline and ProPublica#Chris Spear#American Trucking Associations (ATA)#Montana | West Virginia | Louisiana and Missouri#Jeremy Kirkpatrick#Texas Trucking Association#Alix Miller#Florida Trucking Association#Zach Cahalan#Truck Safety Coalition#Iowa Motor Truck Association
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FREAKING OUT THE MUSIC IS BACK I'M SO HAPPY
#same for the rwby music but idc about that#😋#OKLAHOMA BEAT DOWN PENNSYLVANIA DEAD AND DROWN MINNESOTA CASTIGATE#MASSACHUSETTS FLAGELLATE BITCH SLAP TENNESSEE DC DEAD SEE UTAH IS A FUCKING MESS OREGON IN GREAT DURESS#MARYLAND IS ON HER KNEES LOUISIANA BITCH PLEASE MISSISSIPPI WORST DAY EVER NORTH DAKOTA NOT MUCH BETTER MISSOURI IN A STRANGLEHOLD#MONTANAS CORPSE IS GETTING COLD BLEEDING TIME FOR OLD KENTUCKY INDIANA NOT SO LUCKY VERMONT COULD USE A FOUR LEAF CLOVER#NEW JERSEY IT IS ALMOST OVER PICK UP DELAWARE AND SLAM HER CALL THE MEDS FOR ALABAMA MICHIGAN HAS BEEN DESTROYED DITTO THAT FOR ILLINOIS#NEW HAMPSHIRE SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT A FRIEND WEST VIRGINIAS AT HER END COLORADO CRASH AND BURN KANSAS POINT OF NO RETURN#GEORGIAS UNDERNEATH A BUS CALIFORNIA'S REALLY FUCKED IDAHO AND SOUTH DAKOTA GIVE IT UP YOUR TIME IS OVER NEBRASKA CANCEL ALL APPOINTMENTS#WASHINGTON WE'VE GOT YOUR OINTMENTS OHIO DON'T STAND A CHANCE WYOMING NEEDS A CHANGE OF PANTS RHODE ISLAND DOES THAT EVEN COUNT#PUMMEL DOWN ON CAROLINA CONNECTICUT YOU'RE SUCH A WHINER ARKANSAS EAT MY DUST ALASKA IS A TOTAL BUST#red vs blue#rvb#rooster teeth
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miku worldwide usa edition (click to fully appreciate)
(go follow the cool artists under the cut)
finished map: here
washington: @mochasucculent
oregon: @the-jelliphish
california: @camiliar
arizona: @apelgif
nevada: kikiCPU
utah: @ace-o-hearts
montana: @just-luxx
idaho: @roxyrot
wyoming: @saintlethanavir
colorado: @yaelartworks
new mexico: @eldritch-ace
north dakota: @schwoopsiedoodles
south dakota: beebeerock
nebraska: @glassofoj-twitter
kansas: @petziez
oklahoma: @razzafrazzle
texas: @princepsed
minnesota: @pastabaguette
iowa: @rumpledcrow
missouri: @inkyharpy
arkansas: @basement-buddy
louisiana: @circusclownproductions
wisconsin: @plush0fairy
illinois: @shrimpimage
kentucky: @double-m-b
tennessee: @thebiscuiteternal
mississippi: @juneyybee
alabama: @burnt-scone
michigan: @chorne-the-firstborn
idiana: @meowjuniper
ohio: @teethflavoured
west virginia: @littleivyart
virginia: @splemonocracy
georgia: @alyossan
florida: kierscribbles
south carolina: @ash-animates
north carolina: @pinkcultgirl
maryland: @f4ceache
pennsylvania: @sukifoof-art
new york: @doodoobirds
new jersey: @porcelain-rob0t
delaware: easybriizydraws
rhode island: @crazywolf828
conneticut: @koreyeet
vermont: @maggotwithanf
massechusettes: @wishpetal
new hampshire: @ohnoshiv
maine: @limesade
alaska: @owldart
hawaii: @theexistingbox
#IM SO SORRY TO THE MIKUS ON THE RIGHT#theyre so cramped :(#also if yall find any of the missing mikus @ me so i can update the map#hatsune miku#vocaloid#miku worldwide#miku world tour#miku#international miku#regional miku#usa miku
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The word 'rural' is in the public consciousness again and every time people start going in about the 'rural values' 'rural way of life' I remember just how subjective that word is.
I have a friend that lives in LA. He considers Columbus, OH to be 'rural.' A population of over 900k. Thriving arts community, tons of culture festivals, every kind of restaurant you can think of, one of the most annoying college campuses ever, several smaller colleges, lots of queer spaces, comic book conventions, huge concerts... rural.
The town I live in considers itself 'rural.' 38k population. Arts festival every year, a small pride celebration, monthly gallery hop, big Halloween festival. Five ice cream shops, three coffee shops, a couple fancy bars, so many grocery stores. Huge library, conservation and sustainability advocates, queer spaces, a hospital, one private college. Rural.
The town we nearly annexed, but lost the deal considers us 'urban' compared to them. Less than 5k. They have a limited hospital, often send their surgeries here. Downtown has hardware store, bars, craft supply store, a couple grocery stores, pizza places. There's some farmland, but much of the square acreage is golf. Mega churches. The houses here are 500k. Most people drive ATVs. They have a handful of festivals in the summer.
A town I would often get sent to to cover their high school sports- a little over 2k. There's a Subway, a Domino's, Family Dollar. Some bars, some corner stores. Some local crafts. All the students grow up knowing each other, most of them stay there. But they have craft fairs and art galleries, still.
Less rural still than the town I go through to get there, population of around 600. Houses, farmland, post office, general store.
Who would still look down upon the town of about 400 that I would go to sometimes- post office. Gas station. Bar. The school is the only big thing there.
And yet still, I have seen towns with population in the double digits that have a church and a post office.
Even just looking at the numbers doesn't lend accuracy to what 'rural' actually looks like. Because this is what it looks like in ohio, but it's different in West Virginia- where your closest neighbor might be a mile down a hill. Or in Montana, where your town might be planned very tightly and your neighbors are very close, but the nearest grocery store is an hour and a half away. These are places I've been, friends that I've talked to. I've never been to Missouri or Alabama or Louisiana- I'm sure they have a unique experience of being 'rural.'
So my point is that when people talk about 'the rural experience' or 'rural values,' they are talking about millions of people across the entire country who all have lived unique lives- and who may not even agree on what 'rural' is.
Think about who is talking, and who is being talked over, and who isn't even being asked to join the conversation.
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Things the Biden-Harris Administration Did This Week #29
July 26-August 2 2024
President Biden announced his plan to reform the Supreme Court and make sure no President is above the law. The conservative majority on the court ruled that Trump has "absolute immunity" from any prosecution for "official acts" while he was President. In response President Biden is calling for a constitutional amendment to make it clear that Presidents aren't above the law and don't have immunity from prosecution for crimes committed while in office. In response to a wide ranging corruption scandal involving Justice Clarence Thomas, President Biden called on Congress to pass a legally binding code of ethics for the Supreme Court. The code would force Justices to disclose gifts, refrain from public political actions, and force them to recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have conflicts of interest. President Biden also endorsed the idea of term limits for the Justices.
The Biden Administration sent out an email to everyone who has a federal student loan informing them of upcoming debt relief. The debt relief plan will bring the total number of a borrowers who've gotten relief from the Biden-Harris Administration to 30 million. The plan is due to be finalized this fall, and the Department of Education wanted to alert people early to allow them to be ready to quickly take advantage of it when it was in place and get relief as soon as possible.
President Biden announced that the federal government would step in and protect the pension of 600,000 Teamsters. Under the American Rescue Plan, passed by President Biden and the Democrats with no Republican votes, the government was empowered to bail out Union retirement funds which in recent years have faced devastating cut of up to 75% in some cases, leaving retired union workers in desperate situations. The Teamster union is just the latest in a number of such pension protections the President has done in office.
President Biden and Vice-President Harris oversaw the dramatic release of American hostages from Russia. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan held since 2018, Russian-American reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Alsu Kurmasheva convicted of criticizing the Russian Military, were all released from captivity and returned to the US at around midnight August 2nd. They were greeted on the tarmac by the President and Vice-President and their waiting families. The deal also secured the release of German medical worker Rico Krieger sentenced to death in Belarus, Russian-British opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, and 11 Russians convicted of opposing the war against Ukraine or being involved in Alexei Navalny's anti-corruption organization. Early drafts of the hostage deal were meant to include Navalny before his death in Russian custody early this year.
A new Biden Administration rule banning discrimination against LGBT students takes effect, but faces major Republican resistance. The new rule declares that Title IX protects Queer students from discrimination in public schools and any college that takes federal funds. The new rule also expands protections for victims of sexual misconduct and pregnant or parenting students. However Republican resistance means the rule can't take effect nation wide. Lawsuits from Republican controlled states, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming, means the new protections won't come into effect those states till the case is ruled on likely in a Supreme Court ruling. The Biden administration crafted these Title IX rules to reflect the Supreme Court's 2020 Bostock case.
The Biden administration awarded $2 billion to black and minority farmers who were the victims of historic discrimination. Historically black farmers have been denied important loans from the USDA, or given smaller amounts than white farmers. This massive investment will grant 23,000 minority farmers between $10,000 and $500,000 each and a further 20,000 people who wanted to start farms by were improperly denied the loans they needed between $3,500-$6,000 to get started. Most payments went to farmers in Mississippi and Alabama.
The Biden Administration took an important step to stop the criminalization of poverty by changing child safety guidelines so that poverty alone isn't grounds for taking a child into foster care. Studies show that children able to stay with parents or other family have much better outcomes then those separated. Many states have already removed poverty from their guidelines when it comes to removing children from the home, and the HHS guidelines push the remaining states to do the same.
Vice-President Harris announced the Biden Administration's agreement to a plan by North Carolina to forgive the state's medical debt. The plan by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper would forgive the medical debt of 2 million people in the state. North Carolina has the 3rd highest rate of medical debt in the nation. Vice-President Harris applauded the plan, pointing out that the Biden Administration has forgiven $650 million dollars worth of medical debt so far with plans to forgive up to $7 billion by 2026. The Vice-President unveiled plans to exclude medical debt from credit scores and issued a call for states and local governments to forgive debt, like North Carolina is, last month.
The Department of Transportation put forward a new rule to bank junk fees for family air travel. The new rule forces airlines to seat parents next to their children, with no extra cost. Currently parents are forced to pay extra to assure they are seated next to their children, no matter what age, if they don't they run the risk of being separated on a long flight. Airlines would be required to seat children age 13 and under with their parent or accompanying adult at no extra charge.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced it is giving $3.5 billion to combat homelessness. This represents the single largest one year investment in fighting homelessness in HUD's history. The money will be distributed by grants to local organizations and programs. HUD has a special focus on survivors of domestic violence, youth homeless, and people experiencing the unique challenges of homelessness in rural areas.
The Treasury Department announced that Pennsylvania and New Mexico would be joining the IRS' direct file program for 2025. The program was tested as a pilot in a number of states in 2024, saving 140,000 tax payers $5.6 million in filing charges and getting tax returns of $90 million. The program, paid for by President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, will be available to all 50 states, but Republicans strong object. Pennsylvania and New Mexico join Oregon and New Jersey in being new states to join.
Bonus: President Biden with the families of the released hostages calling their loved ones on the plane out of Russia
#Joe Biden#Thanks Biden#Kamala Harris#american politics#us politics#politics#Russia#Evan Gershkovich#supreme court#clarence thomas#student loans#medical debt#black farmers#racism#trans students#LGBT students#homelessness#IRS#taxes
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Cost of illegal immigrants per state in 2023:
Alabama: 596 million Alaska: 130 million Arizona: 3.19 billion Arkansas: 356 million California: 30.9 billion Colorado: 1.94 billion Connecticut: 1.28 billion Delaware: 244 million Florida: 8.04 billion Georgia: 3.14 billion Hawaii: 771 million Idaho: 405 million Illinois: 5.27 billion Indiana: 886 million Iowa: 405 million Kansas: 603 million Kentucky: 367 million Louisiana: 604 million Maine: 90.3 million Maryland: 2.14 billion Massachusetts: 2.16 billion Michigan: 1.28 billion Minnesota: 657 million Mississippi: 100 million Missouri: 657 million Montana: 45 million Nebraska: 136 million Nevada: 1.47 billion New Hampshire: 108 million New Jersey: 5.27 billion New Mexico: 174 million New York: 9.95 billion North Carolina: 3.14 billion North Dakota: 43.25 million Ohio: 332.4 million Oklahoma: 273 million Oregon: 1.47 billion Pennsylvania: 1.64 billion Rhode Island: 313 million South Carolina: 746 million South Dakota: 57 million Tennessee: 341 million Texas: 5.35 billion Utah: 931 million Vermont: 75 million Virginia: 2.84 billion Washington: 2.62 billion West Virginia: 12.9 million Wisconsin: 246 million Wyoming: 18.1 million
This is not sustainable.
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2024 Presidential Election Results
A single, frequently updating post that will have the result of each state, in alphabetical order, as they come in. Check in often for updates!
CURRENT ELECTORAL VOTES, 270 TO WIN
🟦Harris: 226
🟥Trump: 312
Alabama - 🟥Trump
Alaska - 🟥Trump
Arizona - 🟥Trump
Arkansas - 🟥Trump
California - 🟦Harris
Colorado - 🟦Harris
Connecticut - 🟦Harris
Delaware - 🟦Harris
Florida - 🟥Trump
Georgia - 🟥Trump
Hawaii - 🟦Harris
Idaho - 🟥Trump
Illinois - 🟦Harris
Indiana - 🟥Trump
Iowa - 🟥Trump
Kansas - 🟥Trump
Kentucky - 🟥Trump
Louisiana - 🟥Trump
Maine - 🟦Harris (district 1)(at large) 🟥Trump (district 2)
Maryland - 🟦Harris
Massachusetts - 🟦Harris
Michigan - 🟥Trump
Minnesota - 🟦Harris
Mississippi - 🟥Trump
Missouri - 🟥Trump
Montana - 🟥Trump
Nebraska - 🟥Trump (district 1 and 3) 🟦Harris (district 2)
Nevada - 🟥Trump
New Hampshire - 🟦Harris
New Jersey - 🟦Harris
New Mexico - 🟦Harris
New York - 🟦Harris
North Carolina - 🟥Trump
North Dakota - 🟥Trump
Ohio - 🟥Trump
Oklahoma - 🟥Trump
Oregon - 🟦Harris
Pennsylvania - 🟥Trump
Rhode Island - 🟦Harris
South Carolina - 🟥Trump
South Dakota - 🟥Trump
Tennessee - 🟥Trump
Texas - 🟥Trump
Utah - 🟥Trump
Vermont - 🟦Harris
Virginia - 🟦Harris
Washington - 🟦Harris
Washington, D.C. - 🟦Harris
West Virginia - 🟥Trump
Wisconsin - 🟥Trump
Wyoming - 🟥Trump
270ToWin
Bloomberg
NPR
#destiel meme news#destiel meme#news#united states#us news#us politics#donald trump#fuck trump#kamala harris#2024 presidential race#2024 presidential election#kamala 2024#election 2024#presidential election#election#elections#us elections#vote kamala#vote democrat#vote blue#vote harris#harris walz 2024#harris for president#us presidential election#nov 5th#nov 5 2024#i have a meme image locked and loaded for every state already#so i'll be on top of things#i'm going to kms#i'll keep this pinned until all votes are counted
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Using Your Vote Strategically
Your vote doesn’t matter (probably). Luckily you can make it do a bit more.
Your vote is one of a few hundred million game pieces. Knowing how best to use it requires you to understand your place on the game board. Let’s take a look at that board.
Current polling has the following ten states (yellow on the above map) as highly competitive in this year’s presidential election: Maine, New Jersey, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Virginia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Georgia. Realistically those first three have only gone to Democrats since at least 2000 so speculation is more focused on the last seven (and even New Hampshire has been solidly Democrat since it voted for Bush in 2000).
If you’re one of the roughly 37.5 million voters who lives in one of those states, congratulations! Your vote will actually help decide who wins the presidency in November. As such you should probably vote for one of the major parties. To the other 82% of the electorate, it’s time to think a little harder about how you’ll utilize your vote in the fall.
Meanwhile there are 35 states that solidly belong to one of the two parties and that ain’t changing. They’re blue and red on the map above.
These states have only given electoral votes to their respective party since at least 2000 and current polling (according to 270towin.com) shows that they will do that again this year, well beyond any margin of error in the polls. California for instance is currently polling heavily in favor of the Democratic candidate and has voted for a Democratic candidate since 2000. Obviously that’s not about to change. That’s the case with these other 34 states as well. Which means if there’s any way to “throw your vote away” then it’s by blindly tossing it in with the millions of others that will not impact the electoral college or party platforms in any way.
The states where your vote matters least are:
California, Texas, New York, Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, Alaska, Missouri, Hawaii, Louisiana, Kansas, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Montana, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Idaho, Tennessee, Utah, Arkansas, North Dakota, Wyoming, Mississippi, Alabama, Washington, Massachusetts, Maryland, Oregon, Connecticut, Vermont, Delaware, Washington DC, Rhode Island, and New Mexico.
If you live in one of these states I have no qualms about advising you to vote third party in the general election. It will not change the electoral college outcome. But it can have important benefits you wouldn’t see by simply tossing another ballot on the mountain. I’ll talk below about those benefits. First, the last part of the game board.
The following six states (green on the above map) are technically polling within the margin of error where they could potentially go either way. I personally think it’s unlikely they’ll flip but you can make your own call on that and vote accordingly. If you live in North Carolina, Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Ohio, or Colorado, I think you’re likely to get more use from your vote giving it to a third party candidate based on current polling.
As I said above, I don’t expect that third party voting will impact the electoral college outside of those few truly competitive states.
So what does voting third party do?
If enough people vote third party it can do two helpful things: 1. if a party’s candidate receives over 5% of the popular vote then they can get federal matching funds in the next election, helping spread messages currently relegated to the sidelines, and 2. the major parties are more likely to take note of these votes and try to adjust their platforms to grab these voters in later elections. Voting for one of the two major parties doesn’t send any sort of message. What little utility your vote has in that regard is lost.
Voting for a candidate like Jill Stein of the Green Party can accomplish both of the above goals. Her platform is incredibly progressive. Across the board it’s a lot of things that leftists have been clamoring for. It will show establishment Democrats that there is voting support for those policies.
By supporting a third party candidate (not an independent solo candidate) we could see her get 5% of the popular vote and gain federal matching funds in 2028. It’s not about if she would be a good president or if you like her personally—she is not and never will get elected. It’s about hitting that 5% and showing the establishment that if they cater to the folks who like this platform that they can win votes.
Five percent of the 2020 election would have been just under 8 million votes. Four million Californian voters could have voted Green Party and Biden still would have won the state by over a million votes. We can definitely find 4 million votes in the other 40 states that otherwise are unlikely to impact the election. And we should.
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WED. 30 OCT. 2024: NUMBERS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS ALLOWED TO VOTE IN AMERICAN ELECTIONS BY STATE.
Source is Social Security Admin. Numbers are growing each week. We are already over 10 million collectively. 👇
Alabama 57,272
Alaska 3,765
Arizona 1,313,742
Arkansas 6,141
California 188,019
Colorado 45,105
Connecticut 4,912
Delaware 0
District of Columbia 0
Florida 46,191
Georgia 246,698
Hawaii 0
Idaho 5,093
Illinois 373,398
Indiana 174,499
Iowa 10,043
Kansas 25,593
Kentucky 0
Louisiana 6,192
Maine 5,328
Maryland 70,041
Massachusetts 4,830
Michigan 20,196
Minnesota 27,768
Mississippi 1,587
Missouri 1,709,753
Montana 23,983
Nebraska 7,440
Nevada 66,105
New Hampshire 0
New Jersey 166,558
New Mexico 0
New York 116,616
North Carolina 374,665
North Dakota 0
Ohio 35,954
Oklahoma 0
Oregon 22,490
Pennsylvania 1,583,781
Rhode Island 59,286
South Carolina 0
South Dakota 15,878
Tennessee 0
Texas 3,129,627
Utah 14,539
Vermont 2,982
Virginia 0
Washington 19,004
West Virginia 0
Wisconsin 7,573
Wyoming 7,755
2024 TOTAL: 10,000,402
The Shit Show Continues 🤔
#pay attention#educate yourselves#educate yourself#knowledge is power#reeducate yourselves#reeducate yourself#think about it#think for yourselves#think for yourself#do your homework#do some research#do your research#do your own research#ask yourself questions#question everything#election interference#election fraud#voter fraud#treason#government corruption#evil lives here#news
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USA Ballot Measures Nov. 2024
41 states (and Washington DC) have ballot measures this year! Even if your state's electoral college result isn't in question, you may have ballot measures to vote on alongside the presidential election and state-wide elections.
Below the read more link is an alphabetical list of each state with ballot measures. Each state name links to the Ballotpedia.org page for that state's ballot measures, which will be updated with new developments as election day nears (some ballot measures are still tied up in court as of when I'm making this post in late September, so the approved ballot measures may change before you vote). Ballotpedia has information on each ballot measure, including what a yes/no would mean, arguments for and against, who supports/opposes each measure, and the full text of the measure.
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Utah
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
But wait, there's more!
We also have 2024 ballot measures for:
Washington, D.C.
Local ballot measures
Check the full Ballotpedia.org list of local ballot measure elections in 2024 to see if there are any in your area!
#US politics#US election#voting resources#I gathered these links together as my stress fidget while listening to election news podcasts :/#but it was an interesting exercise because there are some WILD ballot measures out there this year#and Ballotpedia also has the campaign finance info so you can see who's funding which measures#which is less of a voting decision factor but IS fascinating gossip
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USA PATCH NOTES
-made Wisconsin significantly larger by absorbing several other states into it, as well as giving it most of Michigan
-minnesota is now an independent country
-made missouri much smaller (much of what used to be missouri now belongs to wisconsin)
-resolved v-fighting between utah and wyoming
-split the rest of Michigan between ohio and indiana
-the entire delmarva peninsula is now part of Washington, D.C.
-gave georgia's coastline to south carolina
-further divided the dakotas
-southern montana is now part of southwest dakota
-the alaskan panhandle is now canadian
-3 of the hawaiian islands are now part of mexico
-merged arizona, nevada, and southern california into a single state
-alabama and mississippi's coastlines are now floridian
-oklahoma is now very very long
-eastern texas is now in louisiana
-arkansas is slightly larger
-western texas is part of new mexico
-merged northern california, western oregon, and the entirety of washington into a new state
-eastern oregan is part of idaho
-the idaho panhandle is now a separate state
-rotated the border between virginia and north carolina by 90° (virginia in the east, NC in the west)
-merged kentucky, east tennessee, and the maryland panhandle into west virginia
-merged the rest of maryland as well as most of western new york into Pennsylvania
-merged eastern Massachusetts and all of new hampshire into maine
-merged western massachusetts, new york city, long island, and all of new jersey into vermont
-renamed colorado to squareland
-rhode island is entirely unchanged
#america#patch notes#geography#if someone wants to redo this with cleaner lines then by all means go for it
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DEMS FRAUD Numbers of illegal Aliens allowed to vote in American elections by state. Shame on AZ, Missouri and PA who are the worst offenders. Can you imagine going to England, Canada or any other foreign country and voting in their elections? It wouldn’t happen. Source is Social Security Admin. Numbers are growing each week. We are already over 10 million collectively. Alabama 57,272 Alaska 3,765 Arizona 1,313,742 Arkansas 6,141 California 188,019 Colorado 45,105 Connecticut 4,912 Delaware 0 District of Columbia 0 Florida 46,191 Georgia 246,698 Hawaii 0 Idaho 5,093 Illinois 373,398 Indiana 174,499 Iowa 10,043 Kansas 25,593 Kentucky 0 Louisiana 6,192 Maine 5,328 Maryland 70,041 Massachusetts 4,830 Michigan 20,196 Minnesota 27,768 Mississippi 1,587 Missouri 1,709,753 Montana 23,983 Nebraska 7,440 Nevada 66,105 New Hampshire 0 New Jersey 166,558 New Mexico 0 New York 116,616 North Carolina 374,665 North Dakota 0 Ohio 35,954 Oklahoma 0 Oregon 22,490 Pennsylvania 1,583,781 Rhode Island 59,286 South Carolina 0 South Dakota 15,878 Tennessee 0 Texas 3,129,627 Utah 14,539 Vermont 2,982 Virginia 0 Washington 19,004 West Virginia 0 Wisconsin 7,573 Wyoming 7,755 2024 TOTAL: 10,000,402
#democrats#kamala harris#joe biden#tim walz#barack obama#nancy pelosi#republicans#maga#donald trump#jd vance#robert kennedy jr#tulsi gabbard
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check your registered voter status
all 50 US states and territories below. every link is to the official state/territory elections page, all with .gov domains.
information taken from the official vote.gov website
US STATES:
alabama: alabamavotes
alaska: myvoterportal
arizona: myarizona vote
arkansas: voterview
california: voterstatus
colorado: sos.state
connecticut: portaldir
delaware: ivote
florida: myflorida
georgia: myvoterpage
hawaii: olvr
idaho: vote idaho
illinois: ova.elections
indiana: indianavoters
iowa: sos.iowa
kansas: myvoteinfo
kentucky: vrsws
louisiana: voterportal
maine: maine.gov
maryland: voterservices
massachusetts: sec.state
michigan: mvic.sos.state
minnesota: mnvotes
mississippi: msegov
missouri: voteroutreach
montana: prodvoterportal
nebraska: votercheck
nevada: nvsos
new hampshire: app.sos.nh
new jersey: voter.svrs
new mexico: voterportal
new york: voterlookup
north carolina: vt.ncsbe
north dakota: sos.nd
ohio: voterlookup
oklahoma: okvoterportal
oregon: sos.state.or
pennsylvania: pavoterservices
rhode island: vote.sos.ri
south carolina: scvotes
south dakota: sdsos
tennessee: tnmap
texas: votetexas
utah: votesearch
vermont: mvp.vermont
virginia: elections.virginia
washington: votewa
west virginia: sos.wv
wisconsin: myvote wisconsin
wyoming: check status by contacting your local registration office through your county clerk. country clerk contact information here
US TERRITORIES:
american samoa: aselections
guam: gec.guam
puerto rico: consulta.ceepur
northern mariana islands: votecnmi
virgin islands: vivote
washington dc: dcboe
remember to cast that ballot in november!
#us elections#us politics#2024 elections#voting#voter registration#voter registration status#vote blue#get out the vote#voting rights#election 2024
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@DefiyantlyFree
Cost of illegal immigrants per state in 2023:
Alabama: 596 million
Alaska: 130 million
Arizona: 3.19 billion
Arkansas: 356 million
California: 30.9 billion
Colorado: 1.94 billion
Connecticut: 1.28 billion
Delaware: 244 million
Florida: 8.04 billion
Georgia: 3.14 billion
Hawaii: 771 million
Idaho: 405 million
Illinois: 5.27 billion
Indiana: 886 million
Iowa: 405 million
Kansas: 603 million
Kentucky: 367 million
Louisiana: 604 million
Maine: 90.3 million
Maryland: 2.14 billion
Massachusetts: 2.16 billion
Michigan: 1.28 billion
Minnesota: 657 million
Mississippi: 100 million
Missouri: 657 million
Montana: 45 million
Nebraska: 136 million
Nevada: 1.47 billion
New Hampshire: 108 million
New Jersey: 5.27 billion
New Mexico: 174 million
New York: 9.95 billion
North Carolina: 3.14 billion
North Dakota: 43.25 million
Ohio: 332.4 million
Oklahoma: 273 million
Oregon: 1.47 billion
Pennsylvania: 1.64 billion
Rhode Island: 313 million
South Carolina: 746 million
South Dakota: 57 million
Tennessee: 341 million
Texas: 5.35 billion
Utah: 931 million
Vermont: 75 million
Virginia: 2.84 billion
Washington: 2.62 billion
West Virginia: 12.9 million
Wisconsin: 246 million
Wyoming: 18.1 million
This is not sustainable.
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Also preserved on our archive (Daily updates!)
Weird how this "endemic" German strain is poised to dominate worldwide... That almost sounds like a pandemic :O
By Ahjané Forbes
KP.3.1.1 is still the dominant COVID-19 variant in the United States as it accounts for nearly 60% of positive cases, but the XEC variant is not far behind, recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows.
"CDC is monitoring the XEC variant," Rosa Norman, a CDC spokesperson told USA TODAY. "XEC is the proposed name of a recombinant, or hybrid, of the closely related Omicron lineages KS.1.1 and KP.3.3."
The variant, which first appeared in Berlin in late June, has increasingly seen hundreds of cases in Germany, France, Denmark and Netherlands, according to a report by Australia-based data integration specialist Mike Honey.
The CDC's Nowcast data tracker, which displays COVID-19 estimates and projections for two-week periods, reflected that the KP.3.1.1 variant accounted for 57.2% of positive infections, followed by XEC at 10.7% in the two-week stretch starting on Sept. 29 and ending on Oct. 12.
KP.3.1.1 first became the leading variant between July 21 and Aug. 3.
The latest data shows a rise in each variant's percentage of total cases from Sept. 15-28, as KP.3.1.1 rose by 4.6%, and XEC rose by 5.4%. Previously, the KP.3.1.1 variant made up 52.6% of cases and XEC accounted for 5.3% from Sept. 15-28.
Here is what you need to know about the XEC variant and the latest CDC data.
COVID-19:Your free COVID-19 at-home tests from the government are set to expire soon. Here's why.
Changes in COVID-19 test positivity within a week Data collected by the CDC shows a drop in positivity rate across the board, while the four states in Region 10 had the biggest decrease (-2.7%) in positive COVID-19 cases from Sept. 29, 2024, to Oct. 5, 2024.
The data was posted on Oct. 11.
Note: The CDC organizes positivity rate based on regions, as defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Here's the list of states and their regions' changes in COVID-19 positivity for the past week:
Region 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont): -2% Region 2 (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands): -1.9% Region 3 (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia): -1.3% Region 4 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee): -0.6% Region 5 (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin): -2% Region 6 (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas): -0.8% Region 7 (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska): -1.7% Region 8 (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming): -1.2% Region 9 (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau): -1.3% Region 10 (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington): -2.7% The CDC data shows COVID-19 test positivity rate was recorded at 7.7% from Sept. 29 to Oct. 5, an absolute change of -1.8% from the prior week.
COVID-19 symptoms The variants currently dominating in the U.S. do not have their own specific symptoms, the CDC says..
"CDC is not aware of new or unusual symptoms associated with XEC or any other co-circulating lineage of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19," Norman said.
The government agency outlines the basic symptoms of COVID-19 on its website. These symptoms can appear between two and 14 days after exposure to the virus and can range from mild to severe.
These are some of the symptoms of COVID-19:
Fever or chills Cough Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing Fatigue Muscle or body aches Headache Loss of taste or smell Sore throat Congestion or runny nose Nausea or vomiting Diarrhea The CDC said you should seek medical attention if you have the following symptoms:
Trouble breathing Persistent pain or pressure in the chest New confusion Inability to wake or stay awake Pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds
#mask up#covid#pandemic#wear a mask#public health#covid 19#wear a respirator#still coviding#coronavirus#sars cov 2#XEC
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Since u all fw marching band wttt then here u go except I'm only doing the states cause gov would def be the director who has to deal with them
Also these headcanons r real I swear I'm right (by a trombonist)
all in alphabetical order btw
1. ALABAMA — probably would do bari-sax
2. ALASKA — percussion. thats it. just percussion. (Up for interpretation)
3. ARIZONA — flute or bass clarinet, one of those.
4. ARKANSAS — flute
5. CALIFORNIA — he would be a fucking clarinet, no exceptions. He just gives off clarinet vibes, or just woodwind in general
6. COLORADO — tenor drums
7. CONNECTICUT — piccolo or mellophone
8. DELAWARE — flute
9. FLORIDA — cymbals or piccolo, one of those at the very least.
10. GEORGIA — trumpet. 100% trumpet player
11. HAWAI'I — glockenspiel or marimba
12. IDAHO — trumpet
13. ILLINOIS — euphonium or bass drums
14. INDIANA — saxophone
15. IOWA — alto saxophone
16. KANSAS — trumpet
17. KENTUCKY — trumpet or saxophone
18. LOUISIANA — trombone. (Sorry to all those saxophone loui lovers.. but i feel like his instrument would be the trombone,, it's still a jazz instrument so ykyk)
19. MAINE — bass drums or euphonium
20. MARYLAND — clarinet
21. MASSACHUSETTS — oh he's a flute, that's for sure. 😭😭
22. MICHIGAN — tenor sax
23. MINNESOTA — mellophone
24. MISSISSIPPI — trumpet
25. MISSOURI — vibraphone
26. MONTANA — cornet
27. NEBRASKA — trumpet
28. NEVADA — I'm sorry but he'd probably do tenor sax
29. NEW HAMPSHIRE — piccolo
30. NEW JERSEY — snare drum
31. NEW MEXICO — cornet
32. NEW YORK — snare or tenor drums
33. NORTH CAROLINA — trumpet
34. NORTH DAKOTA — flute (sighs)
35. OHIO — trombone
36. OKLAHOMA — alto sax
37. OREGON — marimba
38. PENNSYLVANIA — glockenspiel
39. RHODE ISLAND — sousaphone/tuba. im fucking SERIOUS about this man he would love this
40. SOUTH CAROLINA — clarinet
41. SOUTH DAKOTA — saxophone
42. TENNESSEE — tenor sax
43. TEXAS — sousaphone/tuba
44. UTAH — flute or bass clarinet
45. VERMONT — flute. (dear god help me)
46. VIRGINIA — flute (guess what)
47. WASHINGTON — flute (im going insane please stop)
48. WEST VIRGINIA — cymbals or drumline
49. WISCONSIN — xylophone
50. WYOMING — euphonium
I'm literally right abt this i swear ⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️
"You're wrong about—" SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP GET OUT OF MY HEAD ⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️
#ben brainard#welcome to the statehouse#welcome to the table#wttsh#wttt#wttt headcanons#marching band
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