#U.S. elections

[desultory-suggestions]

As Election Day begins in the U.S. there will be a huge rush of anxiety and emotions for many of us. This is an incredibly difficult time to be hopeful and resilient, but we must. Please remember that the polls will not accurately represent the outcome until well after polls close, and it could take days before the race can truly and unequivocally be called. Instead of checking every ten minutes to see who is ahead, or feeling trapped by two bad outcomes, today I urge you to care for yourself and your community. This election will matter, but what will matter the most is the human resiliency and compassion that overcomes the greatest of obstacles. Think today about how you can strengthen your heart or honor and fight for those who need it most. Election Day will pass, and whatever the outcome we will continue to live in a world filled with people of kind hearts and hard working hands. Don’t fall for despair, prepare to roll up your sleeves and do what you can. All is easier said than done, so start by taking a deep breath, think of something you love, and carry on on step at a time.

[kawaiimunism]

It's interesting to me how the "vote blue no matter who" crowd sometimes conceptualize election outcomes as aggregate social responses to a candidate's/party's public perception (a sensible and useful way of seeing things), and other times conceptualize election outcomes as conjunctions of individual voting decisions (a dumb and useless way of seeing things), and they select which one they believe in depending on what's convenient in the current conversation.

Complaining that the Democratic party platform is too conservative? Upset that Dems aren't delivering on progressive campaign promises? "You stupid baby, they have to do that to appeal to swing voters and moderates. If the Democrats tried to be more progressive, they'd never win!"

Refusing to vote? Voting third-party? "You stupid baby, your individual decision not to vote for the Dems is handing the election to the Republicans!"

You can really see this in action when someone points out that, if left-wing non-voters are really a significant enough bloc to sway election outcomes as much as U.S. liberals act like they are, then it's the Democratic party's fault if they lose elections by failing to appeal to that bloc. The libs have to simultaneously take the former view ("they can't do that b/c they'd lose swing votes!") and the latter ("it's your individual responsibility to make sure Dems win by voting for them!"). It's the only way to maintain the "everyone is to blame except my favorite party/candidate" mindset when elections don't go their way.

You can also see it when someone points out that, if you care about election strategy, the most sensible individual voting decision depends on whether you live in a swing state or not: If you live in a swing state, vote for candidates from whichever major party you hate least. If you live in a blue/red state, vote for candidates from parties you want to receive state ballot access and federal election funding (even if they'll never actually win the presidency, more money for campaigning gives them more opportunities to advance their policy perspectives in public). But in the "vote blue no matter who" crowd's equivocation between individual behavior and aggregate outcomes, voting third-party in a non-swing state is still verboten, because "it's the same as voting for Republicans!" and therefore technically increasing GOP chances of winning the presidency, even if your state is so solidly red or blue that it makes zero fucking sense to actually think about things that way.

Like, I'm not particularly invested in voting one way or another. I've said a lot on here that I don't really care whether you vote or not, I care about whether you're doing other shit. I'm just commenting on some rhetorical patterns I've noticed that I think are interesting.

[tanadrin]

How does registering to vote/voting work of you are a US citizen who lives permanently abroad? Im looking to move to canada for grad school and maybe beyond but I thought without residence i just wouldnt be able to vote

You can certainly vote in federal elections (congress and president); you can do this by requesting what is basically a postcard ballot, by email or snail mail, which you then mail in (where to depends on the state you last lived in). There are guides about how to do this online; this page from travel.state.gov is probably a good place to start.

Whether you can vote in state races depends on particular state rules.

[halloweentown365]

When is the US election?

It will take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.

Polls will open as early as 5am local time in some jurisdictions and close as late as 8pm.

When will we know the result of the US election?

Officials will start counting votes once the polls close in their state — and results will start being known within a few hours.

Who is running for president?

In alphabetical order, the main contenders are:

• Kamala Harris (Democrats)

• Donald Trump (Republican)

How is the president elected?

They need at least 270 electors to win.

The public doesn't get to directly decide on who becomes the next president and vice president.

Instead, the decision is made through the Electoral College, which is made up of 538 electors who then cast a vote for the candidate.

Electors are actual people representing their area and vote according to the local results.

It differs between states how these electors are chosen and how many each jurisdiction has to represent them, but they're generally chosen by political parties.

California has the most electoral college votes with 54, while other states have as few as three.

Here's a basic view of how it works:

1.Voters cast their ballot for president, which goes toward a statewide tally

2.With the exception of two states that use a proportional system, the winner of the statewide tally gets all the electoral votes for that state

3.A presidential candidate needs the vote of at least 270 electors to win the election

The Electoral College won't make its official vote on whether the next president until mid-December but we'll know the result of the election much sooner.

Can someone win the popular vote but lose the election?

Yes.

It’s possible for a candidate to win the Electoral College vote despite not being the general public’s choice.

This has happened only a handful of times:

2016

2000

1888

1874

1826

When will the president be sworn in?

On January 20, 2025.

That day is known as Inauguration Day and happens every four years on that date (or January 21 if the 20th falls on a Sunday).

The ceremony takes place at the Capitol building in Washington, DC.

YOUR VOTE MATTERS 🗳️

[billyrussoapologist]

I consider myself to be politically moderate. I don’t like to jump immediately on either side of anything. I’m always willing to hear out both sides of any argument, and I extensively research all political points (through legit sources, not social media). I’ve been really struggling with the upcoming election because both options are just awful. But today I made up my mind.

I’ve been reading Project 2025 and it is extremely radical, I’d call it cult-like. It claims to be a plan to hand freedom back to American citizens, but talks about things like destroying the government hierarchy, banning certain words in schools (all relating to gender and diversity), banning books, and, of course, criminalizing women’s rights to health and safety in every state. This last issue is one that is particularly important to me, so I’ve included some quotes below, just to give anyone who might not know about this an idea of what Project 2025 is aiming for. But I encourage everyone to do their own research. This sounds funny coming from me, but please don’t get your information from strangers on social media. It can be a great jumping off point, but please fact check everything by going directly to the source (in this case, Project 2025), or researching through a credible source.

[nando161mando]

US Elections: Two Parties, One Charade!

[stone-cold-groove]

MAD magazine - October 1968.

[poetry-protest-pornography]

Here's the deal about voting tomorrow, friends:

Do it. Just freaking vote.

I know that everything feels like an uphill battle, and that it doesn't even feel like we're close to winning, but that's by design.

The "conservatives" spent decades getting their people in place to get rid of Roe, to Gerrymander districts to hell and back because that's the only way they win, to make it harder for people of color to vote, to put themselves in the position to threaten LGBTQ youth and families. To make it okay to threaten Jews on national television. Decades.

And it happened because the hard-line conservatives all freaking vote.

So, we have to, too. We've gotta show up at the polls for the local Board of Education, because that's what keeps "Don't Say Gay" bills out of our schools. 

We've gotta show up to vote for local District Attorneys, because they can decide whether to prosecute you for your miscarriage.

And for the love of every other person on this planet, show up to vote tomorrow, because if we lose the majority, we lose every bit of progress we have made in the last 20 years. 

(And please don't come at me about how the majority hasn't helped us, what we have now is not a majority that let's is do a damned thing until we get rid of the filibuster, and y'all damn well know it.)

Just fucking vote.

[fashionlandscapeblog]

all the shit you say will happen under trump is already happening under biden... and will STILL happen if biden gets elected...

Very true, but where you go wrong is in assuming it won't get MUCH worse under a new Trump presidential term. Ever heard of project 2025?

Project 2025 recommends abolishing the Department of Education

Funding for climate research would be cut

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) would be reformed according to conservative principles.

Cut funding for Medicare and Medicaid and urges the government to explicitly reject abortion as health care.

The Project states that life begins at conception and seeks to eliminate coverage of emergency contraception under the Affordable Care Act and enforce the Comstock Act to prosecute those who send and receive contraceptives and abortion pills nationwide.

The Project seeks to infuse the government with elements of Christianity.

Remove legal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity

Terminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and affirmative actionby having the DOJ prosecute "anti-white racism."

The Project recommends the arrest, detention, and deportation of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. by using the military to capture and place them in internment camps.

The Insurrection Act of 1807 would be used to allow the military to engage in domestic policing and capturing undocumented immigrants.

[frequentpondcrosser]

To my American friends: soon, if you bother to vote, you will be deciding whether your poor, riven nation will continue as a democracy or not. If democracy fails—and I fear it might—you will not have it again for the rest of your lives. I can assure you that you will not like the form of governance that you will get.

[ararebreedstory]

But if I had to pick...

Palpatine, hands down. He hates everyone equally, whereas Voldy is just racist.

Palps for all his faults also created jobs and maintained economic stability for the most part, linking countless worlds and maintaining galactic trade. Voldemort's biggest concern was public education reform, and it failed so miserably it didn't even last a year.

True Palpatine is a weird religious fanatic, but his religion teaches that it can only have two members at a time, and I can't help but respect that. I wish more religions were like that.

"Sorry, you can't convert, we're full. Come back next week."

[dicapiito]

Dumbfuck leftists: Joe Biden is a meanie! >:(

Meanwhile Trump and the GOP plan:

[pythiaswine]

"i dont want to vote trump or biden bc they both suck" VOTE THIRD PARTY THEN!! If we don't all do it, it reinforces the idea that our votes don't matter. if you vote for one over the other, they think they can get away w the two party system. if you don't vote at all, they won't even know the difference because they'll still have a winner and no third-party contenders. if you want the electoral college gone, VOTE THIRD PARTY! they won't listen until we make them. this is called political efficacy. stop believing it's hopeless bc that is how they have the power to keep making decisions that the people don't agree with.

[whentheynameyoujoy]

Just took a shower after subjecting myself to a leftie diatribe on how the moral choice is to vote third party and then do armed struggle under Trump, and I can't begin to comprehend how the world came to be ruled by such an unserious people.

[science-fiction-is-real]

Call me crazy but i think if a politician actively funds, supports, and arms an a literal genocide, it is an absolute moral imperative that said politician loses the next election.

Theoretically, forcing politicians to lose elections is the only way we legally have to hold them accountable for being unhinged maniacs.

The argument "well the other guy would do even MORE genocide" does not hold water because even if he might do more genocide, he hasn't done any genocide yet, which makes him, in fact, the lesser of the two evils.

Nothing the republicans are threatening in project 2025 is nearly as evil as an actual literal Genocide.

I think this is an issue where it is ok to be a single issue voter, or at least a single issue abstainer.

[ascii-bunny]