#so yeah. this is on the ballot in november

[mugiwara-lucy]

....

When Roe v Wade was overturned, I did say what would be next on the chopping block was interracial relationships. And look what a Republican said.....

Like I've said over the last couple of months; if that Convicted Felon Trump gets back into office; we can pretty much kiss goodbye to Gay Rights, Interracial Relationships and basically Civil Rights in general.

Or like the asshole in the picture says it'll be "left up to the states" 🙄 Yeah because that's worked out SO WELL with abortion.

Hey why don't we leave the Second Amendment to the states?? Let's see how well that'll go with these MAGA clowns??

Just like with abortion, relationships should NEVER EVER be left up to the states! And this will be our HELL (as someone who's in an interracial relationship) IF we let Trump get back in office.

Here’s the link to register to vote and if you already haven’t in some states voting registration ends TODAY so get on it if you haven’t!! Also here are the deadlines by state! But your own vote isn’t enough! Get as many people as you can to vote for Kamala be it your friends, cousins, parents, grandparents, old friends from high school and college, coworkers, boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives, stepchildren (if they’re 18 and over) and the list goes on and on but every vote counts! Here’s the link and deadlines by state! AND PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE CHECK YOUR REGISTRATION DAILY!!!!

And early voting has started! And if you don’t wanna vote on November 5th, Early Voting is another option! Like I said get as many people as you know and and try early voting! Here’s the link down below listing the dates by state:

And Mail in Ballots are ANOTHER option I highly recommend!! And like I said get as many people as you can to take advantage of this option!

Here’s the link below:

Donald Trump and his cronies wants to take us back to some 1980s Ronald Reagan Conservative bullshit. Is THAT what you want??

And for any POC that sees this and wants to vote Trump/Vance, just know Trump has said he wants to RIP UP THE CONSTITUTION. And the 14th Amendment ended SLAVERY and given one of his buddies was talking about wishing they could own Haitian slaves.....I'll let you fill in the blanks with that.

[qqueenofhades]

Walz was my top choice, but seeing Republicans SEETHING that she didn't pick Shapiro confirms it for me! A man who gets approval from both AOC and Manchin and seemingly singlehandedly freed Democrats from the shackles of "when they go low we go high", his experiences with education, his fairly progressive policies, and also his personal experience with IVF making the Harris/Walz ticket feel very strong on fighting for reproductive rights- what's this feeling? Is it hope?

Walz is actually incredible on abortion rights (he met Harris when she became the first sitting VP to visit a Planned Parenthood in Minneapolis in March), he's outspoken about how he and his wife only have their children because of IVF, and wow, it's nice to see Democrats actually embracing "basic bodily autonomy for women is a good thing and we're not going to back down/run away from that" as a winning message, because IT IS. Abortion rights are polling some incredibly high number in Florida (Florida!!!) and they are on the ballot there in November, along with other places. And we remember that every time they ARE on the ballot, regardless of how red the state might usually be, they win.

This is a great issue to be running on, to be able to run on so strongly, and Harris/Walz are exceptionally qualified to do it. As for the GOP seething about Shapiro, all this tells me is that they were banking on having their pre-written attack ads ready to go, their "Democrats in Disarray!" psy-ops ready to roll out, and everything else. They don't give a shit about antisemitism and they certainly don't get to talk about suddenly acting like they want anything other than white Christian-evangelistic theocracy, because they don't. So yeah, like... Shapiro is genuinely very strong in many ways and I do like him and will support him if he runs in 8 years, but this was something the GOP/the corporate media were COUNTING on to destabilize the Democratic ticket, and we took that away from them. The stakes are too high to run the risk of any more distractions, whether or not it's fair or justified or any of it. We need to pull together and become watertight if we're doing this unprecedented thing, and because the 2024 election cycle has turned out to be so short (at least in terms of the actual tickets) we cannot, CANNOT afford to be manipulated by bad actors, which in turn means making choices to give them the least opportunity to do so. Which has happened here, and... yes. I think... I think this odd feeling might just be hope, especially as I look at all the Twitter videos of thousands of people in Philly eager to get into the first Harris/Walz rally tonight. Lord love you, Philly. I remember the pure euphoria I felt as those massive batches of blue ballots rolled in in 2020, and I am very, VERY ready to do it again.

[walks-the-ages]

If I didn't mention it, I'll be voting for Jasmine Sherman (they/them) in November, Because they already have Ballot Access in 48 states , as opposed to Jill Stein who currently only has ~23 states with Ballot Access.

EDIT:

Someone has commented to point out that while Jasmine Sherman's website lists out 48 states that they're on the Ballot for, there's no sources given for this information, and right now, while its only wikipedia articles, neither of us can find any ballot access map or list not on their website that confirms that information independantly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballot_access_in_the_2024_United_States_presidential_election

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Green_Party_presidential_primaries#Declared_candidates

Jasmine Sherman's own "how to vote for us" section of their website encourages people to use Ballotpedia, they're only listed as being on the ballot for one state , while the Presidential Election 2024 page does not list them at all and neither does their ballot-access tracker at politico:

Jasmine Sherman's website also lists them as being on the ballot under the Unicorn Party.... but I have not seen any list anywhere that list where the Unicorn Party is on the ballot except for their website.

There's also the fact that their website's policy on the Death Penalty not only supports it, but wants it to be either by Morphine Overdose or fucking Firing Squad with only 1 year of appeals??? There's a footnote above it that says their position has changed and they're leaving the original policy up for preservation but like...

.. you can't run for President saying you want the Death Penalty to be done by Firing Squad of all fucking things when people almost universally hate the death penalty (not least of which because it kills so many innocents) and then just leave a note that you changed your mind but not what your new official stance is????

https://jasminesherman.com/death-penalty-policy/ [note at top of Policy page] *Jasmine wishes to inform the readers that this post is being preserved to uphold transparency. While the death penalty contradicts the Green Party’s platform, it would be disingenuous to ignore the evolution of Jasmine’s stance on this matter. Their transition from previous support to a different standpoint is noteworthy, highlighting that a candidate’s position is not solely driven by personal preferences but also reflects the desires of their constituents. [Policy] Purpose: Institute a federal standard for capital punishment. Scope: Encourage states to be more efficient with resources surrounding the enforcement of “Capital Punishment.” Our policy: Capital Punishment – is to be reserved for those convicted of mass killing and serial killer events only. Due process is to take no more than one calendar year. There should be two options available for the execution; morphine overdose or firing squad. All other capital punishment cases will remain as they are or will be subject to incorporation into the Unicorn Party’s “Restorative Justice Treatment Program”. Definitions: Mass Killing Event: A multiple homicide incident in which four or more victims are murdered by any means, within one event, and in one or more locations in close proximity. Serial Killing: The unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events.

So, uhhhhh, yeah. If you want to kill people who are Officially Criminals by Firing Squad I don't really think you can be trusted to be thinking in terms of humane death or punishment. Note how the website does not include what their official new position is at all, when that's literally what the Policy page is for!

If you believe in Restorative Justice and universal healthcare because everyone deserves the right to life .... if you truely believe in that how can you support the Death Penalty at all, let alone by such barbaric methods?

There's also the "Policy" about "Rights of Sentient Beings" that says

"The majority of research does suggest that primarily plant based consumption for humans is ideal. This doesn’t include those with disabilities or health phenomenons we do not understand.

which.... from almost everything I've read out there published by actual medical professionals, unless you're going out of your way to eat very specific things each and every day, you're going to run into nutritional deficiencies and need to take supplements if you're going vegetarian or vegan! In fact, you have to as much as double your iron intake on a plant-based diet because the iron we get from plants isn't as digestible as the one we get from meat. Because. You know. we're literally omnivores for a reason.

SO! After doing some more deep dives into their actual policies (such as they are), and looking deeper into the supposed-ballot access, Jasmine Sherman is not a candidate I will be voting for.

You can advocate for the humane treatment of animals without insisting that all humans except disabled people are perfectly capable of healthily living on a vegan diet, because that's simply not true without supplaments or a vastly increased access to a variety of foods, and if you truly believe in abolishing the criminal-justice system, there's no way in fucking hell you would support the Death Penalty.

Like I said in my longer version of this post (which is still relevant, check out the reblogs), voting third partym eans being adaptable and doing research in pursuit of a Free Palestine , which means, until we can get some independant verification of Jasmine Sherman having ballot access in 48 states, (and an actual proven change on that horrific stance on Capital Punishment!!!!), it is back to Jill Stein for me.

Unlike Jasmine Sherman, Jill Stein actually wants to abolish the Death Pentalty entirely, and has a long list of changes she plans to implement for restorative justice if elected:

[confettimafia]

Hey you, yeah you!

Procrastinated something voting related and think you can’t vote? You have a weird circumstance and aren’t sure? You are registered but haven’t checked recently?

This is the post for you! I’m gonna go through a few different options, links, and definitions for people so you can ensure that if you are eligible, that you can vote. (Yes, this repeats some links for convenience.)

I think I am registered but I haven’t checked: You should. There are many legal battles going on right now trying to purge voting rolls and such. Also mistakes happen. CHECK HERE. REGISTER HERE.

I have not registered to vote but I will be eligible otherwise: Many states have a late registration deadline, it might still be possible, sometimes even online! CHECK HERE. REGISTER HERE.

I have not registered to vote, I will be eligible otherwise, and the voter registration deadline has passed: Some states allow voting by affidavit or casting a provisional ballot. This means you take an extra step to sign a thing that documents that you are eligible to vote and after the fact this is verified. More people need to know about this. This covers a lot of weird circumstances. “As of March 2024, Idaho and Minnesota did not provide for provisional voting. New Hampshire provides for provisional balloting only when a voter does not provide the required documentation at the time of registration, and North Dakota provides for provisional balloting only in the event of a court order extending polling hours.” To be safe, if you don’t know and this is your only option, you should go to your polling place and ask if they do this. FIND YOUR POLLING PLACE HERE.

I won’t be home for Election Day but I can vote: Some states have early voting right now. CHECK HERE. Some states are still accepting absentee ballot applications. CHECK HERE.

I will be at college during election day: you can either get absentee ballot or early voting at home OR you can register to vote where you go to college. Generally speaking you spend enough time at both places as a college student it’s allowed to register at either location, you can switch you’re registration to college if you’ve met the standards of living there long enough etc. See above for absentee and early voting, but I will relink the registration link HERE.

I will reemphasize affidavit voting. I personally have used this after relocating within a state and forgetting to change registrations. It was a simple form. If you are 18 or will be on Election Day, a citizen, and haven’t had your voting rights stripped from you via felony or something PLEASE check and make absolutely sure you can’t vote. I guarantee you there are thousands if not millions of people who are not going to vote simply because they do not know they can. It’s confusing and annoying, and people have paid a lot of money to keep it that way. Don’t let them take your vote away.

Yes especially get this out to peeps in swing states BUT REMEMBER. Everything down ballot is also incredibly important with slim margins. Even if you are not in a swing state there is so much else you can do with your vote.

(Some more affidavit voting reasons for New York as an example, though these vary per state:

* “If the voter has been issued an absentee, military or special ballot, but wishes to vote in person during early voting or on election day,

* If the voter is voting for the first time and is unable to provide identification,

* If the voter’s name does not appear in the poll records

* If in a primary election, the voter is listed as being a member of one party but wishes to vote as a member of a different party (Does not apply in November)”)

After all this, you are absolutely positive you can’t vote in this election but could in the future: Register now! Then it will be taken care of for the future until it needs to be updated again. This stuff won’t suddenly stop being important and literally life and death at times. REGISTER HERE.

All of this has been incredibly anxiety inducing, but sharing stuff like this to get the word out to frankly a large young left leaning audience here on tumblr is helpful. It helps to do something actionable. For those of you who can’t vote, encouraging people like this helps in its own way too.

[mikerickson]

Dispatches from the Frontlines of Democracy: 6/10/2025 NJ Primary Election

I worked as a poll worker again yesterday, this time for the NJ Primary Election. You know the drill, hijinks and shenanigans below the cut:

Woke up at 4:45 AM and got home at 9:30 PM, so it was a long fucking day and I'm still thoroughly wiped out today.

Each district is supposed to have four poll workers, but we were short-staffed and I was only paired with one other woman, who I also worked with last November and got along really well with. She works at my local supermarket and kept recognizing voters that were coming in. Her reactions ranged from, "hang on, I wanna go say hi to this person," to, "oh no, I'm gonna run to the bathroom for a bit so hopefully they don't see me."

Another poll worker at the adjacent table was South Korean and was telling us about how when he was doing his compulsory military service he got selected one year to count ballots for a Korean election. I didn't know how to tactfully say, "I'm not comfortable with the military overseeing the voting process," so I left it alone.

Same guy also shared a rumor that our local Hooters that recently shut down is gonna become a rotating sushi restaurant, which, talk about pyrrhic victories.

I can't do sudoku puzzles for shit anymore, I don't know how I used to be so good at them back in high school.

Part of the process for signing in a voter is getting their signature on the sign-in tablet and matching it against their signature on file, which I can't see until they hit a submit button (so they can't try to forge it on the spot). If they don't match, we're supposed to give them a provisional ballot which basically goes through an extra step of investigation to prevent fraud. I had one guy just give an aggressive Richter scale-style scratching, complete with an arms-length flourish in the air. I thought, "oh, here we go...," but it matched the one on file identically. When he signed the physical voting authority slip, he did it the exact same way again.

Speaking of provisionals, I had one woman come up who already looked over it and said, "I'm not gonna be in your system and I'm gonna have to vote provisional," with an exasperated voice. I doubted her and tried about six different ways of entering her into the system with no luck. Finally with some combination of scanning her license and manually entering her home street address I found her and she was flagged with a "must vote provisionally" notice. Apparently she's been fighting with the Board of Elections for years and no one has been able to figure out why she's in IT limbo.

When I was working the voting booths themselves, my default line was, "I'll take you over here, sir/ma'am." I had one older woman quip back at me, "oh, he's gonna take me in this booth right here? I don't think I'd mind..." Her husband wasn't amused, but also didn't seem surprised.

Once a voter is in the booth behind the screen we're not allowed to enter with them or even look inside without their permission. I had one gentleman call out to me asking why Ras Baraka (a progressive Democratic candidate) wasn't appearing on his ballot. I got his permission and looked at the screen to see that he had a Republican ballot. I verified and explained that he was a registered Republican and he said, "I am? ...oh yeah, I guess I am..." I left him in there for a bit longer, but he did end up voting anyway.

I had another older man call out and get agitated because, quote, "I don't know who any of these people are!" I didn't really understand what the problem was until he directly asked me who he should vote for and I explained to him twice that I wasn't allowed to do that. About a half hour later this played out again with a second man.

I clocked at least four gay couples, but felt awkward wishing an unprompted "Happy Pride." Except for the one guy I saw with a rainbow watchband who said it back.

Around midday another older gentleman (noticing a pattern here?) who only spoke Spanish was having trouble with the poll workers at his station so the youngest worker on duty for the whole building - a latina undergrad in her senior year - had to come over to help him. He was unaffiliated so he could pick either party, but apparently he picked Republican first by accident so he wanted to void his ballot (which is a pain in the ass to do) and then vote on the Democratic ballot. This was about a thirty minute process with an angry voter and this poor first-time poll worker was so burnt out by the end of it, I felt bad.

There was one argument early in the day between a Gen X mother and her Gen Z daughter. I got the impression that the mother was trying to tell the daughter who to vote for, and they disagreed pretty strongly over it. They bickered quietly by the bathrooms for about ten minutes before approaching the booths. When the daughter came out of her booth, her eyes were red like she'd been crying, and then they continued arguing for a while longer in the parking lot.

At the end of the night I had to bring the supply bag, provisional ballots, and the SIM card with the digital results to the Township building. My equivalents from other polling stations started trickling in after me, and one of them loaded her supply bag wrong; she was missing some key stuff and only had the SIM card. The Township workers were just wincing, realizing that they were going to have a very long night chasing down the missing materials to certify their results for that district. I basically hit them with a, "that's rough, buddy," and went home because I did my shit right.

[beardedmrbean]

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — When North Dakota voters approved term limits for state legislators, they specified that the Legislature couldn’t seek to change the new restrictions.

On Wednesday, the state House opted to propose a big change, anyway.

“You have plain language in the constitution restricting what the Legislature can do,” said Republican Rep. Jared Hendrix, the leader of the term limit ballot initiative in 2022.

The Senate earlier passed the measure. Now it appears set up for the November 2026 election.

The 2022 measure, which amended the state constitution, said the Legislature “shall not have authority to propose an amendment to this constitution to alter or repeal the term limitations established in ... this article.”

Supporting lawmakers said many voters mistakenly thought the 2022 measure was for congressional term limits. Others said the Legislature needs institutional knowledge that is built over years.

“We've got to vote this in, and we've got to convince the people that this is a lot better plan than what we've got on the books right now,” Republican Rep. David Monson said.

Opposing representatives said voters' support for term limits was by a huge margin, and lawmakers can pursue a measure for a ballot initiative if they want changes.

“Do you really, honestly think that the people that voted 60-some percent for this measure that they're going to now all of a sudden turn around and go, ‘Yeah, I’d like to give you guys an extra eight years to stick around,' ” Republican Rep. Steve Vetter said.

The term-limit clock took effect Jan. 1, 2023, restricting lawmakers to eight years in the House and eight years in the Senate. Their previous experience doesn't count. The governor also can't be elected more than twice. No one has been term-limited out of office yet.

The measure set for voters would change the term limits to four complete four-year terms in the Legislature; a term of less than four years would not count toward the limit. The measure also would repeal the prohibition on the Legislature to make changes to term limits.

Republican Senate Majority Leader David Hogue, who supports the measure, said he hasn't formed a firm opinion on whether the Legislature's move is legal.

The measure “just says it's 16 years — doesn't matter whether you're in one chamber or the other — and it's a full 16 years, so I thought it had some fidelity to the measure that the people passed, although it's not exactly what they passed," Hogue said.

Hendrix said the secretary of state, North Dakota's top election official, might seek an attorney general opinion about whether the measure can go on the ballot.

Telephone and text messages seeking comment were left with Secretary of State Michael Howe. A text message also was left with Attorney General Drew Wrigley.

North Dakota's Republican-run Legislature regularly meets every two years, in odd-numbered years.

[lumieresdanslacave]

🐾JUILLET/AOÛT UPDATE🐾

🧨Yeah I'm lumping july and august together because this summer's going to be pretty calm 🧨Zine fest season is almost over! My cosmic friend Victor has one last one in Bordeaux this weekend but I don't remember the name of he event. 🧨I have a secret zine about transmysogyny in the making, it's almost done writing. It's called Girl is Not a Cool Gender. 🧨I'm well advanced in the writing of my next big writing project: La France c'est Grand et Moche, set in the same universe as Afterwork that came out two years ago. Juicy-sad and body horror! 🧨I also hope I can progress on my next short comic, direct sequel of the one that came out in november 2023. 🧨Do you remember having big posters with a lot of prehistoric animals? I do. Like all main trilobite clades. Or posters with all of the 1st gen pokemon. I didn't, my cousin printed them for us on A4 paper because we were poor. Well i'm doing the same kind of shit with my minizines: a big poster with my favorite pages, organized by year (2018-2024) with some bonus stuff. 🧨So in conclusion: I have a lot to do this summer and I hope i'll manage to do it all. If you're in france like me you're probably a bit worried, but remember! remember our strengh, and remember not everything is decided in a ballot. Keep up!

~remedios

[vaspider]

It's also really shitty that states ban people with felonies from voting in the first place. It's not a thing to celebrate either way.

Yeah, I don't disagree. However, a) I don't recall celebrating, b)

But regardless...

[presidentalpaca]

the trend of people, all along the range of establishment dems to leftists, to call for trump to be replaced are so bizarre to me. like, yeah, i get the sentiment. we hate trump. he's a fascist and a liar and dangerous to democracy and yes, yes, yes agreed. but he is a WEAK candidate for the republican party.

up until this point we've had essentially a race to the bottom. biden should've sweeped trump, as an incumbent who did have some decent policies in motion, but he's a corpse who stans isnotreal and has an increasingly reactionary approach to immigration (this is something we NEED to push kamala on, btw). he also has historically low approval ratings, which has never rlly spelled out good news for incumbents.

well, okay, biden sucks, so trump should we sweeping him. well... sort of. trump, unlike biden, has a strong base of support. he has people who will only vote for him, while biden supporters are essentially just dem party supporters. the thing is though - much of his supporter base historically does not vote consistently. many of them don't believe in organized goverment at all, so they may not vote based on that.

but aside from that element, the bigger focus is the moderates. the people like my personal grandparents. white, wealthy, from the suburbs, lutheran, stans ronald reagan (named their boxer reagan). and trump freaks them out! they want normalcy. they want order. they're plenty racist, but they don't want an insurrection.

moderate voters are the ones you absolutely need to bag, regardless of party, and at the moment the dems (depending on how they move forward) could have a major advantage now that biden's out. they have a cop vs a criminal; a goofy laughbox vs a violent menace; a woman who connects with her stepchildren and seems happy with her husband vs the guy who called his own daughter hot and had the rnc commentators gossiping about his marriage. this is not a reflection of what matters to me personally, but rather of what generally matters to american voters. this dynamic is flimsy, because it takes work to push a narrative, and the dems have roughly a month til their convention, three til election day. they can push kamala and promote enticing policies, as long as they actually push kamala and promote enticing policies.

in addition, trump weirdly had a terrible pick for vp. jd vance is supposed to help trump's ticket appear less establishment, more in connection with the rust belt, but vance has been sucking up to the dems and pushing down his appalachian community for years.

and trump has maxed out on name recognition. it's pretty difficult for someone to not have a decently solid opinion on someone who has already been president for four years. red voters who know they don't like him - primarily moderates - can't really be all that psyched to vote him back into office.

now why, WHY, would we encourage the republican party to swap the trump-vance ticket for someone more competent, not so unruly and impolite? someone who can feign common decency, who can more effectively pretend to be better than they are?

please don't get sucked up in the "no you!" push, because (imo) that's all it is. it's just seeing the dems fuck up, be called out, then seeing the reps do the same thing, and wanting to call it out to get even. i don't think that's the move right now.

i think the move is to take the coconut pill for few months or so, pretend to get along, hope the dems do their part for once, and come jan 21st, we can go full throttle pushing kamala to fix everything.

oh, and vote august 6th!! multiple progressive state reps are up for re-election (shout out cori bush), as well as local reps and ballot measures. november 5th matters, but the next big one is only 2 weeks from today!

[mugiwara-lucy]

Like Chris Keller in One Tree Hill would say…”Well, well, well!”. What’s this? The party of “Law and Order” resorting to trickery to try and win an election?

All kidding aside, this just goes to how the claims of Trump being “barely behind Kamala” from the Media is the Media being the Media and Trump could be doing WORSE than what’s reported. Think about it; hearing that the potential first black woman presidential candidate is neck and neck with a former president? That sells like hot cakes!!

But like I’ve said NUMEROUS times; POLLS DON’T VOTE. WE DO. VOTE LIKE HELL on November 5th!!!

And not to mention, if Trump was doing as well as he claimed, why would he bitching DAILY on Truth Social and why would Republicans be purging voter registrations left and right along with having those BS road blocks to vote such as “The Save Act”, trying to make Nebraska a “Winner Take All” and trying to have Georgia handcount their ballots? The first two got thrown out and I’m sure Georgia is contesting that since it’s nonsense.

But yeah why don’t we show them how to win an election with FAIRNESS and INTEGRITY? Here’s the link to register to vote and if you already haven’t in some states voting registration ends TOMORROW so get on it if you haven’t!! Also here are the deadlines by state! But your own vote isn’t enough! Get as many people as you can to vote for Kamala be it your friends, cousins, parents, grandparents, old friends from high school and college, coworkers, boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives, stepchildren (if they’re 18 and over) and the list goes on and on but every vote counts! Here’s the link and deadlines by state!

And early voting has started! And if you don’t wanna vote on November 5th, that’s another option! Like I said get as many people as you can and try early voting! Here’s the link down below listing the dates by state:

And Mail in Ballots are ANOTHER option I highly recommend!! And like I said get as many people as you can to take advantage of this option!

Here’s the link below:

The part of law and order?

My ass

[a-couple-of-notes]

Yesterday I voted for Kamala Harris.

It was a struggle. I applied for a mail-in ballot, and though I had listed my mailing address on the application as my current residence, and had received mail-in ballots to that address before, my county sent my ballot to my former college dorm that I'd moved out of three years ago. (This was partially my fault; I hadn't updated my voter registration since then.)

Three weeks before the election, when the ballot didn't come, I called my county elections office. I'd seen that the ballot was sent to the wrong address, and I just wanted to cancel it and vote in person. (I didn't trust the time it would take to mail a new one.) They told me I would have to submit a cancellation form. I was in the middle of moving to another apartment, so I had to go down to the library, get a library card, print out the form, go to the post office, and buy envelopes and stamps before I could mail the thing. But I did.

Later, I decided to call the elections office again, just to make sure the cancellation form had gone through and I could vote in person. The support worker (who was very nice) eventually confirmed that the county does not process cancellation forms after mail-in ballots have been sent out. I also could not vote in person without surrendering the unmarked mail-in ballot to a poll worker on Election Day. So either way, I would have to retrieve my mail-in ballot from the address it was sent to (which, again, was a college dorm I had not lived in for three years).

So I got off the phone. I looked some things up.

And I got on a train and went back to that college dorm.

Luckily, I only live an hour from my old college. I had totally forgotten which building I lived in for that final semester, so I had to dredge up my moving-in instructions from 2021(!!) from the bottom of my saved emails. I also pulled up my voter registration so I could show the security guard that my ballot was sent here.

I walked in, and the security guard looked at me. I said, "This might be weird, but I lived here three years ago, and my ballot was sent here?"

Miraculously, the security guard said, "Oh, yeah, I remember you. Go on in." (I did not realize I was that memorable.)

The student working the mail counter wanted me to tap my student ID. I told her I'd graduated and didn't live here anymore, but she said it didn't matter--I guess I was still somehow in their registry. Also miraculously, I still had the student ID.

And the most miraculous of all: they still had the fucking ballot.

I'd retrieved my ballot--somehow. I went home. I filled it out for Kamala Harris. I called the elections office a third time to make sure that the cancellation form absolutely 100% would not go through after I cast the ballot and render it void. They assured me it would not. They also told me that I couldn't drop my completed ballot off at the polling place, which I did not know at the time; I had to go to one of the county's designated dropboxes.

I did, on November 5th. I drove forty-five minutes to the dropbox and put my ballot for Harris into the damn slot. A sweet old lady gave me my "I VOTED" sticker.

My story's pretty funny. All of the things that happened to me were inconveniences, miscommunications, or the consequences of my errors. Plenty of other people faced true voter suppression, including damaged ballots, more convoluted processes, and pressure from family or intimate partners. But I'm writing this down because I want it to be known that I did fight, I did try my goddamn best, and so did so many other kind, brave people in this country. I don't want that to be forgotten.

We'll keep fighting. We'll keep trying. We'll find moments of surprising grace and kindness, like that security guard who recognized me or the fact that my ballot had been kept safe in that mailing room for almost a month. And come 2028, we had better fight harder.

[walks-the-ages]

Anyways, Pro-Palestine friends in the USA:

if you want a third party candidate who is Pro-Palestine and wants to end the genocide, please do not get fooled by Jasmine Sherman (they/them) 's big claims of having Ballot Access in 48 states!

They've been claiming 48 state access for at least three months now (thanks, timestamps on Reddit), which means they've been claiming to have ballot acces in 48 states since April or May of 2024......

.....but on checking various state voter websites, Jasmine Sherman is on none of the ballots they claim to be, let alone under "the Unicorn Party" which doesn't even officially exist, let alone on a ballot anywhere.

I've checked, and the one state election website I found that mentioned then was Florida .... Except further reading shows that's from 2022 and while their status is still 'active'..... They still haven't been Qualified for the state's ballot, either!

Feel free to check your own, individual state government websites as well to confirm!

So yeah, if you're voting for a Free Palestine this November, vote for Jill Stein, someone who actually knows what she's doing and actually follows the regulations needed to actually be on Ballots when the election rolls around, not just claiming to have ballot access in 48 states out of 50 starting NINE MONTHS BEFORE THE ELECTION which is literally impossible for third party candidates!

Want someone who's an actual real candidate and not a grifter on tiktok?

Vote Jill Stein.

Want someone who actually takes the time to write their actual platform on their website (instead of copying random news article links and hoping no one will notice)?

Vote Jill Stein.

If you're wanted to buy Jill Stein merch such as bumper sticker or yard sign, they have ones that are specifically in support of Palestine, and all profit goes directly to UNRWA!

So you can help spread the word about Jill Stein's campaign (and maybe convince some friends, family, and neighbors to vote for change!) , while all the money goes to aid!

If you've got the money, please also try to support the vetted fundraisers at

[greedbun]

Don't be like me, and be sure to check your voter registration at least twice a year and stay updated on your local elections because i. um. missed my state's primaries because i didn't even know they happened, and i apparently wasn't registered to vote even though I thought I was! It's actually stupid easy to remain unaware of these things and not know, especially if you are a shut-in, disabled person like me.

ALWAYS double check your registration, triple, quadruple check even.

I have a disability that affects my memory, so, I was ultimately waiting for a ballot in the mail to show up that will tell me it's time to vote. i was under the assumption i had registered. so. um. yeah. that didn't happen.

I implore you to give this wikipedia on the US presidential primaries a read to understand why they are important.

HOWEVER something to note about this information in particular:

These primaries and caucuses are staggered, generally beginning sometime in January or February, and ending about mid-June before the general election in November.

The key word here is "generally". This doesn't apply to every state and territory. Where I live, it ended early August! So, be sure to check vote.gov for your local calendars.

Voting in the primaries is just as important as voting in the presidential election! Always vote in your local elections, as well. They matter; you have a say in the community you live in!

[skiplo-wave]

https://www.tumblr.com/skiplo-wave/751940757503557632/does-that-mean-hes-out-of-the-presidential-race?source=share

Can a convict run for president?

The US Constitution lays out just three requirements for presidential candidates. They must:

Be a natural born citizen.

Be at least 35 years old.

Have been a US resident for at least 14 years.

Trump meets all three requirements. There is, arguably, another criterion laid out in the 14th Amendment, where it states that no one who has previously taken an oath of office who engages in insurrection can be an officer of the US. But the US Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that Congress would have to pass a special law invoking this prohibition. That’s not happening any time soon.

Can a convicted felon vote?

It depends.

Trump’s right to vote in Florida in November’s election will depend on whether he is sentenced to a term in prison and if he has finished serving that prison sentence by the time of the election.

Maine allow felons to vote from prison. There has been movement in multiple states toward allowing felons on parole to cast ballots.

Trump is now a Florida resident – and Florida voters, in 2018, overwhelmingly backed a referendum to reenfranchise convicted felons. But Republican lawmakers who control the state’s government first delayed and then qualified the reenfranchisement by requiring that felons must pay all fines and fees associated with their sentence.

Trump will have little problem voting since Florida actually defers to the jurisdiction of a felony conviction as to whether a felon can vote. In New York, after a law passed in 2021, any convicted felon who is not incarcerated is eligible to register to vote.

New York is where he was charged and convicted.

so yeah… it depends

Gonna be a messy year folks

[alarrylarrie]

Are you telling me you Americans have to choose between Trump and Biden for president? I’m glad I’m not American but I’m worried about the entire world 💀

I mean politics are fucked the world over. But yeah, we US Americans will have a ballot in November that will have Trump, Biden, Jill Stein, Robert Kennedy Jr., whoever else manages to make it on the ballot, and a couple blank spots for write-ins. Stein and RFK Jr. are third party candidates, and have not a single hope of making the cut. So it’ll either be Trump or Biden.

And if we’re being realistic, the entire election actually rests on a few hundred thousand people in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Maybe North Carolina/Georgia if you’re feeling optimistic.

[oddbookreport]

The idea that it’s sanctimonious to say you’d vote for Joe Biden while criticizing his genocidal policies really pisses me off as someone who works with immigrants every day. It’s politics. Nobody’s hands are clean. My bills get paid because the US extracts wealth from immigrants who want a shot at the economic superiority it maintains by keeping poor nations poor. I know that. But every day I go to work and my clients dread November with every fiber of their being because they understand that they are an election away from being thrown to the bloodthirstiest mobs Stephen Miller can whip up. And I’m going to say I’m addressing this to the fucking white people too. I don’t need to hammer this to my clients because the ones who can vote, even with their reservations about Palestine, spent too much of their fucking life energy working and saving and fighting for that right to think for a second that it doesn’t matter. I don’t care whether the people saying not to vote because of the black bourgeoisie or zionist dems or whatever are actually black or russian agents doing blackface, because black americans are the most consistent voting block. Any pearl clutching about black voter turnout is straight up racist hyperfixation instead of targeting the blocks that actually vote republican, ie white people. Either way the audience that that cynicism reaches is the same fucking white people that don’t turn out because they know it doesn’t fucking matter (to them) who’s president. So yeah. Campaign for Biden, and don’t fucking do it to the minorities who already know they’re fucked either way and might as well soften the blow. Do it to the fucking flower children who are too pure of conscience and blind to fucking reality to realize that they aren’t voting for themselves they are voting for all the people who will be lynched under republican rule. For the next Nex Benedict.

Biden is a monster because he inhabits the most monstrous office in the world. His continued office will kill fewer people than Trump, who has gleefully killed and crushed and extorted his whole life, and nobody else is in line. I am not mad at the people who are mad about Biden. I am mad at the people who will use good reasons to be mad at Biden to push politics that are going to kill a lot more Palestinians and potential millions of people around the world to an audience of stupid white people too myopic to understand that their apoliticism has consequences.

Let he who is without sin cast the first ballot.