#the voter turnout better change

[drdemonprince]

It’s true that America has one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the industrialized world, with only 62% of eligible adults turning up to the polls on a good year, and about 50% on a typical one. But if we really dive into the social science data, we can see that non-voters aren’t a bunch of nihilistic commie layabouts who’d prefer to die in a bridge collapse or of an untreated listeria infection than vote for someone who isn’t Vladimir Lenin. No, if we really study it carefully, we can see that the American electoral system has a series of unique features that easily account for why we find voting more cumbersome, confusing, and unrewarding than almost any other voters in the world.

Let’s take a look at the many reasons why Americans don’t vote:

1. We Have the Most Frequent Elections of Any Country

Most other democratic countries only hold major elections once every four or five years, with the occasional local election in between. This is in sharp contrast with the U.S., where we have some smattering of primaries, regional elections, state elections, ballot measures, midterm elections, and national elections basically every single year, often multiple times per year. We have elections more frequently than any other nation in the world — but just as swallowing mountains of vitamin C tablets doesn’t guarantee better health, voting more and harder hasn’t given us more democracy.

2. We Don’t Make Election Day a Holiday

The United States also does far less than most other democracies to facilitate its voters getting to the polls. In 22 countries, voting is legally mandated, and turnout is consequently very high; most countries instead make election day a national holiday, or hold elections on weekends. The United States, in contrast, typically holds elections on weekdays, during work hours, with minimal legal protections for employees whose only option to vote is on the clock.

3. We Make Registration as Hard as Possible

From Denmark, to Sweden, to Iceland, Belgium, and Iraq, all eligible voters in most democracies are automatically registered to vote upon reaching legal adulthood. Voting is typically regarded as a rite of passage one takes part in alongside their classmates and neighbors, made part of the natural flow of the country’s bureaucratic processes.

In the United States, in contrast, voter registration is a process that the individual must seek out — or more recently, be goaded into by their doctor. Here voting is not a communal event, it’s a personal choice, and failing to make the correct choice at the correct time can be penalized. In most other countries, there are no restrictions on when a voter can register, but in much of the United States, registering too early can mean you get stricken from the voter rolls by the time the election rolls around, and registering too late means you’re barred from voting at all.

4. We Make Voters Re-Register Far Too Often

In countries like Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands, voter registration updates automatically when a person moves. In the United State, any time a person changes addresses they must go out of their way to register to vote all over again. This policy disadvantages poorer and younger voters, who move frequently because of job and schooling changes, or landlords who have decided to farm black mold colonies in their kitchens.

Even if a voter does not change their address, in the United States it’s quite common for their registrations to be removed anyway— due to name changes, marriages, data breaches, or simply because the voter rolls from the previous election year have been purged to “prevent fraud” (read: eliminate Black, brown, poor, and left-leaning members from the electorate).

5. We Limit Access to Polling Places & Mail-in Ballots

In many countries, voters can show up to any number of polling places on election day, and showing identification is not always necessary. Here in the United States, the ability to vote is typically restricted to a single polling place. Voter ID laws have been used since before the Jim Crow era to make political participation more difficult for Black, brown, and impoverished voters, as well as for those for whom English is not their first language. Early and absentee voting options are also pretty firmly restricted. About a quarter of democracies worldwide rely on mail-in ballots to make voting more accessible for everyone; here, a mail-in ballot must be requested in advance.

All of these structural barriers help explain why just over 50% of non-voters in the United States are people of color, and a majority of non-voters have been repeatedly found to be impoverished and otherwise marginalized. But these populations don’t only feel excluded from the political process on a practical level: they also report feeling completely unrepresented by the available political options.

6. We Have the Longest, Most Expensive Campaign Seasons

Americans have some of the longest campaign seasons in the world, with Presidential elections lasting about 565 days on average. For reference, the UK’s campaign season is 139 days, Mexico’s is 147, and Canada’s is just 50. We also do not have publicly funded campaigns: our politicians rely upon donors almost entirely.

Because our elections are so frequent and our campaigns are so long and expensive, many American elected officials are in a nearly constant state of fundraising and campaigning. When you take into account the time devoted to organizing rallies, meeting with donors, courting lobbyists, knocking on doors, recording advertisements, and traveling the campaign trail, most federally elected politicians spend more time trying to win their seat than actually doing their jobs.

Imagine how much work you’d get done if you had to interview for your job every day. And now imagine that the person actually paying your wage didn’t want you to do that job at all:

7. Our Elected Officials Do Very Little

Elected officials who spend the majority of their hours campaigning and courting donors don’t have much time to get work done. Nor do they have much incentive to — in practice, their role is to represent the large corporations, weapons manufacturers, Silicon Valley start-ups, and investors who pay their bills, and serve as a stopgap when the public’s demands run afoul of those groups’ interests.

Perhaps that is why, as campaign seasons have gotten longer and more expensive and income inequality has grown more stark, our elected officials have become lean-out quiet quitters of historic proportions. The 118th Congress has so far been the least productive session on record, with only 82 laws having been passed in last two years out of the over 11,000 brought to the floor.

The Biden Administration has moved at a similarly glacial pace; aside from leaping for the phone when Israel calls requesting checking account transfers every two or three weeks, the executive-in-chief has done little but fumble at student loan relief and abortion protections, and bandied about banning TikTok.

The average age of American elected officials has been on a steady rise for some time now, with the obvious senility of figures like Biden, Mitch McConnell, and the late Diane Feinstein serving as the most obvious markers of the government’s stagnancy. Carting around a confused, ailing elderly person’s body around the halls of power like a decommissioned animatronic requires a depth of indifference to human suffering that few of us outside Washington can fathom. But more than that, it reflects a desperation for both parties to cling to what sources of influence and wealth they have. These aged figures are/were reliable simps for Blackstone, General Dynamics, Disney, and AIPAC, and their loyalty is worth far more than their cognitive capacity, or legislative productivity. Their job, in a very real sense, is to not do their job, and a beating-heart cadaver can do that just fine.

You can read the rest of the list for free (or have it narrated to you on the Substack app) at drdevonprice.substack.com!

[baronfulmen]

I keep seeing posts that are like "now that Biden is supporting war crimes you aren't going to still say to vote for him, right?" and for fucks sake how have you people still not grasped the most basic point of the "you need to vote" thing?

It's not about Biden being good. He's awful. All US presidents are awful and have supported various war crimes. Yes, even that one you liked. This is not now nor has it ever been about praising Biden (for most of the people I see on Tumblr; obviously there are plenty of people out there in the world that do like Biden, but you know what I mean).

We have a two party system, and it sucks. Not voting or voting third party accomplishes nothing. Voting for the least-bad option DOES accomplish something, and does not prevent you from working to improve the system in other ways in the meantime. Why do I only hear people talking about trying to change things in terms of the presidential election?

Acting like you're remaining "pure" by not voting for someone horrible is ridiculous. This fantasy that lower voter turnout will bring about some sort of magical change in policy is completely unfounded in reality. Get involved in local politics where third parties or fringe candidates have a chance! You CAN influence politics, but the presidential election is not where change happens.

And remember, even if we do change things for the better it's still going to be about voting for the lesser evil when it comes to the president. They're all bastards, but there is a VERY real difference between them - there's a huge list of very positive things that have come out of Biden's presidency which doesn't make Biden himself less of a monster but does illustrate why this matters.

[tomorrowusa]

Trump probably can't win the presidential election without North Carolina. 🤔💡

It would be difficult though not out of the question for Kamala Harris to win without Pennsylvania. But it would be close to impossible for Donald Trump to win without taking North Carolina.

If Trump loses North Carolina, it could be an early night — and curtains for GOP

Democrats hope that momentum determines the presidential winner and even changes the contours of election night. North Carolina polls close early, at 7:30 p.m. Moreover, state law allows processing of mail-in votes well before Election Day, making an early count possible. (Some states, including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, cannot start processing until Election Day, which could result in delays of several days before a winner is determined.) Should Harris win North Carolina’s 16 electoral votes, Trump’s chances of victory diminish greatly. He would need a virtual sweep of other battleground states (and likely all of the blue-wall states).

A quick reminder that North Carolina was the state which gave Trump his narrowest victory in 2020. It was won in 2008 by Barack Obama. So we're not exactly talking Tennessee or Idaho here.

An early-evening victory in a state Democrats have not won for 16 years would reverberate through the country, potentially depressing GOP turnout in Western states and diminishing the appetite for stunts to refuse certification of results in states such as Arizona and Georgia (which would not be determinative if Harris holds the blue wall and wins North Carolina).

Republicans are more likely to vote on Election Day than Democrats who have adopted early voting in greater numbers than Republicans. So an early call for Harris-Walz in North Carolina on the night of the election would more likely depress Republican votes in the Western US.

One thing which may negatively affect Trump in the state is the awful Republican candidate for governor of North Carolina.

[T]he North Carolina governor’s race might have a “reverse coattails” effect. The Republican nominee, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, is an extremist conspiracy nut, a “fount of social media conspiracy theories and vile proclamations about the LGBT community, Jews, and other minority group,” the Daily Beast noted this year. From Holocaust denial to thundering that “some folks need killing” to his support for an abortion ban from “zero weeks,” he symbolizes everything wrong with today’s MAGA Republican Party. Robinson’s Democratic opponent, Josh Stein, the state attorney general, has opened a 10-point lead. If Democrats tie Robinson (a Trump favorite) to Trump, voters might run from both. At the very least, Republicans could suffer a drop in turnout as disgusted North Carolinians simply stay home.

A better than average turnout of Dems in NC would help flip the state. If you live just over the border in deep red South Carolina or Tennessee then consider doing some volunteer work in North Carolina. It could have an impact which extends far beyond the Tar Heel State.

[thealogie]

Thea, thanks for being such a thoughtful interlocutor on all…this (gestures vaguely). To your non-US askers, I want to say, with all kindness, lots of people have made that argument about how better economic policies would pull American voters away from the far right, and the evidence just has not borne that out. His base is middle class people who drive $90,000 trucks, not people in the bottom quintile of income. People on FB talking about how their student loans have been forgiven and instead of being happy saying it’s “sus” and how Biden can’t buy their vote: so like, these are people who are so ill-informed they don’t know it’s not Biden on the ballot but also—they were never going to give any credit to a Democrat. They are convinced gas was cheaper four years ago. They align themselves with oligarchs because they fantasize about becoming one someday. I agree with Thea: some people want someone in power to authorize their worst impulses. They want to know what it’s like to touch a hot stove, and now we all get to find out.

Right. I think people keep thinking “oh if we only truly listen to white conservatives then we will see they are not animated by hatred but by these neutral and legitimate concerns” and we’ve been saying that as long as I’ve been sentient and the Democratic Party keeps bending backwards to attract these voters, but like…all evidence from detailed on the ground reporting is that people hear the right wing messages Trump espouses and they like it.

I actually do also think the Democratic Party could have swayed people and gotten left turnout by running on actually traditionally Democratic social policy but that doesn’t change the fact that there’s a sizable group of people who are just sexist and racist

[pearwaldorf]

Thinking about the fatalism that has inevitably emerged after yesterday's events, and how angry it makes me. Nothing about Trump has changed a goddamn iota since somebody tried to kill him. He's still the same old shitstain who's intent on tearing down the rest of this country he didn't get to last time.

The best way to legally depress voter turnout is to make people feel like there's no point in voting. When people turn out in numbers, Democrats tend to win.

And there still is a fucking point. I know it doesn't really make as much news as it should, but a Biden administration has genuinely made people's lives better. None of it gets publicized well because it's not sexy, but not being able to report medical debt to credit bureaus? $35 insulin? Cracking down on robocalls? The climate stuff in the giant infrastructure bill? All of this is important quality of life shit.

Certainly nothing is at the level it should be, but some of us old farts have stories about how much worse it was before, and why we would absolutely not go back. And I'm real fucking sorry that change isn't happening at the rate any of us want, but it's not nothing.

In philosophy, there is a concept called Pascal's Wager, which says a rational person should believe in God because the rewards are amazing if God exists, and the losses are small if God doesnt.

Obviously voting still takes effort, but I think it's effort that won't be wasted regardless of the outcome. Now you know what to do for next time! You've learned a little about your local politicians! For the states where you have to vote in person, it's a little more inconvenient, but check if early voting is available in your area.

And if (god forbid) the worst happens, you still tried. You didn't take it as a given he would win. Brazil has mandatory voting, and despite having the button RIGHT FUCKING THERE between Bolsonaro and Lula, more people chose to opt out than do the thing that would have an actual effect. That's so fucked up.

I know that people get frustrated and vote for things that represent their feelings as opposed to actual rational consequences. And this literally kills people.

I don't think it's too much to expect people to put in a bit of time and effort into something that will yield such important results if it's successful. If you need help registering to vote or a ride to the polls, it is available.

[vexic929]

IF YOU ARE DOOMSCROLLING WAITING FOR ELECTION RESULTS:

I love you. Breathe in. Breathe out. Take this as your sign from the universe to get offline. We have at LEAST 24 hours before we have any solid look and even then election results can change SO fast (remember Trump's 2am hissy fit last time?). We've had record voter turnout and record numbers of mail-ins in MOST if not all states. Nobody is done counting.

Gen-Z voters, check your ballot if you're able, especially if you did mail-in! You may need to fix something, especially if it's your first time voting and especially if you don't have a consistent signature or you signed your voter card digitally initially!

Millennials check your ballots too (again, if possible, Missouri doesn't have ballot tracking </333). Trump's people are going to try to cheat, don't let your ballot be ignored!

Log off. I'm serious. Text a friend, family member, or hotline if needed. Worrying is not helpful to you or anyone else. Watch a silly movie or tv show. Play a video game. Scribble on a piece of paper until you feel better. Pet an animal. Don't check social media or the poll numbers.

[adhdasfuck]

Russian PsyOps

I recently became aware that a certain user might be Another Russian Operative trying to sway people into not voting or voting third party, this one even said to vote for a non-Trump republican candidate (imagine being any progressive person at all and advocating progressive voters vote for a conservative, that'll show em, NOT).

So I looked into the third party candidate this person endorses:

Jasmin Sherman

I went through a few of the pages on Jasmine's website and have concluded that they're totally fucking full of shit.

They want to keep the death penalty and offer the options of morphine overdose and FIRING SQUAD as the federal standard to make it "more efficient" instead of simply abolishing it like a true progressive, since there are so many cases of innocent people receiving this draconian punishment.

They also want to GET RID OF SSI. They want to replace it with UBI, but congress WOULD NOT pass UBI, and running on any platform that abolishes SSI for any reason at all is a huge FUCK NO! I'm on SSI and shit is hard enough already. What SSI needs is greater support from the government, for the asset limit to be changed drastically or gotten rid of, and for people who are on SSI to not feel like they CAN'T GET MARRIED OR THEY'LL LOSE THEIR BENEFITS. What we don't need is for SSI to be gotten rid of because "it's inefficient and ineffective" are you fucking KIDDING ME?

Also because their platform of UBI was mentioned on their page about abolishing SSI, I looked at their page for UBI and it's completely out of reach. They are advocating for us to implement a system NOT A SINGLE OTHER COUNTRY HAS PASSED. NONE OF THEM. There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that this would get out of the senate alive. They can't even pass the bills to expand SSI and increase the amount of money we receive a month to be higher than 30% of the fucking poverty line.

This is a much more minor problem but they have Minnesota misspelled as "Minisota" on the UBI page, which is such a small problem, but something that should have been noticed very quickly because the graph it is in is supposed to show legitimate data to uphold their UBI proposal.

In short: This person is not progressive, this person is paying lip service while acting as an obvious Spoiler (a spoiler is a third party candidate who pulls votes from one of the other major parties, this is how Bush won the first time). And Russian PsyOps are back on this website trying to encourage genuinely progressive people who don't know any better to vote for someone who Will Not Win because it "feels better" than voting for a democrat.

Sorry it has to be this way, but take it from me, someone who is from Minnesota, with the highest voter turnout in the country, and also some of the most progressive policies. If you want a third party candidate to win, you START LOCAL, and build the presence of the party up from there. That's how we got an Independent for Governor in the late 90s and early 2000s. And you should participate in your local elections both in years like this and for the midterms! You have to Stay Involved for it to get better.

Conservatives worked for decades using that "frog in a pot that slowly heats up til it boils" method of introducing their fascism. We have have a great opportunity here to vote in progressive candidates who can help us push the needle back towards sanity and caring about people. It's going to take SUSTAINED EFFORT. We have to shout at our candidates to do the right thing, but the other side won't even listen, so this is the side we have to choose. Palestinians have LITERALLY SAID Harris is the better option here.

So go out and vote. Not just this election but every election. You CAN make change, it is going to be slow, but that time will pass anyways, so why not start working for a better future?

[is-the-owl-video-cute]

Do you honestly, genuinely, and truly believe that anything regarding the genocide in Palestine will get better regardless of who's elected into office in November? I'm not trying to sound bitchy or rude, I'm genuinely wondering. There is not a single politician on the ticket that I trust to help. What is your plan?

Nope. No one on the ballot currently will result in a positive change for Palestine. That much is true and I accept that. I do not however accept that this means I must vote for a genocidal humanoid. I’m not casting anything but a throwaway vote for the presidential ballot this election, unless Biden is actually replaced with someone competent but he’s digging his heels in too hard for it to be likely. I’m going to vote blue on the other seats on this ticket so when trump inevitably wins he won’t get to do as much as he wants. It’s more important to have a blue Congress and senate this year because, hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if it’s actually trump v. Biden, trump is going to win this election and it’s not even going to be close. Even with trump lying and choosing the WORST possible vp that even his supporters largely despise, trump is going to landslide Biden because Biden has done nothing but lie, break promises, commit genocide, and now he can’t even form coherent thoughts or debate with the easiest to debate clown on the planet. Democrat voters see how Biden responds to genocide and they see how he endorses police force being used to brutalize protestors. Biden said nary a bad thing about the zionists throwing fireworks into encampments trying to hurt peaceful protestors, but he had plenty to say about the encampments. Voters see that, and he’s a fool to pull that in an election year. Very few democrat voters actually trust him enough to vote at all. Voter turnout is going to be at an all time low.

Trump is winning this election and I’ve made my peace with that. I’ve known how this was going to go for months now and Biden is just making it worse for himself. He’s evil, he’s incompetent, he’s arrogant, he’s a moron. Oh? That’s starting to sound familiar, isn’t it? Hard to tell which of them I was even describing and that’s the problem.

All I can say at this point is the next person with a sniper needs better aim and some body armor. And they may want to aim at someone other than trump to start off.

[gallifreyriver]

Why you NEED to vote!!

This is so serious. Do not withhold your vote. It's not going to send the message you think it is.

It never will. It will not be the 'devastating blow' or 'learning lesson' to the Democratic party as a whole- they won't learn a thing by you withholding your vote. It won't help Palestine- if anything it will make you complicit in whatever further harm comes to Palestinians when your "protest" results in Trump/the Republican Party winning the election, because they've already stated that they will back Israel no matter what.

Know what sends a better message than not voting? Voting for the other candidate, or voting "Uncommitted," in the primary.

So many of you are forgetting about the Primary!!

Currently there are two other notable* Democratic candidates (Dean Phillips & Marianne Williamson) and four notable* Third Party candidates (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Chase Oliver, Jill Stein, & Cornel West). People have also been writing in Claudia De La Cruz. *In this context, notable means that a candidate appears on enough ballots to stand a chance to win a majority of the Electoral College, as according to Ballotpedia.

And let me tell you, even though only a few Democratic primaries have passed as of the writing of this post, their results already seem to be having the desired effect, because Biden started pushing harder for a ceasefire right after he lost 13% of the vote in the Michigan Primary to "Uncommitted."

Of course it's not perfect, but if 13% in one state could have even that much sway, imagine what could be accomplished on Super Tuesday* if everyone went out and did the same in their states? That's what could actually stand a chance at getting the Biden administration (and rest of the Democratic party) to scramble towards doing what we want. Withholding your vote won't do shit, I'm sorry. They only notice/care where the cast votes go- not votes that are absent. And unfun fact, Trump was elected by only about 25% of eligible voters. We got Trump because so many people (43%) DIDN'T vote in 2016. This is why turnout is such a big deal- your vote absolutely does matter. *Super Tuesday [March 5th] is the day where several [15] US states hold their primary election.

Need another reason? There are 468 seats up for election. All 435 seats in the House, and 33 seats in the Senate. That is huge.

Currently Republicans hold majority in the House. This is a chance to change that- to flip seats! We have the chance to tip the scales further away from fascism instead of further toward it- But we can only do that if people get out and VOTE. Vote in the primary to choose your candidate, and then vote again in November to try and secure a blue majority and actually get shit done.

Do not withhold your vote!

Withholding your vote isn't a rebellion, it's silencing your own voice. It's complicity in whatever bad thing happens when the bad people win. It's an active sabotage of the things you supposedly want.

And to those who think "Oh who cares if things get worse for us! People in Palestine are already suffering in unimaginably worse ways!" I need you to reflect, and realize that trying to punish yourself because you feel guilty that you're not suffering with them will not help them. It's not "solidarity." It's not heroic. I'm having trouble finding the right words, but to think it comes anywhere close is a slap in the face to those actually suffering. If anything it will only make their situation even worse if Trump wins. Again, the Republican party has already stated it's intentions to back Israel no matter what.

You need to make sure that your actions aren't just you trying to assuage your own guilt because you feel bad that you can't help more. And you need to make sure that you aren't holding these guilty feelings over the actual needs of Palestinians and that you're not speaking over them in your "activism."

I'll say again, Do not withhold your vote. Do not silence your voice.

We have a chance to make this better, but we can only do it if we all do the work- and voting is the bare minimum of said work.

So make sure to get out and vote in your primary!

[pop-punklouis]

i’m sorry but the people who were in blue state echo chambers being so throttled and surprised by trump having so many votes makes me feel like i’m living in a simulation where the fuck were you guys the past four years?? he’s only gotten stronger and his followers have only gotten more spiteful. insane takes to be like “idk how he won when kamala had every advantage.” I DO? because the democratic party does nothing but underestimate republicans and yell at each other in an echo chamber.

i mean, yeah. put simply….. yeah.

those who are not anywhere near red states or red areas that hold his supporters and never had to face them on a daily basis and see their ideologies in real life and experience how fanatic and driven they are of course were surprised. i think there is so much to be said about echo-chamber territories and mindsets within the democratic party and its voters because it’s quite clear to me that the third party votes, this time, did not hinder the election. even republicans didn’t hinder it. which is shocking i know. they came out in the same goddamn numbers they always come out in. it was the democratic vote that just. collapsed. point blank. undecided voters just stayed home or voted against kamala. a portion of our own democratic voters became silence voters and lied in polls while voting for trump. and the party just. failed. having an impeccable grassroots movement means nothing when it comes to this kind of election. putting out a near perfect campaign the last three months means nothing when it comes to this kind of election.

the democratic party failed to utilize funds and resources here in a way that republicans always do. we didn’t do! shit!!! we didn’t target the right audiences. that was apparent with how the stats showed kamala having the highest blue favors in the wealthy and educated markets while failing spectacularly when it comes to lower-middle class and poor communities. we didn’t ride hard enough on certain policies that could’ve swayed our voters instead of wasting time on this delusional “conservative republican woman” demographic we funneled billions of dollars into only for them to not give a single fuck and vote for trump like they always do. we didn’t bring any dimension outside of biden for her campaign so a lot of people just completely attached her to biden and his presidency. we didn’t prime her for this because we allowed biden to stay in for as long as he did which only hurt her chances more. we completely ignored regular states and focused solely on battle ground states which fucked us on both fronts with voter turnout. we did not lock-in with smaller, liberal media outlets and keep a constant message going through them as the year wore on.

we didn’t do a lot of things, and the lack of even a close tie (let alone a fucking blowout like some people thought) should make every person in the democratic party take a very long pause and try to understand why this happened and why it happened so jarringly. democrats have relied on the same old mantra for three election cycles now, and “not being bad like that other guy” isn’t cutting it anymore. it isn’t swaying votes. celebrity endorsements only further create the narrative that democrats are for the wealthy elite. the unwillingness to step on anyone’s toes and vocalize real ideas for change that affect these lower demographics and how that will occur only breeds less voters and less voting confidence. the democratic party just needs a hard reset. that’s the biggest thing i’ve learned the past 24 hours. the democratic party needs to build up from the ground because what we’re doing is not working. it’s not connecting. and for biden to have done better than kamala in a lot of key voting demographics, that should tell you something about the state of our party and the country right now (besides america hating women and hating black women etc.). it’s just unfortunate and sad and bleak, but like you…. it doesn’t surprise me. it horrifies me but it doesn’t surprise me that trump pulled out a win here. republicans did everything in their power to win this election, and they did. the democratic party did not do that. we have got to become more likable and accessible and approachable. or nothing will ever change for this party. and that’s sad, because we have so many amazing people in this county who want to do good and spend their lives trying to fight to make america a better place to live- including those in the democratic party. we're just not resonating anymore and people are tired.

but i mean clouds are white. the sky is blue. it's not anything others haven't said before.

[baronfulmen]

It's only March and I am already losing patience with the "if you vote for Biden you're a bad person" bullshit

I am going to explain this one more time (lie, I will explain it like a hundred more times but probably more pissy each time)

The way the electoral college works, there is NO viable way for a third party candidate to win.

You could REPLACE one of the existing parties in theory, but more likely you would just change the party until you like it more.

This is done starting at the local level, which is also where third party candidates can actually win. Despite this most people totally ignore everything but the presidential election and then bitch about it.

You could fix our elections by working to eliminate gerrymandering and voter suppression and by fighting for ranked choice voting, but again that's not a thing that's going to happen all at once (or ever in an election year).

Biden is awful, duh. All US presidents have been awful. They have all committed war crimes and if hell were real there would be a special section just for US presidents. Yes even whichever one you think was okay, Carter or whoever.

Biden's administration has done a TON of good shit, alongside the bad. No I'm not saying the bad stuff was worth it, I'm just saying it is not all bad stuff which is important because Trump really is basically all bad shit. All of it. He's all the bad shit that comes with Biden AND so so so much more.

Not voting doesn't send a message, because voter turnout is already abysmal and so your protest non-vote is lost in a sea of apathetic non-votes and Republican generated lack of votes due to voter suppression.

Not voting doesn't somehow make you a more virtuous person, nor does voting for Biden make you a bad person even though he's a bad person. You have two options, Biden or Trump. That's it. Not voting is still making a choice, and that choice will STILL RESULT IN EITHER TRUMP OR BIDEN so you might as well be a fucking adult about it and acknowledge that one is less bad than the other.

There are some states that are so OVERWHELMINGLY certain to go to a particular candidate that it's harmless to vote third party, but I have frequently seen people on this site say that applies to them and then mention where they live and it's ABSOLUTELY not one of those places so I don't know what some of you are smoking. Florida, for christ's sake.

I get that a lot of you want to start the bloody revolution or whatever, but please understand that even if you're serious and actually plan on doing that there's no reason you can't ALSO vote.

This isn't that complicated. Grow up and vote for Biden, and be angry and bitter about it the whole time. Work towards change in ways that actually matter and have a chance of making a difference, instead of sitting back and smugly acting like doing nothing makes you a better person you fucking cowardly assholes.

[grace-williams-xo]

I wanna say, as this site gets more and more political over the coming months, that I am Australian and will not tell you who to vote for. I do not at all envy US voters choices.

The things I post/reblog don’t hide where my political affiliations lie, but as AOC once said (and I am surely paraphrasing) “there is no other country on earth where Biden and I would be in the same political party”.

This all applies to the UK election as well, which is next week!!! You can no longer register to vote for the July 4 general election, but if you are already registered then PLEASE VOTE.

Your vote matters, from the land of compulsory voting:

Australia is one of very few countries with enforced compulsory voting. (You can obviously leave your ballot blank, but the fact you have to go appear and collect a ballot makes most people vote). There are countless studies that show that mandatory voting decreases both conservatives and all extremists winning elections.

I am, unsurprisingly, a huge supporter of compulsory voting. If I could change any one thing in US politics right now, it would be compulsory voting and the end of voter suppression. That’s where my focus lies in US politics: in getting people to vote at all. As mentioned though, I recognise your huge voter suppression issues. I am so sorry, and so sad for you. You deserve better.

I believe in the good in humanity. It makes me so happy to know that the 2020 presidential election had the largest turnout of any election in history. Don’t let that trend die. Don’t be convinced your vote doesn’t matter.

One effect of compulsory voting in Australia is that, though it is somewhat lacking, we all learn about our political system from primary school age. We learn how to vote and register to vote in school. We also learn that not voting is equally as powerful as voting. Not voting is a deliberate and meaningful action. You have the right to make that choice, but do not make it believing that it absolves you from being responsible for the outcome of the election.

Your vote, whether you cast it or not, still matters. Please vote.

Also! There is much more on the ballot than just the president. The house, a third of the senate, and lots of local positions all matter just as much if not more. Vote for everything!!!

You can register or check your registration at vote.gov

[griseldagimpel]

Venty U.S. political post ahead:

I dislike the assertion that not voting is the same as a vote for Trump or that voting third-party is the same as a vote for Trump.

A vote for Trump is a vote for Trump.

Not voting decreases the voting turnout, which has historically favored Republicans. Not voting also doesn't change the fact that either Harris or Trump will be president next, and these are absolutely not equal outcomes.

A vote for third-party is strategically dubious, in my opinion. It's better to vote for the most viable candidate that most closely aligns with your positions, since the risk of voting third-party is that you can end up with the candidate least aligned with your positions. (See Nader voters who felt Gore wouldn't be good enough on the environment in 2000; the result was Bush 2.0, who was terrible for the environment.)

But neither is the same as voting for Trump.

Now, with that said, please vote for Kamala Harris for president this election if you're able.

[thearoacespark]

voting (a balanced take? hopefully)

disclaimer: I don’t usually do this. I’m still very young and learning about the world and this is all pretty surface level observation— but I wanted to try and say something anyways—it’s likely imperfect and there is probably nuance I’ve missed. Also, this is mostly geared towards my fellow USAmericans.

I have been guilty of sharing sentiment with “vote blue no matter who, VOTE VOTE” posts, and being gripped with a sense of fear and urgency like no other. I understand. Project 2025, the ideals of Trump’s platform (lots of the immigration ideas eerily close to Proposition 187…) are very scary.

But let’s slow down. Others have said if we’re voting out of fear and as if we have no other choice, then it’s no better than having no choice as all. I have to agree.

In my opinion, while emotion does push people to act and is a good motivator, I feel much better choosing on my own rather than being pressured or guilted by others.

After all, no one can truly force another to do something they don’t want to—but we can discuss, debate, and change minds.

Instead of saying it’s impossible, let’s consider a third party candidate, specifically one that is explicitly pro-Palestine. In my opinion, it’s tough, especially for these reasons:

- No matter how you look at it four months is a short period of time. We might have less than four months, some ballots are printed and solidified early, according to AOC’s Instagram Live Talk. (link: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9l41vgOAGj/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link)

- Many people have not heard of these third party candidates— I had not been familiar with Jill Stein or Claudia de la Cruz before today. Do many people know of the members of Congress who have already called for ceasefire? (https://workingfamilies.org/ceasefire-tracker/) Tumblr endorsements help and I appreciate the information on other platforms regardless, but what about people who are mostly offline?

- There’d need to be a robust and wide-spreading social media, news, TV and more campaign to get enough people informed in such a short time, much less get them on board and overcome the substantial opposition already faced by the pro-Palestine movement in general. Campaign managers need to be paid salaries. Transportation, advertising, food, gas… it costs a lot of money. A lot of people are already struggling financially and donating what they can— and donations to Gaza E-SIMs and evacuation funds help people right now. (By the way, plugging Operation Olive Branch: https://linktr.ee/opolivebranch)

- Even if they do get elected, it can’t be just the president— they will face extreme pushback, likely from all sides, and they need House and Congress and Court members on their side to make not only foreign policy shifts but also other systemic changes to society that are dearly needed.

For now, I’m voting blue because I think it’s our best shot at something better… but if someone has a detailed plan on how to turn a third-party candidate from improbable to possible that addresses these issues in concrete ways, then maybe the conversation can change. The time crunch, however, is extremely tough.

What now?

- Vote. Even if nothing about this post changes your opinion on the presidential election, I’d encourage you to vote, just for voter turnout and to exercise that political power! There are still nonpresedential and local elections that will directly impact your community. (https://www.usa.gov/confirm-voter-registration)

- Continue to advocate for causes you believe in and educate others, and learn about issues outside just the US.

- Being confident in the best action to take and trying to convince others to vote blue shouldn’t mean dismissing criticism of our current institutions and the current Democratic candidate, or attacking people who bring up these criticisms (of course, check for sources and records first!) These conversations should be ongoing.

- Try to fact-check everything you hear and dispel misinformation as much as possible!

- Continue to consider pushing alternative voting methods such as Ranked Choice Voting—I haven’t read into it enough to say more concrete details, but something has got to change 😭

- Share resources whenever you can, and take care of yourself and others :)

[unstatedmartini]

beloveds, please stop engaging with online leftists. half of them are bots and all of them are arguing in bad faith, and you don't need to use your platform to amplify their bullshit.

this election is about TURNOUT. this election is about getting the exhausted mom in rural Pennsylvania caring for three kids and aging parents who would vote blue if she could just figure out how to make time to get to the polls. It's about letting her know that we see her and we see her struggle and we value her voice. It's about asking her if there's anything we can do to help and not just between here and November.

I promise you these voters, the parents and the students and the seniors and the people worried about groceries and healthcare and human rights and climate change, all these voters who want to be hopeful but are so fucking TIRED and afraid and already operating beyond capacity every second of every day, I promise you they don't care that some human embodiment of a fart on TikTok wants to "burn it all down". These voters live here. Their families live here. They want to believe in a better, kinder future and the good news is that we can make that better, kinder future happen starting right now.

So next time you come across one of those posts, block the account and make something. Make a sign. Make a friendship bracelet. Make a donation. Make cookies and make a trip across the street to share them with your neighbor. Make a call. Make a choice to be disciplined in your hope and I promise, you will make a difference.

[robertreich]

The One Thing That Would Make Elections Better For Everyone 

Are you sick of the onslaught of negative political ads that air on your TV every election season?

The fear-mongering. The half-truths.

Believe it or not, there’s a simple reform we can enact to make elections more bearable for voters.

It’s called ranked choice voting, or RCV, and it could change our politics for the better.

When you head to the ballot box under ranked choice voting, instead of voting for just one candidate, you have the option to rank candidates in order of preference: first, second, third and so on.

So if you’re stuck between two preferred candidates for a position, you can spread your preferences out in hopes that one of them wins.

When ballots are counted, if none of the candidates gets an outright majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed to their supporters’ second choice candidate.

This process continues until a candidate receives over 50% of the vote, and is declared the winner.

It’s also good for a whole host of other reasons.

Implementing RCV could have the added benefit of making our elections… well… nicer.

In a ranked choice voting system, candidates are less likely to engage in the kind of mudslinging we see every election season, because they’re not just trying to be a voter's first choice — they also want to be the second choice of voters who are backing their opponents.

This can motivate anyone running for office to be more inclusive and appeal to a broader range of voters — helping to connect people who don’t always agree on every issue.

RCV also allows us to exercise our right to vote without feeling like we’re compromising our beliefs or simply voting for the “lesser of two evils.” We can vote FOR the candidates we like the most, rather than voting AGAINST the candidates we like the least. RCV could also open the door to voters casting their ballots for more third-party candidates.

Even if your favorite candidate from your preferred party is not favored to win, that person could still be your first-choice — without you feeling like you are giving up your vote entirely. If your candidate doesn’t make it to the final round, your second or third choice could still end up winning in the final tally.  

Ranked choice voting can even change the kinds of people who run for office — for the better. Potential candidates wouldn’t have to avoid running for fear of splitting the vote or “spoiling” a close election — allowing for a potentially more diverse pool of candidates to run.

Look at Alaska, where voters used RCV to elect Mary Peltola to Congress — making her the first Alaskan Native and first woman to represent the state in the U.S. House.

Lastly, ranked choice voting saves everyone — you, me, elections officials — time and money.

There would no longer be runoffs, which can be costly and often have lower turnout — which means election results that are less likely to reflect the will of the public.

There’s a reason why RCV is starting to sweep the nation — it’s currently being used by 13 million voters across the country.

Ranked choice voting makes elections less painful, less expensive, and can help make our government more inclusive and responsive to what people actually want.

Maybe you can organize to make ranked choice voting a reality where you live.