If all of the people who didn’t vote because “It would never make a difference” actually voted, we could have had a constitutional amendment by now removing the electoral college.
Seriously
I love how the takeaway from this is “yeah fuck politics amirite” and not “dude it is THERE FOR THE TAKING for anyone who is inspiring enough to actually get people voting for them”*
(*and who feels like overcoming the significant hurdles of the media and the DNC cooperating to do their best to tank their campaign which they will definitely do if you are inspiring enough for people to want to vote for you)
THERE FOR THE TAKING I tell you
Has someone run on that platform before? Can’t vote to change the system if no one is running (allowed to run) who plans to change the system.
well, no, not unless a politician introduced something like that
…okay, you’ve convinced me. As someone from a beige state that’s been presidentially blue for over 30 years (meaning my vote means dick-all due to EC shenanigans), I will continue to show up and vote to make sure it stays that way.
Maybe one day I’ll even get an inspiring candidate to vote for.
You intend to vote red?
Since I moved from a red state to Colorado it’s been mind blowing how painless and accessible it is to vote in this state.
Before every election all registered voters automatically get a mail-in ballot, as well as a detailed book explaining every issue & candidate on the ballot with sample arguments for & against. You can then either mail the ballot or drop it off in very convenient drop boxes that are usually less than 10 min from your place. In some ways it’s difficult to not have at least some idea of the political landscape for most voters.
Since I moved from a red state to Colorado it’s been mind blowing how painless and accessible it is to vote in this state.
I think that is something we need to stress here: A lot of people in America don’t vote not because they are apathetic but because, well, they often don’t have access because they have to work and can’t get time off, and it doesn’t help that certain states cut and limit the amount of voting places to prevent people from voting.
I remember seeing the images from Georgia in 2020 where there were queues around the block, hell, some fucking states have laws preventing people from offering water for people waiting in line, knowing that people will be waiting in line for a long time. And the fact the places where those polling stations tend to be set up in ways to stop certain demographics from voting is another thing. There’s laws there to prevent students from voting in some states, there’s laws making it hard to vote by mail, you fucking name it.
Meanwhile in the UK, I just had to fill in a PDF form and send it to my local valuation office and I could get a postal vote. No restrictions on who can do this, you can just apply.
Yep! It’s real bad, I had to wait in a line around a building on a Tuesday morning the first election I voted in. One of the big things too is that there are fewer polling centers in the city, and usually more in the suburbs (proportional to the amount of people there).
So while you have a quarter of the eligible voting population in a city go to a single voting center, in the suburbs you have a much smaller group with a less crowded (& usually more convenient) polling area.
Yeah but you see, the suburbs vote for the people in power.
in Colorado you don’t even have to apply for a postal vote, it is the default voting mechanism (though in person ballot boxes are also available)
You’re also automatically registered to vote here as well. There’s a reason that Colorado is on the first chart.
it really says all it needs to that dems are trying to get MORE people to vote, and GOP are trying to PREVENT as many people as possible from voting
What if “didn’t vote” counted as “voted against both options, please try again with less shitty candidates.”?
I think we’d have a better world
And also ranked choice voting, so there can be more than just 2 people running. F the 2 party system.
Absolutely
Australia has mandatory voting. Why not the US?
Just wondering, how is mandatory voting enforced? I assume vote cops don’t show up at your door… What if you turn in a ballot with no choice marked?
You receive a penalty notice in the mail and have to pay a fine. Similar to a traffic infringement or parking fine.
All elections are held on a weekend and voting booths are everywhere, to make it a little easier for everyone to vote.
You can choose to not mark the ballot, no one would know. As long as you turn up to a booth and get your name marked off, then you are considered to have voted.
As a result, voter turnout is generally over 90%.
Not sure how it is there, but in a few areas you basically lose your right to vote of you don’t. Which is fair motivation.
Looks like they mostly pay fines. So let’s figure out approximately how much money it will make and sell it to the Republicans as a money making venture!
Teacher: If you don’t go to school, you’ll be punished!
Student: Oh yea, what’s the punishment?
T: Suspension from school
S: Great, glad we’re on the same page, see ya never
Netherland doesn’t have mandatory voting and yet our turnup is around 75-80% consistently for years
Source https://www.parlement.com/id/vh8lnhrp8wsz/opkomst_bij_tweede_kamerverkiezingen
That said, it seems the US has a turnup problem to solve
millions of libertarian party voters not turning up /j
Would input from the people who otherwise wouldn’t have bothered to show up be useful?
Because the government really doesn’t want people to have a say. People are stupid. So let’s just have a mock vote with some old wizard math that adds up to who the fuck knows but your guy lost.
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Ideally an electoral system should have the “none of the above” option. If it gets the majority the elections are repeated with new candidates, and previous ones are disqualified for a number of years.
When you vote in private, on paper, none is always an option. You can deposit a blank form, a form with 1 in every box, a form with zero in every box, a sketch
I live in deep red Utah. A lot of people I know do not vote because they do not see the point. These people, who stem from all political spectrums, believe “republicans will always have control over state and local political offices.”
I live in deep blue Utah with connections to the punk scene. The political apathy that has been expressed to me, while simultaneously wearing badges of pride and shit makes me want to vomit. Pure aesthetic bullshit, made even more hypocritical under the banner of ‘punk’.
I’d love to see something like ballot included in tax returns (for folks who don’t otherwise request a ballot). Near-mandatory voting, with abstaining being allowed.
We should count non-voting eligible voters like this, and if not voting wins in your state you don’t get any delegates for the electoral college.
Then just scrap the “first past the post” system and whoever gets the most delegates wins. In 2016 it would be Clinton with 51 vs. Trump’s 16.
You’d have states mandating voting, and passing laws that businesses must give staff time off to vote. That’ll never get up
Wow this diddnot voté guy seems wildly popular 🫨
Clearly the office of President should be left vacant.
None of my coworkers that want Trump to win are registered to vote. I don’t know if that means anything.
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No one for president.
Let’s not forget the third party and Harambe stuff. Some of that flipped swing states Red.
I don’t think Harambe got that many votes but I’m too lazy to look that up
aren’t the libertarians on the right wing of politics and the largest 3rd party?
Freakonomics did this one but I forget the numbers apart from what is technically the 3rd largest party, or the largest third party, exists at a minute fraction of the other 2. While 3rd largest is technically correct, they can’t compete.
