These are just polls, so vote!
Hopefully these trends will inspire people in states that have been consistently red that a flip this election is possible!
If the apathetic voted it’d be over.
If all these leftists that don’t vote in protest actually voted, it’d be over. Not just this election, for decades. It would have been a wildly different history.
That too. My buddy is still angry not voting even after 2016. Because he’s still pissed about the two party system. Fair, but you’re not fixing anything.
What a fool. Anyone not voting has no voice and has no right to complain. Nobody will pay attention to them because they offer no action. At that point they may as well be a foreign citizen for the amount of power they hold in the US elections.
Not fixing anything indeed.
Refreshing that Lemmy seems to understand first past the post.
Which is why it is very important to understand that tankies are not leftists.
They are agents (willing or stupid) of foreign powers who advocate for fascism. And it is in the interests of their masters (mostly Xinnie the pooh and putin) to encourage leftists to disenfranchise themselves.
No, it wouldn’t. It’s very difficult to quantify how many people don’t vote as a protest vs. don’t vote out of apathy, but the Green Party, Libertarian Party, and all other third parties combined took home less than 2% of the total vote in the last Presidential election. Even if we assumed that just as many people were staying home in protest, and that they were entirely made up of disgruntled leftists, that would only maybe affect the outcome of some swing states if the numbers are unevenly distributed. It certainly wouldn’t remake history.
The internet (and Lemmy especially) might be full of high-minded leftists claiming they stay home on moral principle, but the majority of people who don’t vote are just tired, working class people who have to squeeze voting in around work and family on a random Tuesday. If you want them to turn out, you have to give them a candidate that speaks to them enough that they’ll take time out of their day vote. (Well, that or a make mail-in voting universal in all 50 states, or make voting day a federal holiday, or a bunch of other things that will never get through Congress.)
I think president Gore would have been a very different (and better) history. Ditto Hilary.
Singer of my band in 2000,
“well if my green party vote gets a Republican elected, the pendulum swings further right which forces the left to activate,”
surprised Pikachu at GOP stealing election,
status quo shifts right in all levels of the courts for quarter century,
leftists learn Gaza exists,
rinse, repeat
Gee, if only there were some way to get them excited to vote. Moving to the right hasn’t worked and neither has shouting abuse at them, so I guess nothing will make them happy.
Gee if only they could think about how their vote would move the Overton window.
But you just said, they rely on their feeeeelllliinngggs. Guess they aren’t so logical huh.
I’ve just said this recently (like earlier today), but its not necessarily apathy.
Many people had to work multiple jobs, couldn’t get a vote by mail option, their local polling place had too few voting booths relative to the number of voters, etc, etc.
As soon as mail in voting became accessible, the number of voters actually voting jumped massively.
Preventing access to voting is an international act, and dismissing people as just being apathetic for not having the time to wait a few hours to vote (because kids, work, etc) is part of that intention.
Don’t just be dismissive. Support a national holiday for election day. Support politicians who want to keep mail in voting for all. And don’t look down on people who are put into situations where voting instead of showing up to work could make them lose their jobs.
Exactly. People share articles every week about Republican voter suppression tactics like limiting polling locations and creating voter ID laws, then turn around and whine when voters don’t show up for their candidates. Even if you aren’t a victim of these laws, if you have to vote in person, you usually have 12 hours on a weekday to vote. If you work 8 hours a day, and you commute an hour each way, that’s 2 hours to vote. For a working-class person with a family, that’s a big ask. That’s time they normally spend making dinner for their kids and getting ready for the next day. Voting is a right, but having the time to do it a luxury.
Your voting experience really needs an upgrade.
We have a holiday to go vote - well, 3 hours off - and our setup is so simple that we have polling stations everywhere. When we get there it’s usually a 5-minute process. The whole thing is over by that night.
This whole “standing in line for hours” thing is just weird, y’all.
It’s usually a 5 minute process in TX too, people just wait until the very last minute to cast a vote.
We have had a 2 week voting period since 1980, we were actually the first state to allow an early voting period. The polls are Aldo legally required to be open at least 9 hours the first week and at least 12 hours the second week and final day of voting. If there’s even a line during the first 2 weeks, it’s 10 minutes max. People just drag their feet and then complain to everyone else, which keeps people from voting.
TX has 2 weeks to vote. There’s never a line longer than 10 minutes if there’s a line at all, except for the final day. It’s definitely apathy, waiting until the last day.
This year, polls will be open from Oct 21- Nov 1, with a final day to cast a vote on Nov 5. Polls will be open at least 9 hours the first week and at least 12 hours (typically 7AM-7PM) during the second week and final day of voting. Polling hours and locations can be checked at www.votetexas.gov once they are released in October. Some polls may be open on the weekend as well!
Great info for Texas, thank you. Early voting during that second week is my favorite. The first few days, there may be some small lines (depending on local population, etc). But that’s usually a good sign. If Texans voted appropriately, could even demand (gasp) mail-in ballots. For now, just thankful they haven’t taken early voting…
It kind of does yea. Hey, be hopeful, help your neighbor, and the future is bright is a much better message than “we hate everyone”
People have real concerns that the party refuses to address. No amount of yelling at them will generate enthusiasm if their concerns are being ignored. “Shut up and be happy” is not a compelling message. It’s just the laziest, bluntest form of toxic positivity.
Honestly though, can you imagine the absolutely apocalyptic meltdown the RNC establishment would have if fucking Texas can be flipped?
no doubt the federally indicted ken paxton would be more than willing to commit more crimes to stop a democratic victory in texas.
You mean Ken Paxton who was impeached by his own party. While Ken was acquitted, you really have to fuck up have your Republican party vote to impeach you.
Even Hillary almost flipped the state. If only 5% more of the registered voters had cast a vote for her, she would have won! The problem is that people just won’t go to the polls. We were the first state to have an early voting period (since 1980) but people just won’t take 15 minutes to stop by a polling station on their way somewhere. There’s never a line during the 2 weeks weeks of early voting.
Check voter registration and polling location/hours (won’t be posted until October) at www.votetexas.gov
Polls open Oct 21-Nov 1, with one final day to vote on Nov 5. Don’t procrastinate and you won’t have to wait in line!
Some counties even have live wait time meters on the map. I’ve found locations on the way to work without scheduling and been on time haha.
texas isn’t a red state; texas is a voter suppression state.
More than people realize. Between the Civil War and this century, the Texas delegation to the US House of Representatives was Majority-Democrat. We had a Democratic governor just 3 Governors ago.
But in 2003 the Texas legislature went majority-Republican for the first time in over a century, and the first thing they did was massively gerrymander the state just a year after it had been redistricted for the 2000 census.
In the 2002 election, 17 Democrats and 15 Republicans were elected to the US House. Following the redistricting, the 2004 election had 21 Republicans and 11 Republicans elected to the House.
With a single map change they went from a minority to a 2:1 majority.
Texas is also a voter apathy state. A lot of the apathy comes from gerrymandering, which I’d call a form of voter suppression, so your point still stands.
Also reminder for every state except Maine and Nebraska: your voting district has NO effect on who gets the electoral college vote for your state. Even if your state is gerrymandered to all hell and there’s no chance your district will go blue, that has literally zero affect on whether your vote is counted for president.
So go vote, even if it’s hopeless for the local races. Your vote can help flip a state!
Yeah, I had a 5 minute wait to vote in my (majority red) area. 30 minutes away in (majority blue) Dallas, wait times were in the hours, because they keep closing polling locations in blue areas.
That’s very hopeful. A five-point spread can be overcome. And I’m still wondering what the polling error will be this year. For the last few years, Democrats have handily out-performed the polls, and it’s not like people under 50 are getting easier to poll.
But don’t get complacent. It’s possible the polls this year are over-correcting for that. We won’t know for sure until the election is over.
But don’t get complacent. It’s possible the polls this year are over-correcting for that. We won’t know for sure until the election is over.
Not only that. You may need a quite healthy margin to overcome the various voter suppression and other plans the Rs have in place to steal the election. A Texas sized margin might do.
I’m hoping that Harris/Walz spends a few resources here, to make Republicans nervous. Not a LOT of resources, but enough to make the Republicans nervous. We need Dems to turn out in all 50 states, Safe Red, Safe Blue, or whatever, to ensure that we have a resounding victory. Fellow voters, you shouldn’t need to be told this, but if a few million here or there in Texas and Florida gets Dems out to vote while putting the fear of Dog into Republicans and force THEM to spend resources there, it’s a good strategy in my book.
