So you don't think about whom to vote for before you enter the voting booth? There are all kinds of arguments about voting by mail on both sides, this may be one of the weakest.
Maybe true for you and I but I'm sure plenty of people are too tired from their day jobs and just vote blue but haven't looked deep enough into the other candidates and you end up with someone like fetterman. If you vote by mail you can dive deep into what each candidate truly fights for.
If you’re too exhausted from your day job to do meaningful research into the candidates, why would the option of a mail-in ballot make you less exhausted?
Do you go to the polls with a big set of notes on who all the major and minor candidates you want to vote for are? In Texas they explicitly ban phones in the voting booths. Nominally this is so you don't take pictures of your completed ballot. In reality it's so you can't research candidates while in the voting booth.
I, personally, don't live in the US and am not a citizen there. Elections in my country are usually just elections to one single office (or assembly), not several at a time.
But yes, I generally walk into the voting booth knowing how I'm going to vote. If I had trouble remembering this, then yes, I would write it down and take those notes with me. If you think that Texas law you describe is especially bad, then I wonder how you think people voted before smartphones…
Well in the US, we hold our election in bulk. You'll have dozens of federal, state, even city and county races on the same election day. This is the context of the discussion here. We're talking American politics, not German politics.
Yes, I know that. Still, if there were more than one election on the ballot, I would do the necessary research before and walk into the voting booth already knowing what I'm going to tick. I wouldn't know why anyone would do it differently.
(My country is Austria, not Germany, but the same would apply if it were Germany.)
I mean, the reason is as given. Many people have difficulty keeping track of the several dozen names/initiatives they want to vote for, in addition to the (purposely, these days) onerous process of voting in person at polling places.
If we can remove barriers to voting, we absolutely should. If it is a struggle for voters to keep track of everyone and everything on the ballot, and voting by mail helps solve that, then that is a fantastic solution.
100% your not from the us. with judicial retention im not sure if it reaches 100 but it can be over two pages. Don't think I have ever seen four. I mean granted if your the type to shirk the judicial then its more possible but you have water reclamation districts. school districts. local, county, state, and federal things. Its still a lot.
100% I am from the US. Born here and raised here. Did live overseas for awhile. But back in the US for many years now. Been at this voting thing for quite some time, participating in every local, state, and federal election that's come and gone. I still say I don't need pages of notes when I've made my mind up about the candidates beforehand.
Well, thankfully I have no desire nor obligation to prove anything to you. Call whatever you like. Just because you can't manage it doesn't make it true for everyone else.
It is not, nor ever has been, hard in any election I've participated in to know which persons I'm voting for. I don't care if you believe me. Have you perhaps considered that not every election process is the same? Maybe your state does it different from the 4 states I've voted in.
It's a pretty good argument for down-ballot races and legislation. Every piece of policy I've voted on has been confusingly written, so it's hard to tell exactly what the result of a yes/no vote is.
Yep! You nailed it. There's also plenty of other people who can't make it to the polling place to vote. This applies to me because I'm disabled in ways that make it infeasible. There are also people who are caring for those who are disabled in a way that they cannot be left alone safely.
Who do you think we're more likely to vote for? The people who keep trying everything they can to take away the help and systems that keep us disabled people alive? Not without a lot of brainwashing... although that unfortunately does happen. Bleh.
I agree with this. I usually spend a few hours going through vote411, looking at each candidate, and writing down my choices. It's often 30 or more races with 2-4 people on each. Every single time i get to the booth there are items/people that were not on my 'practice ballot' and I'm left guessing.
What? It gives you less time to think, compared to waiting until the last minute to cast your vote. It's easier to do, meaning more people voting, which probably has more to do with why they don't like it.
They said 2 years ago that the only votes not showing manipulation were mail in votes and that's why trump lost 2020. Because mail in votes were more common due to covid.
They also predicted he would target mail in voting to make sure he could manipulate the vote in the future.
Tabulator machines are the machines that count the votes from multiple voting poll locations.
During the 2024 voting day, 227 bomb threats were made to temporarily shut down polling places.
Additionally, Elon musk and his tech team personally went to swing state polling locations to inspect their machines. Often being left unsupervised.
Election truth alliance not only found evidence of vote tampering but showed how the algorithm was used to manipulate votes.
It switched votes from blue to red up to a specific percentage that would keep the outcome from triggering a recount.
And it deleted blue votes that exceeded that parameter.
This is why Trump won all swing states. Which has never happened. Ever.
And there wasn't a single recount. Also unheard of in a presidential elections.
Election truth alliance also found evidence of vote tampering for senators and representatives.
Allowing trump to have full control in house and Senate.
Again, this is very uncommon for the same party to have all 3.
I suspect many of the Republicans kissed Trump's ass and went along with him on everything was because they knew they didn't win fairly. And promised him loyalty for getting their seats.
31 Comments
schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de · 21 pts · 3d
So you don't think about whom to vote for before you enter the voting booth? There are all kinds of arguments about voting by mail on both sides, this may be one of the weakest.
crispbacon99@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 3d
Maybe true for you and I but I'm sure plenty of people are too tired from their day jobs and just vote blue but haven't looked deep enough into the other candidates and you end up with someone like fetterman. If you vote by mail you can dive deep into what each candidate truly fights for.
schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de · 3 pts · 3d
You have weeks or months before the election to make that decision.
charokol@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 3d
If you’re too exhausted from your day job to do meaningful research into the candidates, why would the option of a mail-in ballot make you less exhausted?
WoodScientist@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3d
I don't think you're a human being. You don't demonstrate a reasonable understanding of human nature and how people actually live their lives.
WoodScientist@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 3d
Do you go to the polls with a big set of notes on who all the major and minor candidates you want to vote for are? In Texas they explicitly ban phones in the voting booths. Nominally this is so you don't take pictures of your completed ballot. In reality it's so you can't research candidates while in the voting booth.
schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de · 4 pts · 3d
I, personally, don't live in the US and am not a citizen there. Elections in my country are usually just elections to one single office (or assembly), not several at a time.
But yes, I generally walk into the voting booth knowing how I'm going to vote. If I had trouble remembering this, then yes, I would write it down and take those notes with me. If you think that Texas law you describe is especially bad, then I wonder how you think people voted before smartphones…
WoodScientist@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3d
Well in the US, we hold our election in bulk. You'll have dozens of federal, state, even city and county races on the same election day. This is the context of the discussion here. We're talking American politics, not German politics.
schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de · 4 pts · 3d
Yes, I know that. Still, if there were more than one election on the ballot, I would do the necessary research before and walk into the voting booth already knowing what I'm going to tick. I wouldn't know why anyone would do it differently.
(My country is Austria, not Germany, but the same would apply if it were Germany.)
ZapBeebz_@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 2d
I mean, the reason is as given. Many people have difficulty keeping track of the several dozen names/initiatives they want to vote for, in addition to the (purposely, these days) onerous process of voting in person at polling places.
If we can remove barriers to voting, we absolutely should. If it is a struggle for voters to keep track of everyone and everything on the ballot, and voting by mail helps solve that, then that is a fantastic solution.
HubertManne@piefed.social · 1 pts · 3d
its way easier but honestly mostly for judicial retention. having to bring in notes to the poll is a pain.
JigglySackles@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d
Why do you have to bring in notes? I've always made decisions beforehand and go in and vote for them.
HubertManne@piefed.social · 0 pts · 1d
100% your not from the us. with judicial retention im not sure if it reaches 100 but it can be over two pages. Don't think I have ever seen four. I mean granted if your the type to shirk the judicial then its more possible but you have water reclamation districts. school districts. local, county, state, and federal things. Its still a lot.
JigglySackles@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 21h
100% I am from the US. Born here and raised here. Did live overseas for awhile. But back in the US for many years now. Been at this voting thing for quite some time, participating in every local, state, and federal election that's come and gone. I still say I don't need pages of notes when I've made my mind up about the candidates beforehand.
HubertManne@piefed.social · 0 pts · 21h
I call bs to this. Unless you have an edict memory that is way to many names to have memorized when you get to the polls.
JigglySackles@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 21h
Well, thankfully I have no desire nor obligation to prove anything to you. Call whatever you like. Just because you can't manage it doesn't make it true for everyone else.
It is not, nor ever has been, hard in any election I've participated in to know which persons I'm voting for. I don't care if you believe me. Have you perhaps considered that not every election process is the same? Maybe your state does it different from the 4 states I've voted in.
agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 1d
It's a pretty good argument for down-ballot races and legislation. Every piece of policy I've voted on has been confusingly written, so it's hard to tell exactly what the result of a yes/no vote is.
LocalAreaMan@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 3d
That and much more. Working class people rarely have the time otherwise. Every hurdle disenfranchises voters of little means.
EggInDisguise@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 6 pts · 3d
Inb4 someone says "but you are guaranteed time off"
Because you get unpaid time off and most people can't afford that time off.
And politicians know this, too. Just another hurdle.
klymilark@herbicide.fallcounty.omg.lol · 6 pts · 3d
People are getting time off to vote??? Last election I had to go on my lunch break
LocalAreaMan@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2d
I live in Washington State and I did it on my kitchen table, weeks beforehand.
I get to actually take my time, research each matter and person. I can't imagine it any other way.
I'm sorry.
pdxfed@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 3d
Yeah, not having time to actually vote, making it harder and reducing turnout is the primary reason, not having time to think it secondary by a mile.
zip@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 2d
Yep! You nailed it. There's also plenty of other people who can't make it to the polling place to vote. This applies to me because I'm disabled in ways that make it infeasible. There are also people who are caring for those who are disabled in a way that they cannot be left alone safely.
Who do you think we're more likely to vote for? The people who keep trying everything they can to take away the help and systems that keep us disabled people alive? Not without a lot of brainwashing... although that unfortunately does happen. Bleh.
Today@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 3d
I agree with this. I usually spend a few hours going through vote411, looking at each candidate, and writing down my choices. It's often 30 or more races with 2-4 people on each. Every single time i get to the booth there are items/people that were not on my 'practice ballot' and I'm left guessing.
kbal@fedia.io · 8 pts · 3d
What? It gives you less time to think, compared to waiting until the last minute to cast your vote. It's easier to do, meaning more people voting, which probably has more to do with why they don't like it.
daannii@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 2d
Election truth alliance found evidence of tabulator machine vote manipulation for the last two presidential elections.
https://electiontruthalliance.org/
They said 2 years ago that the only votes not showing manipulation were mail in votes and that's why trump lost 2020. Because mail in votes were more common due to covid.
They also predicted he would target mail in voting to make sure he could manipulate the vote in the future.
Tabulator machines are the machines that count the votes from multiple voting poll locations.
During the 2024 voting day, 227 bomb threats were made to temporarily shut down polling places.
Additionally, Elon musk and his tech team personally went to swing state polling locations to inspect their machines. Often being left unsupervised.
Election truth alliance not only found evidence of vote tampering but showed how the algorithm was used to manipulate votes.
It switched votes from blue to red up to a specific percentage that would keep the outcome from triggering a recount.
And it deleted blue votes that exceeded that parameter.
This is why Trump won all swing states. Which has never happened. Ever.
And there wasn't a single recount. Also unheard of in a presidential elections.
Election truth alliance also found evidence of vote tampering for senators and representatives.
Allowing trump to have full control in house and Senate.
Again, this is very uncommon for the same party to have all 3.
I suspect many of the Republicans kissed Trump's ass and went along with him on everything was because they knew they didn't win fairly. And promised him loyalty for getting their seats.
raef@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 3d
I think it's so they can threaten with ICE at polling places to keep them from voting entirely
Waterpumpee@lemmus.org · 4 pts · 1d
Nah, they just know the stats. Vote by mail = able to read = more likely to vote dem.
Shit should be online by now tbh.
JigglySackles@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d
I can't agree with it being online. That's just asking for trouble. Too many attack vectors that are too easy to pursue and potentially break.
Astronut@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 3d
Republicans don’t want people thinking. They love that maga sonsabitches don’t have the ability to think.
altphoto@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 3d
And reduces their time to inject money into media to have it change our minds.