US Citizens: Please vote tomorrow

[amirm]

I can't think of a more important mid-term vote than the one coming up tomorrow in US. So while I was fully decided to vote, I also saw this interesting article on why vote even if you think your favorites may lose: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/midterm-election-2018-voting-why-it-matters/

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Why voting matters – even if your side loses

You've got one more day to vote and if you haven't, there are a lot of reasons you should that go beyond close races and who controls Congress. If you're angry, you can vent your spleen. If you're positive, you can cast a vote for hope.

The president says vote as if he's on the ballot, so you can show him how you feel. If you're locally minded, there are 6,000 elections taking place that won't send anyone to Washington but will affect your community. One-hundred-fifty-five referendums will determine everything from whether pot is legal to whether more poor people have access to health care.

Every vote is a signal and even if your side loses. The size of the losing vote makes politicians listen. If the vote against them gets bigger, they might be out of a job.

A vote even for the loser might encourage candidates who share your views to run, or spark people of like mind to band together to push for other kinds of change in their community.

If you're tired of the pundits, Twitter jockeys, Russian hackers and interest groups that try to think for you, a vote is a chance to bonk them all in the nose – metaphorically. Because another reason to vote is to reaffirm the original American experiment: that we could resolve our differences through ballots and not brawls.

I'll tell you why I vote. Just before I was born, people were killed trying to protect the right to vote for black Americans. When intimidation didn't work, voters were made to take poll tests. The questions were designed to confuse. One was: "Spell backwards forwards." Another: "Print the word vote upside down but in correct order."

Citizens had 10 minutes and if they didn't make a perfect score, they weren't allowed to vote. Fellow Americans were not just denied their guaranteed right, they were made to feel small.

We are bigger than that, so we don't dare treat that right lightly.

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So if you are an eligible voter in US, please take the time to vote. I just finished filling out my ballot and so did my wife. Will be dropping it off tomorrow.

I will leave the thread open but please don't post anything partisan.

 

[Jorj]

My wife and I voted last Friday during early voting. We also spent a good deal of time phone banking, canvassing and volunteering for candidates in areas that are strategic. We were very encouraged by the turn-out and energy. Let's hope it carries the day.

I'm very curious to know what a certain person is hiding in his taxes, and a shift in the House would be key to getting that going.

 

[jhaider]

Yes, vote (if you haven't already)!

If your qualifications to vote are challenged, insist on signing an affidavit and voting (in some states) or at least casting at least a provisional ballot. Also, here are some numbers to have handy:

Election Protection: 866-OUR-VOTE

DOJ voting right hotline: 800-253-3931

(quoting an article) "I'll tell you why I vote. Just before I was born, people were killed trying to protect the right to vote for black Americans. When intimidation didn't work, voters were made to take poll tests. The questions were designed to confuse. One was: "Spell backwards forwards." Another: "Print the word vote upside down but in correct order."

Citizens had 10 minutes and if they didn't make a perfect score, they weren't allowed to vote. Fellow Americans were not just denied their guaranteed right, they were made to feel small."

Voter suppression is a really ugly thing. But unfortunately it's not at all a thing of the past in the United States.

Just look at the North Dakotans (mostly indigenous) who might be denied the right to vote because they've never had street addresses.

Or the voters in Dodge City, KS, whose only polling place was moved from the middle of town to someplace outside the city limits and far away from any public transit.

Or the thousands of people in my state that one of the gubernatorial candidates refused to certify as registered voters because some other official document might have two spaces in their address or something similarly trivial and stupid.

Regardless, vote!

 

[RayDunzl]

Voter suppression?

Reminds me of this scene, where all the bomber crews have requested transfers because they don't like Colonel Savage's demeanor:

 

[Sir Sanders Zingmore]

Coming from a country where you are fined if you don't vote (compulsory voting was introduced in Australia in 1924), it always amazes me that US elections generate so much interest and so little voting

 

[rajapruk]

Coming from a country where you are fined if you don't vote (compulsory voting was introduced in Australia in 1924), it always amazes me that US elections generate so much interest and so little voting

To be able to do that you have to know exactly who are the citizens, with a unique identity number for all. I am not sure USA has that? I.e a register with all citizens uniquely identifiable.

 

[andreasmaaan]

To be able to do that you have to know exactly who are the citizens, with a unique identity number for all. I am not sure USA has that? I.e a register with all citizens uniquely identifiable.

FWIW, this is not how it works in Aus.

Voter registration is compulsory, but there is no unique number issued, and in practice a failure to register will rarely be detected. A registered voter who fails to vote will be much more likely to be fined, however.

 

[SIY]

 

[SIY]

The Chicago Way.

 

[SoundAndMotion]

Thanks, Amir,
In 42 years of being able to vote, I think I've missed less than a half dozen elections. My wife and I sent in our ballots 2 weeks ago.
My 15 year old son doesn't like to listen to me babble for more than a couple of minutes, but last week I gave him a 20 minute impassioned argument on why he should vote when he can. He promised to vote in 2022... I hope he does.
Make your opinion count: vote! (Sorry for preaching, but I find it very important this time.)

Edit: I'm going to be up all night watching the news here in Germany.

 

[Ron Texas]

Voted early here.

 

[SIY]

Voted early here.

Voted twice here.

See, we have a great choice here in Illinois. We can vote for the corrupt billionaire who will oversee a massive tax increase or the corrupt billionaire who will oversee a massive tax increase. This is what we call "democracy."

 

[Grave]

I don't see how this thread can be not partisan. I am so mad at a certain racist misogynistic party. Many other people are too.

 

[Grave]

I’m sorry, which party is that? The one where the leader is speaking poorly of women and people of certain regions, or the party that lauds certain spokespeople who chant death to America and refer to certain ethnic groups as insects, and who from day one refused to work with the other guys? Is it the party that was using public funds to pay off sexual abuse, or the other party that also uses public funds to pay off sexual abuse victims?

I don’t think that any of these people are worth anything. But they are a necessary evil. Just limit the damage that they can do.

I think your comment is nonsensical.

 

[Jorj]

Let's not pound each other over semantics.

It's true that there is a partisan divide over the acceptance of empirical data as it pertains to governance, therefore this forum will probably lean a certain way, as most of the folks here are dyed-in-the-wool objectivists.

Amir's point was that we need to ALL make sure we've done the research on the candidates and gone to the polls and done our civic duty, and that is all we need to say. I'm sure I know where most of the people on this forum fall on the political spectrum, and it's of no value to debate it here.

 

[Thomas savage]

@amirm , you going fishing mate? That why you opened this can of worms ...

 

[Ron Texas]

I just heard on TV the turnout in Arizona is exceeding 2016 where 74% of the registered voters voted. Interesting since I was out there last week in the desert.

 

[Apesbrain]

In line now...

 

[amirm]

@amirm , you going fishing mate? That why you opened this can of worms ...

I will actually be out for a few hours so please watch this thread.

Folks, please no partisan talks. We need to be adult and have self-control. Whatever angst or energy you have to put in partisan matters, express it by voting, not posting.

 

[Thomas savage]

I will actually be out for a few hours so please watch this thread.

Folks, please no partisan talks. We need to be adult and have self-control. Whatever angst or energy you have to put in partisan matters, express it by voting, not posting.

What if they vote by post ..