One million Americans have already cast 2020 vote in ‘historic’ early voting surge

[User.45]

Let’s face it. We lost 2016 because of a record low turnout. That’s a fact. The media made claims that Hillary was a slammed dunk deal. 98% chance of being elected. A lot of people went, meh... what’s the point of me voting. She’s got this... Every vote counts and I think people are finally realizing this. Biden will win. Trump would have lost 2016 if we just had 1-3% higher turnout in key states. This time, we’re seeing record turnout.

We all must vote. Every single one of us!

Agree. But we also need to fix this system. If the popular vote wins the presidency that would be a much better and universal motivator for people to go out to vote even in solid blue or red states.

 

[Eric]

Agree. But we also need to fix this system. If the popular vote wins the presidency that would be a much better and universal motivator for people to go out to vote even in solid blue or red states.

This is hard to argue, voters from either side can easily feel disenfranchised when they know which way their state is going to go. In this case local ballot measures can help offer incentive but in the bigger picture doesn't help much.

However, all of that said this year's turnout is far beyond what anyone could've expected and IMO it takes a monster like Trump to scare the shit out of people enough to stand in lines for 8 hours.

 

[iMi]

Agree. But we also need to fix this system. If the popular vote wins the presidency that would be a much better and universal motivator for people to go out to vote even in solid blue or red states.

Could not agree more. A vote is a vote. Majority wins. It’s pretty simple. We should do the same for Congress. No more districts. Or districts that are setup by zip code, etc. Gerrymandering is equivalent to picking your voters. It should be the other way around. Voters should be picking you. Last, we need to repeal citizens united and restore the precedent it set as it also plays a role in how elections are funded and who gets to have the loudest voice.

 

[Edd]

I’m incredibly emotionally invested in this election. Gave $ last week to Biden and opponents of Graham, Collins, and McConnell.

I work with mostly 30-ish folks with college educations. Talking with one of them last week, he did not know who Mitch McConnell was. Scares the fuck out me.

 

[Eric]

I’m incredibly emotionally invested in this election. Gave $ last week to Biden and opponents of Graham, Collins, and McConnell.

I work with mostly 30-ish folks with college educations. Talking with one of them last week, he did not know who Mitch McConnell was. Scares the fuck out me.

Same here, I've donated several times now and a buddy of mine who has never voted in his life registered this year and also donated a pretty good amount of cash. Are the 15 emails and texts a day from Biden still asking for more money annoying knowing he's smoking Trump in the money war? Yes lol, but I'm not unsubscribing until the last vote is cast.

 

[Alli]

One week until election day! I took next week off. We plan to start the day with an excellent breakfast and mimosas, walk to our voting place, and spend the rest of the day being an anxious, increasingly boozy mess.

That had been our plan since our polling place is a 4 minute walk. But my nerves got the best of me so we went downtown yesterday to vote absentee in person. Pizza for dinner Tuesday night along with an extra large bottle of Moscato.

I finally voted. Not that it really matters, my state is as blue as the summer sky..

To quote one of my favorite musicals “it must be nice, it must be nice.”

 

[User.45]

That had been our plan since our polling place is a 4 minute walk. But my nerves got the best of me so we went downtown yesterday to vote absentee in person. Pizza for dinner Tuesday night along with an extra large bottle of Moscato.

To quote one of my favorite musicals “it must be nice, it must be nice.”

Finally referred to my long wait since 2018 and the fact that in person voting just started this week in my state.

 

[Mark]

Finally referred to my long wait since 2018 and the fact that in person voting just started this week in my state.

@PearsonX
the good news is that your vote does matter. qualification: your vote will matter if enough states adopt this.

there are now 15 states that will* award their state's electoral delegates to the national majority vote winner.
so, every vote does count. even if you are in the naviest-blue of a state. or rather, will eventually count, once its in force.
*will: legislation will not take effect until similar bills are passed by enough states to provide a majority of the Electoral College’s 538 votes.
this is sad...

National Popular Vote

State status: AK AL AR AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA HI IA ID IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC ND NE NH NJ NM NV NY OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VA VT WA WI WV WY The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50...

www.nationalpopularvote.com

 

[JayMysteri0]

What brings me some hope...

Georgia’s legacy of voter suppression is driving historic Black turnout

Changing demographics in the Atlanta suburbs and an explosion of civic engagement among first-time voters could turn the state blue for the first time in decades.

www.politico.com

ATLANTA — Almost every Black Georgia voter queuing up at the polls has a story about 2018.

Most waited for hours in lines that wrapped around their voting locations. Some were removed from the voter rolls arbitrarily, forcing them to fill out confusing provisional ballots on Election Day. Others stayed home altogether and — after watching Democrat Stacey Abrams lose the gubernatorial race by fewer than 60,000 votes — regretted that decision.

Now, voter enthusiasm among all races is at an all-time high in one of the most consequential battleground states in the country. So is voter anxiety.

In the shadows of billboards along I-85 and I-20 encouraging Atlantans to “VOTE EARLY,” barriers to that act loom large. There were reminders of this again during June’s egregious primary election: In populous, rapidly diversifying metro Atlanta counties like Fulton and Cobb, wait times extended up to six hours after polling locations were consolidated during the pandemic. The state’s new electronic voting machines also frequently malfunctioned, further slowing the ballot casting process.

Voters interviewed by POLITICO said anger over perceived voter suppression tactics is fueling their eagerness to cast early ballots. And indeed, Georgians are voting in numbers never seen before in the state’s history. Since Oct. 12, the first day of early voting, a staggering 2.7 million voters have cast a ballot — a nearly 110 percent increase from 2016. Beyond that, Democrats are organizing caravans, volunteering as election workers and serving as poll watchers. This level of enthusiasm is also a reflection of apprehension about the election: Voters here are turning out in waves.

 

[JayMysteri0]

I am NOT saying there is a type of 45 supporter, but...
https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1321410610404483072/
if you go far enough down the assrabbithole, there seems to be a consistency.

 

[Clix Pix]

I was heartened today when I had to run to the library to pick up a couple of books being held for me and to return an item.....LOTS of people in line again waiting to vote and once again it went around the building. Later on in the afternoon I went out again and once more past there, and another long line -- people are really getting out there this time and making their wishes known!

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

Let’s face it. We lost 2016 because of a record low turnout. That’s a fact. The media made claims that Hillary was a slammed dunk deal. 98% chance of being elected. A lot of people went, meh... what’s the point of me voting. She’s got this... Every vote counts and I think people are finally realizing this. Biden will win. Trump would have lost 2016 if we just had 1-3% higher turnout in key states. This time, we’re seeing record turnout.

We all must vote. Every single one of us!

If Trump gets a second term, especially if it's in a close contested win, I think one of the biggest casualties will be voting. I'm not saying we won't be allowed to vote. I'm saying a lot more people than even now will question what's the point. On top the of the presidency Congress has largely become an ineffective logjam collecting a paycheck to do nothing other than block the other side. They're still debating another stimulus while Republicans are still trying to kill the ACA with no replacement. At this point I have no idea what we put these people in office for other than collecting donor money for the party and getting trained to become a lobbyist once they leave office.

 

[JayMysteri0]

 

[Huntn]

In Texas, it has been reported that more people have early voted this time around, than voted in the entire 2016 midterm.

 

[Alli]

In Texas, it has been reported that more people have early voted this time around, than voted in the entire 2016 midterm.

 

[Yoused]

Some trollboy at the the other place posted a F'news link saying that the most searched term on the big g was "how do I change my vote". The well-poison is already flowing heavier than sewage.

 

[Eric]

Some trollboy at the the other place posted a F'news link saying that the most searched term on the big g was "how do I change my vote". The well-poison is already flowing heavier than sewage.

Most of the more popular wells have prevented the poisoning, unfortunately MR is not one of them.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

In Texas, it has been reported that more people have early voted this time around, than voted in the entire 2016 midterm.

I know historically this type of activity usually favors Democrats, but we also haven’t had a pandemic for 100 years, and I’ve seen a lot of interviews with comparatively level headed Trump supporters with a “I wish he wouldn’t/I don’t really like when he” list, but despite that they still support him because of one or two key issues.

Also people on the right are well aware people on the left aren't going to sleep this election out like they did in 2016. which might inspire them to vote to counter that.

 

[Yoused]

In Texas, it has been reported that more people have early voted this time around, than voted in the entire 2016 midterm.

2016 was not the midterm, it was the year we had President Trudgedy foisted upon us. But, yes, the 2020 early vote total has indeed surpassed the 2016 total turnout.

 

[JayMysteri0]

I posted this elsewhere, because I expect this will be the next vein of misinformation mined over there, once some are given their talking points.

Also a reminder, since no October surprises seemed to have worked out as planned for a particular group, which means some late game desperate misinformation is inevitable...

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1321802843590971392/

Why post this? Because a certain individual has an issue if results don't happen election night, which he may use to make a case for a certain 'new' Supreme Court to weigh in on.

https://www.npr.org/2020/10/28/928805754/how-and-when-are-votes-officially-counted

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It would be very, very proper and very nice if a winner were declared on November 3 instead of counting ballots for two weeks, which is totally inappropriate. And I don't believe that that's by our laws. I don't believe that.

SHAPIRO: To be clear, American law does not require a winner to be declared on November 3. And to explain more about what the law does say, Wendy Weiser of the Brennan Center joins us now.

Good to have you here.

WENDY WEISER: Thank you for having me.

SHAPIRO: We're all accustomed to winners generally being announced on election night. Is that because of any official requirement?

WEISER: Absolutely not. In fact, the results that we hear on election night are not the official results. They're unofficial results. And this year, it might very well be the case that in many states, we don't even know who the winners are on election night or for days after Election Day.

SHAPIRO: Tell us what those unofficial results are based on that people are so accustomed to treating as if they are the final word.

WEISER: Well, the unofficial results that we get on election night are often just the initial results. They are based on the ballots that have been counted so far, typically the ones that are coming in from in-person voting. And in states that count their absentee ballots in advance of Election Day, we might get some of those as well. And it takes days for election officials, after receiving and processing ballots, to - often, to tabulate them, especially as we are going to see an increasing number of absentee ballots.

SHAPIRO: So if that tabulation takes time and there's not a result on election night, should people worry? Should that cast a shadow over the results or indicate any kind of a problem or crisis?

WEISER: No. People should actually be - rest assured that if we don't have results on election night, that's because election officials are doing everything they can to make sure that every vote counts. This year, we've had an unprecedented challenge to our election with the pandemic. And it's caused a large number of Americans to switch to voting by mail or absentee ballots. And those come in on paper ballots, and they take longer to process and to count than the ones that are happening on Election Day.

SHAPIRO: So that question of what it means to count every vote is being litigated right now, as we said. And on this program, we've talked about some of the high-profile lawsuits, including cases in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina. When we are this close to an election and many have already voted, should voters worry that a court might decide a case in a way that could invalidate their vote?

WEISER: Americans who've already voted should feel confident that their ballots are going to count. And really, you know, it is absolutely the case that - courts should not be changing the rules this late in the game. But there are steps that voters can and should take to make sure their ballots are not rejected. And if voters get their ballots in now on time and follow the instructions closely for filling out their ballots, they shouldn't have any problems regardless of anything a court does. The things that the courts are ruling are not going to impact your ballots if you get your ballots in on time and if you follow the instructions for filling out the ballot.

SHAPIRO: What does all of this say about the functioning of our democracy? Does this dispute - does this litigation mean that the system is working or that the system is teetering on the precipice?

WEISER: It is absolutely unacceptable in a modern democracy to have significant numbers of ballots cast by eligible voters tossed out because of technicalities. That doesn't mean that the system is illegitimate or the result is invalid. But it does mean we should take a close look at our election rules after this election and put in place some real voting reforms to make sure...

SHAPIRO: OK.

WEISER: ...That every eligible ballot counts.

In other words, stock up on liquor for Tuesday night, there will be angst for awhile after...

And don't let anyone tell you we need results by that night or it's rigged ( Again?! ) or some ish.