“If #voting mattered, right-wingers wouldn't do voter suppression.” Yeah, I'll admit it: voting matters—but only to the extent it provides cover and legitimacy to the current order, whether liberal or genocidal. Where voting actually doesn't matter is in actually getting shit done.
Oh you voted in #Biden? The concentration camps stay open, the police state is expanded, and the trans genocide will continue unabated. There's your vote—it mattered fuck all.
In the #Philippines, voting does matter—in giving legitimacy to murderers and fascists like Duterte and Marcos. Oh you voted for Leody/Leni? Your vote doesn't matter at all because under a first-past-the-post system, voting for losers means you aren't represented at all.
Voting matters in all the wrong causes. Voting doesn't matter one bit in all the causes that matter. The significance of the individual ballot is the sophistry of liberal ideology. And that's pretty much it.
Comment: abortion & erasure of transgender persons I predict will the key wedge strategies in Republican culture wars leading into the 2024 U.S. elections : noise, disinformation, & identity politics to (1) to divide the electorate, & (2) through information overload induce apathy & dissuade voters from participating / voting - allowing enough of their supporters to elect GOP candidates. ...
The (paper) voter guide only lists my city council candidates. It does not list civil court judges or anyone else who might be on the ballot. You have to know to go to NYC DOE's website, go to "find my pollsite/view sample ballot" so see who's actually on the ballot.
You've gotta do this in advance of going to your poll site, and then (w/ #RCV) memorize the order you want to vote for candidates in.
Abbott vetoes bill offering new mail voting option to people with disabilities
Is it wrong to hope his wheelchair brakes malfunctions at the top of a steep hill overlooking the busy interstate? If so, does it change your mind if you know that I, too, am wheelchair bound?
Michigan voter reforms have made it a model for strengthening democracy, report says
"While some states have struggled to implement meaningful reforms—and many have moved in the wrong direction by restricting access to the ballot box — Michigan has proved that transformational change can be accomplished in just a few short years"
Wisconsin Republicans Sowed Distrust Over Elections. Now They May Push Out the State’s Top Election Official.
The fate of #Wisconsin election administrator Meagan Wolfe is a stark reminder that even though #courts and voters across the country have rejected #election denialism, it remains a factor in this key battleground state.
Voting Maps Throughout the Deep South May Be Redrawn After Surprise Supreme Court Ruling
As many as five House seats could flip in 2024 after the Allen v. Milligan ruling, in which the #SupremeCourt upheld a key provision of the Voting Rights Act.
Michigan House Elections Committee advances national popular vote legislation
Michigan’s Democratic-led House Elections Committee voted 6-2 along party lines Tuesday to advance legislation that would commit the state to awarding its electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote.
I'm thinking about writing a popular piece on voting theory, with the hook of "voting gone wrong".
Borda count voting is much-discussed in textbooks but rare in practice. Does anyone know a real-world example of Borda voting going wrong because of strategic voting behavior?
The key to communicating with people who can vote but don’t vote is to listen to them. Find out why they don’t vote. Find out what matters to them. Connect the voting process and convey its importance to the things that matter to a non-voter. Key: Interpretation not imposition. #Mastodon#BlackMastodon#vote#voting#voteblue
Supreme Risk: An Interactive Guide to Rights the Supreme Court Could Take Away
Most rights are based in statute, but dozens — like same-sex marriage, search warrants & Miranda warnings — are based on judicial rulings that the #SupremeCourt can overturn and that current justices have questioned some aspect of.
Hey, Virginia! Today is the last day to register to vote or update your registration for the primary elections in June.
All 100 House of Delegates and 40 Virginia State Senate seats are up election in addition to many local-level races. Voters will pick who’ll be on the general election ballots through Virginia’s primary elections. Getting the best candidate is really important.
Many states, and (some? many?) countries where voter registration / the electoral register is separate from general citizenship and residence records, let you CHECK YOUR STATUS online.
It's a good idea to check every so often, so if a bad actor got you taken off the rolls (yes, that shit happens!) you can re-register in time, instead of finding out too late on election day.
(A few civilized jurisdictions have same-day voter registration. Many don't.)
Today, #SCOTUS rewrote the Clean Water Act. RIP wetlands. I am frightened how they are going to rewrite the history of the 14th Amendment and destroy what is left of the Voting Rights Act.
A clickbait article about a town's #NIMBY pushback against #solar farms nearby is making the rounds... but it speaks to a much bigger & more important issue.
The town would be surrounded by these huge farms using up land, but would get 0 tax benefit or any reduced power costs.
While the public gets to suffer the brunt of corporate greed, pollution, etc... funny how we don't also get to benefit from the positive progress. From automation & AI, and whatever else is around the corner.
When people are too busy surviving & being whipped into frothy anger about utter nonsense... they are not investing time in #voting, in learning about issues, in forming collectives & labour #unions. They aren't joining together to lift each other up, to raise awareness & fight #oppression and the EXACT forces that say "You are a buffoon for not wanting a humongous solar farm next door, chewing up land, in exchange for utterly nothing."
The people in that town are not fools for saying no.
/3.
Minority Rule: First Past the Post Voting (www.youtube.com)
A video on the problems of First Past the Post voting....