With early voting underway, I went and did just that. I made the mistake of posting who I voted for and why on fb. Two friends, both women, got into a Facebook war on my page for the better part of 2 hours.
I strongly encourage everyone to cast a ballot, no matter who it is that you support. Even if you hate all the candidates, please go vote for whomever you feel is the lesser evil. Too many men and women have fought and died for us to have that right.
Just dont post it on fb.....
Comments
Vote for the candidate you support...
not just the "lesser of two evils".
There are four well known US Presidential candidates, and a fifth that may be the first "independent" candidate to win Electoral College votes in about 50 years.
In fact, the Presidential candidates that get at least 5% of the vote nationally secure funding for their party for the Presidential election in 2020.
Meanwhile, as the saying goes, "all politics is local."
There's elections for Congress, as well as state and local races, and measures for you to approve or disapprove of. Don't let them get lost in the "big race".
Study up, then cast your vote. And get others to do the same, even if they may not agree with you. Because that's what voting is all about.
The lesser of two evils
I voted by mail a couple of days ago. I won't say what candidate I voted for, but I wasn't too crazy about her either. Then I realized that by voting this way I wasn't going to get one of those little "I VOTED" stickers they give you when you vote at the schoolhouse. I really like stickers, I feel terribly cheated. Kind of like giving blood and not getting a cookie...
I also voted on the one about decriminalizing marijuana in Nevada, so I might be eating a lot of cookies in the near future...
hugs, Veronica
What borders on pure insanity?
Canada and Mexico.
.
I will go vote on Nov 8
My Presidential vote doesn't matter. Before everyone starts saying that it does matter. In 3 of the last 4 elections the vote total in Cook County flipped the State of Illinois from voting Republican to Democrat. In the two previous, where Ross Perot ran, the Republican vote was split. So in Illinois it doesn't really matter what the people outside Cook County want.
BTW I was going to vote for Captain Obvious, but he dropped out. So I am voting for Hammy the Squirrel from Over The Hedge. Other races matter, so I will vote more seriously in those.
PS: Just checking a Write-In candidate in Illinois has to file with every county he is running in. So a Presidential Candidate would have to file in all 102 Counties. And if you were on the Ballot in the Primary, you can't be a Write-In Candidate in the General Election.
More US Election law wierdness
To many of us in the rest of the world, the whole process is wierd, strange, nonsensical and verging on downright crazy (to us foriegners that is)
Why would someone who'd been on one ballot (The primary) be barred from running in the main election? Isn't the primary a way of testing the water? See... It does not make sense.
No offense meant to any american btw, it just seems odd to the rest of the world.
I'm sure that it could be the setting for some great stories.
Fifty-seven+ jurisdictions
There are fifty states, the District, two commonwealths, three organized territories, the unorganized territories as a group, federal jurisdictions outside of the previous listings, plus the sovereign native peoples of which there are dozens. Each of these can and most do have their own voting laws. It gets complicated but that's what makes it a republic. :)
To be fair, the parliamentary system makes no sense to most Americans. :)
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Really, the early US systems
Really, the early US systems were almost exactly like the parliamentary system. It was intended for the parties to have to form coalitions here. Somehow, we ended up with a two majority party system, then one party died and another took its place.
Mind you, there are folks in Texas that don't follow Massachusetts being a 'Commonwealth', and people in the Northeast and West that don't follow why Louisiana has Parishes (and how they differ from Counties). And everyone outside of Texas that doesn't understand that the Texas governor is mostly a figurehead. A hat rack can do 99% of his/her job. The Lieutenant Governor has all the appointment and money powers - but none of the publicity.
I STRONGLY advise everyone to go out and vote their conscience, as long as it doesn't involve that big STRAIGHT TICKET button that the local Republican party groups are encouraging everyone to do. I don't care who you vote for (well, I do, but that's beside the point). Just don't vote ANY straight party. if you don't know who is running for an office, your vote is little more than a coin toss.
As my father put it, we need more education about who is running, why, and what it means. Unfortunately, both major parties have a vested interest in keeping the voters ignorant - it's been known for millennia that it's easier to control them that way.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Politically correctness
Living in Illinois, I can agree that Cook county (Chicago area) completely ruins the rest of the state when it comes to politics. There are two jokes told about Illinois politics both of which are due to the illegal voting that takes place in Cook county.
1. Vote early, Vote often... People go from one voting place to another casting numerous votes for their political party.
2. Dead Voters... Just what it says, people casting multiple votes by pretending to be people that are no longer alive.
While I am sure that both political parties are guilty of these and other illegal activities, in Illinois it is done predominately by one party, which for the specific reason of not starting any political arguments, I will not name.
There is so many complaints about Cook county in comparison to how the rest of the state is treated, almost everyone that doesn't live in Chicago agrees that the best thing that could ever happen would be for Cook county to remove its self from the rest of the state, become a 51st state. Of course in doing this Chicago would go bankrupt within the first year as it would not have the tax revenue to support the amount of government support that it gives its residents.
The rest of the state would thrive once it no longer had to support Cook county, since other than a couple of smaller cities, the rest of the state is predominately farmers.
We the willing, led by the unsure. Have been doing so much with so little for so long,
We are now qualified to do anything with nothing.
I voted already
I voted when the line wasn't so long, only an hour and a half. I studied all the candidates as best I could, local and national and the propositions. Yes, too many people vote based on the ads and who has the most or just for the incumbent. I try not to.
The American election system is the most convoluted anywhere in the world. The voters don't even elect the candidates for President. They elect the group (the Electoral College) that actually casts the votes. These people still may vote different from the election results of their state. The system is designed to keep the two parties in power without outside interference. I really don't know how we have survived as long as we have. The system is designed so that the organizers couldn't manage a two car funeral.
All that said, If you don't vote you are not entitled to complain and nobody is obligated to listen. If you want the right to complain then exercise your right to vote.
Much Love,
Valerie R
Electoral College
The U.S. system was set up in a time when lack of communications meant that almost everybody had no idea what was going on around the country and around the world. So instead the voters selected a group of men (people now) they trusted to represent them. Those were usually well to do educated men who were aware of important events. In that time it took lots of travel for those electors to assemble, that's why the Electoral College meets so long after the election.
The system is now sadly outdated and needs to be overhauled, but as you pointed out the parties have a vested interest in preserving the status quo.
For you nonAmericans, each state has a set number of electors, determined by population. This means heavily populated states have a disportionate effect on the selection of the next president. That's why the news talks about the magic number, 270, to win. That's also why the newscasters talk about a candidate needing to win certain states to get a victory. This is why candidates spend most of their time and money on populous states, ignoring the less populated states. If a candidate wins the important states, they can lose the popular vote but win the race.
And just for grins and giggles, each state has their own way of selecting those electors. Some states are winner take all, other states allocate proportionately according to how many votes a candidate receives.
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin
One quibble
Disproportionate means out of proportion. Large states have more electoral votes than small ones due to population, so that is not disproportionate. All states get two extra electoral votes above those for population, so it is the small states that get a disproportionate weight. And this is intentional to keep the big states from being all important in electing the president; it's part of the reason for the complexity of the electoral college system and how the idea of a union was sold to the original small states. It's also, subtly, why California and Texas were not broken up into several states when brought into the Union. (Okay, that gets complicated, they sort of were since half of New Mexico, and parts of Colorado and Oklahoma were part of Texas's claims and California had a claim on Nevada it gave up. Remind me to explain sometime how the Civil War prevented Colorado from having a sea coast.)
Currently, only two states are not winner take all but in both of those, Maine and Nebraska, they give the two extra votes to the winner of the statewide contest. So in Maine with only two districts, you can split 3-1 or 4-0, never 2-2. Nebraska has three districts so the possible splits are 5-0, 4-1 or as a long shot, 3-2. It's unlikely to ever make a difference in an election.
Four of the large states are usually a lock for one party or the other, only one of the five largest is really ever up for grabs: Florida. So that one could be said to have a disproportionate effect on the election.
On the other hand, only one of the very small states is really a swing state: New Hampshire. And it's winner take all with four electoral votes. So New Hampshire is where to live if you want your vote to really count. :) Nevada and Iowa are next in this contest, each has five votes and is also a swing state but harder to swing by a single vote.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
one big point: it's a direct
one big point: it's a direct equivalent to the number of Senators and Representatives that state has in Washington, hence the total being 535 + 3. The smallest number you can have is 3 Congressmen, which is why DC get a default 3 electoral votes like Vermont, Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Alasaka thanks to the 23rd Amendment.
And 2000 says otherwise re: making a difference. It does, as the electoral counts get tight. As a resident of a state that has to endure political ads aimed at New Hampshire residents it is a huge difference. A single state, even a 3-vote state, can mean the difference between one persons winning and losing. It may have mattered what Florida voted for in the end, but New Hampshire's 4 votes could have just as easily gone the other direction and won the other candidate the election.
I'm told STFU more times in a day than most people get told in a lifetime
One quibble - there was no
One quibble - there was no real attempt to make Texas multiple states. Texas sold New Mexico, Colorado, and part of Oklahoma to the US in exchange for the US paying off the Texas war debts. That's it. The Republic of Texas, at that point, was like half the size (or bigger) of the US. Then Texas agreed to join the US as an equal - it's why Texas is the only state that the North didn't (unconstitutionallly) rewrite their state Constitution after the War of Northern Aggression. (I.E. Civil War, which is a stupid term for a war, no matter where it is. )
(If you want to know why I used that term, ask me in a PM. It's an accurate term, no matter how you feel about any issues involved)
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Disproportionate is a POV
That all depends on your POV, Erin. It may look right and proper for those on the East and West coast. But for those of us in the middle of the country it sucks to be the Flyover states. Seldom do we feel we are represented in the political process. While that has changed somewhat, it is still the case that the parties and the people in control are condescending and feel no real need to consider our wants and needs. So under the existing system we are effectively poweless.
A popular vote contest would at least mean that my vote is worth as much as anyone else's. Right now it isn't, and that rankles. There are people here that take satisfaction in throwing a monkey wrench into the works, just to remind the selfappointed elite that we are here. I'm not saying that explains everything about the way we vote, but it is a factor. Example: in many state races the Democrats don't even bother to run an opponent to the Republican candidate since to them it is a given that the Republican candidate will win and any money spent to oppose them is justed wasted. Its a self fulfilling prophesy. One election cycle is not enough, the Democrats will have to commit to a serious effort if they expect to change things.
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin
Then, in one of those races,
Then, in one of those races, RUN FOR OFFICE. An independent, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, whatever - just put yourself up for office against an incumbent that generally runs unopposed.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
my biggest issue with this election!
right now for my congressional district this is not an election it is a farce. There is a single candidate on the Ticket just 1 a republican who i do not agree with at all, No democrat or 3rd party option it is disgraceful. It is the same for my state senate district as well. How can they call this an election when there is only a single option. But there are almost 30 on the presidential ticket option since there are 4 parties and to many write ins on the ticket. but for every state office seat and the big one there are options I guess I need to be greatful for that.
The people on the right which I agreed with many on things of financial policies for a time but the ultra social conservatism I find just plain disgusting has almost broken me. Also the fact that they keep lowering taxes recklessly has me stumped. I miss the financial conservatism that actually work in the past now it is just low or no taxes and big federal government is bad.
I do not understand that way of thinking our country already tried big state little federal government once it failed badly that is why we tossed out the articles of confederation and created the constitution in the first place.
Right now we are on the edge the rich gaining all the power again and everyone else the middle class shrinking and the bottom growing to unsustainable levels. This happened once before at the turn of the previous century and if it had not been for that assassin that killed William McKinley and enabled Theodore Rosevelt to step in we may have ended up as the first country to go communist not Russia, because what Teddy did was to step in see the Rich and try and balance the system out with the rich yes they were still rich but had higher taxes broke up the supper large companies (aka the monopolies) and much more. And I feel we are being pushed right back to that same situation and I have to ask do the people that sway those in power not look at history. They are trying to repeat the same mistakes again I can not understand that.
"Cortana is watching you!"
Then you need to go throw
Then you need to go throw your hat in the ring as an independent at the next election! For most elections, you don't need signatures on petitions - you just fill out the paperwork and go home. "If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve."
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.