• empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        4 months ago

        Everyone was also at home/working from home/on flex schedules due to covid in 2020. People had time to vote, they had time to research things and take part in political discourse. Everyone always forgets that little historical tidbit.
        2024 may hit record low voter turnout as the nazi’s ratchet up anti voter laws, removing polling places, and companies keep putting the economic screws on their workers with stagnant pay and forced return-to-office so citizens don’t have time to think about the political process.

        • veroxii@aussie.zone
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          4 months ago

          Can Biden just say fuck it and declare a national holiday? Would that help at all? What about making voting mandatory like we have in Australia? You get a small fine if you don’t vote which is usually enough incentive.

          • empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            4 months ago

            Having a national work holiday would do wonders for voter turnout. Most people in states who are required to vote in person can’t get the time off to visit a poll booth while they’re open.

          • uis@lemm.ee
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            4 months ago

            Another confirmation that Russia is European country.

            Also, US, please fix yet another thing you are worse at than Russia.

            • infeeeee@lemm.ee
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              3 months ago

              Who debated that. Historically, culturally Russia is European. Most of the population of Russia lives on the western side of the Urals.

              But using it as a good example of elections, well… In the US you can choose from 2 candidates. In russia you can select from 1…

          • empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            3 months ago

            Yeah, I’d love voting on a Saturday tbh. There’s still a lot of people working service schedules who wouldn’t be able to, but that could also be fixed by universal vote by mail, or make it two separate days even… really the answer is just to make it a damn mandatory holiday and call it.

        • ⸻ Ban DHMO 🇦🇺 ⸻@aussie.zone
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          4 months ago

          People had time to vote, they had time to research things and take part in political discourse

          Which is precisely why it should be mandatory, otherwise politicians can just go about making life difficult for people to suppress votes. There is no place for political disengagement in a democracy

          • empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            3 months ago

            The problem I have with mandatory voting is, besides the fact that it would require a national holiday and changes to timing that would already drive up voter participation… given current political behavior in the US it’s going to drive a lot of apathy voting to just avoid the consequences that could be more harmful than not.

            I absolutely think every citizen should be voting, but it’s also not really right to just force them to do it- Give them the resources (time off) and the reason to actually do it, and we’ll have turnout of 70%+.

            • ⸻ Ban DHMO 🇦🇺 ⸻@aussie.zone
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              3 months ago

              we’ll have turnout of 70%+

              That’s not good enough. Are you afraid of people having their opinions be heard? Without 100% participation you do not have democracy. Voting should be done on the weekend or on a public holiday or held over the course of a week or two. If people don’t want to vote they are most welcome to move to Russia. American democracy is hanging on by a thread anyway. If Harris wins January 6th might happen again and the MAGAs will know what they’re doing this time. If Trump wins he’ll abuse his power and set back international relations (I would like him to tear up the AUKUS “deal” because it sucks for Australia). And with the assassination attempt against Trump we might have the crazies from the other side take matters into their own hands.

              Both sides think America is over if the other guy wins. I’m lucky I don’t have to deal with this shit in my country (though we are certainly on that path)

      • Ech@lemm.ee
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        4 months ago

        2020 was the highest US voter turnout in over 100 years (percentage wise), and it was still atrocious. Also worth noting, trump got the second most votes of any presidential nominee in US history, thankfully beat by Biden, but it’s not like all of the new voters were purely against trump.

    • Norah - She/They@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      3 months ago

      I think the most interesting thing about these two maps, is that Georgia kind of proves the people wrong who don’t vote “because it wouldn’t make a difference in my state”.