Mega-Thread: 2020 United States General Election

[beanman12345]

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WIngnuts asking their own voters to burn absentee ballots...

A GOP activist is hosting an "operation incinerator" event tonight in Grand Rapids, encouraging folks to burn their absentee ballot *applications* in apparent protest of SOS Benson's move to mail them to all. There will apparently be a "Dumpster of Liberty Lighting Ceremony."

Moar plz!

GOP suppressing their own voters? ok

[PACOX]

GOP suppressing their own voters? ok

No, it's part of their grand strategy to make absentee ballots are as luxury, disenfranchising left leaning voters.

Their base doesn't believe in CV19 and will vote rain or shine. It's left wing voters who (this is not a diss) who who will opt for absentee ballots instead of waiting in long lines, getting sick, etc.

I caught hell when I said Blue states should be ashamed of themselves for not making absentee voting easier when primaries were peaking. Was told I was just being a salty Bernie Bro.

[Edge-]

I caught hell when I said Blue states should be ashamed of themselves for not making absentee voting easier when primaries were peaking. Was told I was just being a salty Bernie Bro.

By who? Because even with all the disagreements between the Biden and Sanders camps, I haven't seen anyone on "team blue" pushing against vote-by-mail in these forums. They pushed back on allegations that Democrats were intentionally suppressing the vote for Sanders that popped up, but that's all I can ever remember. "Team blue" seems to be consistently unified behind increasing access to voting, including vote-by-mail as a default option for people without needing specific "exceptions".

[beanman12345]

No, it's part of their grand strategy to make absentee ballots are as luxury, disenfranchising left leaning voters.

Their base doesn't believe in CV19 and will vote rain or shine. It's left wing voters who (this is not a diss) who who will opt for absentee ballots instead of waiting in long lines, getting sick, etc.

I caught hell when I said Blue states should be ashamed of themselves for not making absentee voting easier when primaries were peaking. Was told I was just being a salty Bernie Bro.

I don't agree with this. Although this particular election is a bit special with covid, overall, absentee and mail in is mostly done by older voters who have mobility issues to get to the voting places. You know the FOX viewers. Not all older vote republican but it does skew that way, which is why the whole vote by mail thing by trump is a bit rediculous, because it runs counter to his own interests of being re-elected.

[PACOX]

By who? Because even with all the disagreements between the Biden and Sanders camps, I haven't seen anyone on "team blue" pushing against vote-by-mail in these forums. They pushed back on allegations that Democrats were intentionally suppressing the vote for Sanders that popped up, but that's all I can ever remember. "Team blue" seems to be consistently unified behind increasing access to voting, including vote-by-mail as a default option for people without needing specific "exceptions".

I didn't say (or mean) anyone blue is against it. I meant that it's taken for granted or not secure in a lot of places.

Being for absentee ballots versus actually securing and facilitating it are two different things. We have seen numerous instances of two little too late this year with the same 'well let's just hope the GOP does not block mail-ins this fall".

People are worried that Trump and the GOP will some how cancel or limit access to the polls. The way around that is to protect mail-ins now. Not the last so they can say' well we don't have the man power to process all the ballots or 'well damn, you should have registered absentee 9 months ago" in the event they limit poll access due to' unforseen circumstances '.

Remember in Wisconsin when people wanted to push back the primary due to CV19 and the GOP stopped it? It's in the GOP playbook to say' You guys were right in March so we're going to scale the election.' Unapologetic bold faced hypocrisy, whatever it takes to limit voting.

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I don't agree with this. Although this particular election is a bit special with covid, overall, absentee and mail in is mostly done by older voters who have mobility issues to get to the voting places. You know the FOX viewers. Not all older vote republican but it does skew that way, which is why the whole vote by mail thing by trump is a bit rediculous, because it runs counter to his own interests of being re-elected.

No idea where you are getting your stats from since that kind of data is rarely recorded. Older people are more likely to vote with or without mail-in.

What is known that younger demographics can straight be denied the right to mail-in

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/...e-ballots.html

[beanman12345]

No idea where you are getting your stats from since that kind of data is rarely recorded. Older people are more likely to vote with or without mail-in.

What is known that younger demographics can straight be denied the right to mail-in

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/...e-ballots.html

Here is some interesting statistics.

https://electionupdates.caltech.edu/...oting-by-mail/

Unless I'm reading that wrong, 65+ are in the majority of mail in voting. Although there is correlation between this and younger demographics being denied the right as your link describes if there are no excuses.

[PACOX]

Here is some interesting statistics.

https://electionupdates.caltech.edu/...oting-by-mail/

Unless I'm reading that wrong, 65+ are in the majority of mail in voting. Although there is correlation between this and younger demographics being denied the right as your link describes if there are no excuses.

(Not going after you because people think I am sometimes)

Note the key takeaways

Here are the take-aways:

There is very little demographic difference in the use of mail ballots.

The one exception is related to age, where voters older than 65 are more likely to use them than younger voters. (Note that some states, even those that generally require an excuse to vote absentee, allow older voters to vote by mail without an excuse.)

The lack of a major difference between demographic groups is contrary to some claims I have been hearing (and some I believed myself before running the numbers).
Contrary to the claims of some, African Americans appear to be slightly more supportive of vote-by-mail reforms than whites.

Despite being the demographic most likely to take advantage of voting by mail, the age group most in opposition to expanded voting by mail are those 65 and older. The relationship is strongest in non-vote-by-mail states.

Voters in vote-by-mail states who return their mail ballots in person are more confident their votes were counted than those who mailed them back.

Mail voters in vote-by-mail states are more confident their vote was counted as cast than mail voters in other states.
There is still a substantial fraction of voters in vote-by-mail states that believe that all elections should not be held by mail.

Republicans and older people support mail-in voting less than younger and Democratic voters. Chances with them accepting a rollback of mail-in votes especially when advantageous is high.


Dem support needs to be higher.

I emphasize the bold when talking to friends because they can take away polling places. Your boss you try to keep you busy on election day. Life might get in the way. Mailing/handing in your ballot defeats all of that.

Republicans rely a lot less on mail-ins and gain more when they stifle it.

[beanman12345]

Republicans rely a lot less on mail-ins and gain more when they stifle it.

This might be true in certain areas, but it is 100% definitely not true across the board. There are several states where the GOP that actively rely and prop up mail in voting to great success for their parties, like Arizona, Florida, and certain areas of Wisconsin for example. I saw several articles but found one that isn't a paywall.


https://www.theatlantic.com/politics...lorida/612625/

Take Arizona, where polls show Trump trailing former Vice President Joe Biden after he carried the state narrowly in 2016. Republicans pioneered Arizona’s mail-in balloting system, which now accounts for about 80 percent of the state’s vote. “It’s been remarkably successful,” Chuck Coughlin, a longtime GOP operative and a onetime aide to the late Senator John McCain, told me. “There’s been minimal to no fraud for a long period of time.”

Republicans say the same in Florida, the quadrennial swing state where voting by mail has become more and more popular in recent years, especially with older GOP voters. (One of the older GOP voters who uses the system is Trump himself.) “Yes, Florida Republicans over the last two decades have dominated absentees,” Joe Gruters, the state’s party chairman, told me.

In rural America, there’s a bigger risk to Trump’s attacks on mail balloting than merely annoying Republican officials. “Trump’s rhetoric may inadvertently be suppressing Republican votes,” Michael McDonald, an elections expert at the University of Florida, told me. A reluctance among GOP voters to use the system could lead to longer lines at polling sites, which in turn could discourage voter turnout in places where Trump is stronger, especially if the pandemic remains a factor in November, he explained.

I'm 100% for easy and accessible mail in voting, across the board, every county and every state. But if Trump wants to shoot himself in the foot, by suppressing his own supporters, I'm not gonna stop him. Trump wants to lose Arizona, and Florida, where a lot of seniors live, let's see how that works out for him.

[PACOX]

[QUOTE=beanman12345;52420458]This might be true in certain areas, but it is 100% definitely not true across the board. There are several states where the GOP that actively rely and prop up mail in voting to great success for their parties, like Arizona, Florida, and certain areas of Wisconsin for example. I saw several articles but found one that isn't a paywall.


https://www.theatlantic.com/politics...lorida/612625/

Trump can't touch mail-in voting in either of those states because it's well established and relatively easy in both. He can certainly cause chaos in states with weaker/untested voting laws. Florida is too purple for too many shenanigans to take root and I don't believe Arizona is red/polarizing enough. Could be wrong.

Also I don't know about Arizona and not at my desk right now but in Florida both parties utilize at about the same rate.
Dems cant be counted on to get their ballots turned in - if they aren't going to a poll they are less likely to bother. Floridaman is weird like that. And unfortunately Democrats vote with a handicap. Left leaning people are less likely to vote no matter what voting vector you use. On paper, a Republican candidate could take the bet and signal people because the stats would still be in their favor - they can afford to tell some of their people to stay home because even more left leaning voters will stay home - in theory using past statistics.

Back to the original thought. People on the Left, Dems and NPAs (Independents) need to be proactive when it comes to voting this cycle, especially when it comes to mail-ins. Assume elections in your state will try to pull something, don't take unwritten rules and 'good faith' practices to fly.

If you need a stamp on you ballot, buy a book of them.

Can you hand deliver you ballot at a precinct or post office? Do it BEFORE deadlines.

Register and periodically check your registration. Guaranteed at least a few states will say their registration process needs 'maintenance' or is 'overwhelmed' as deadlines approach.

Review your states laws. Even states that don't require and 'excuse' to mail-in might have rules in place that allow them to deny or delay the processing of mailed ballots.

This site is amazing:

https://www.ncsl.org/research/electi...ly-voting.aspx

[beanman12345]

I'm not talking about Trump affecting voting laws. He has no power to do that anywhere anyways.

btw I do agree with you on everything else you are saying.

[Omega10]

Another glimmer of hope that we might have a landslide against Trump:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/elect...an/ar-BB15oFir

Title: Trump’s Actions Rattle the Military World: ‘I Can’t Support the Man’

The gist of the article is: 60% of vets voted for Trump in 2016. There is a good chance he'll get significantly less than that in 2020.

This is one of many excerpts:

Erin Fangmann grew up in a military family, has been married to a captain in the Air Force for 18 years and has voted Republican all her life, including for Donald J. Trump. But as with a number of other veterans, troops and military family members who have watched the president with alarm, her support has evaporated. Erin Fangmann, whose husband is in the Air Force, said that she had voted Republican all her life, but that President Trump had “hurt the military.”

“He has hurt the military,” said Ms. Fangmann, who lives in Arizona, one of several states in play this November with a high percentage of veterans and active-duty service members. “Bringing in active-duty members to the streets was a test to desensitize people to his future use of the military for his personal benefit. I think the silent majority among us is going to swing away.”

Many other examples are included, some of them quite poignant.

And, Corporate America continues its active and vocal support for Black Lives Matter.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/band-aid-...181411452.html

Title: Band-Aid recognizes diverse skin with more inclusive bandages

Excerpt:

Band-Aid is making a change to its bandages that it hopes will resonate with consumers.

The brand revealed in an Instagram post this week it is coming out with a new line of black and brown bandages in the wake of protests over racial equality that have sprung up nationwide after the death of George Floyd.

If veterans flip away from Trump, and if enough of Corporate America works hard against him, as it is starting to do already in a big way, then a landslide against Trump is very much a possibility.

But never let your guard down in this election. It will be brutal.

[Healing Rain]

If the unthinkable happens and Biden is elected I'd want the Republicans to regain the House and gain a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

My dream scenario: President Trump is re-elected and the Republicans gain super-majorities in Congress.

[Felya]

If the unthinkable happens and Biden is elected I'd want the Republicans to regain the House and gain a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

My dream scenario: President Trump is re-elected and the Republicans gain super-majorities in Congress.

We all know you are a huge Biden supporter and these posts are here to energize Biden’s base... I’m on to you...

[D Luniz]

If the unthinkable happens and Biden is elected I'd want the Republicans to regain the House and gain a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

My dream scenario: President Trump is re-elected and the Republicans gain super-majorities in Congress.

odd flex, but you do you

[PACOX]

I'm not talking about Trump affecting voting laws. He has no power to do that anywhere anyways.

btw I do agree with you on everything else you are saying.

When I say Trump I mean him (or the WH) coordinating with state officials or state officials acting independently in Trump (or the GOPs) favor.

Trump can't tell Wisconsin to force people people to risking catching CV19 to vote. He can make a phone call and make some recommendations.

[Kokolums]

Not sure where you'd get that from other than your apparent obsession with a second US civil war.

I'm fascinated at your thought process. We have civil unrest across the nation and you think its silly to talk civil war? What would it take to make you think civil war is a real threat? You reaction comes across as someone who is terrified of the implications, and the only way you know how to deal with is it bury your head in the sand and pretend its not happening. ITS HAPPENING. We're already in it. There's no going back.

The BLM marches and CHAZ will go down in history as the first stages of the civil war.

All its gonna take now is a few Trump rallies and speeches and Trump sending the military into Seattle to make it obvious. The war is ON buddy. Wake up.
[Infraction]

[Thepersona]

If the unthinkable happens and Biden is elected I'd want the Republicans to regain the House and gain a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

My dream scenario: President Trump is re-elected and the Republicans gain super-majorities in Congress.

This goes to everyone else who responds to this poster, in any other thread. Dont do it. This is a drive by/fire and forget shitposter, that writes something outrageous and never comes back to defend said post.
Do not bother.

[PC2]

I'm fascinated at your thought process. We have civil unrest across the nation and you think its silly to talk civil war? What would it take to make you think civil war is a real threat? You reaction comes across as someone who is terrified of the implications, and the only way you know how to deal with is it bury your head in the sand and pretend its not happening. ITS HAPPENING. We're already in it. There's no going back.

The BLM marches and CHAZ will go down in history as the first stages of the civil war.

All its gonna take now is a few Trump rallies and speeches and Trump sending the military into Seattle to make it obvious. The war is ON buddy. Wake up.

Civil war is nonsense but technically the optics of all this shenanigans is playing into your narrative. At some point CHAZ will have to be taken back and hopefully there is minimal deaths and backlash. :S

[Zan15]

I'm fascinated at your thought process. We have civil unrest across the nation and you think its silly to talk civil war? What would it take to make you think civil war is a real threat? You reaction comes across as someone who is terrified of the implications, and the only way you know how to deal with is it bury your head in the sand and pretend its not happening. ITS HAPPENING. We're already in it. There's no going back.

The BLM marches and CHAZ will go down in history as the first stages of the civil war.

All its gonna take now is a few Trump rallies and speeches and Trump sending the military into Seattle to make it obvious. The war is ON buddy. Wake up.

damn someone forgets things like the 60s-70-80s and 90s....
want to talk about real social unrest....you should read some history.

[Elegiac]

I'm fascinated at your thought process. We have civil unrest across the nation and you think its silly to talk civil war?

Yes, because the "civil unrest" is now limited to large, peaceful demonstrations now that the police have stopped actively trying to start riots for the most part.

Get out of your conservative media bubble, sweetheart. I live in Seattle; it's fucking Woodstock, not Mad Max.