Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

General Discussion

Showing Original Post only (View all)

Montauk6

(9,166 posts)
Sat Jan 30, 2021, 12:50 PM Jan 2021

So, at the end of the day, when the smoke clears, what happens with the vote? [View all]

Do we go back to ONLY the first Tuesday in November IN PERSON or mail-in to a restricted group? I shudder at the thought.

Anyone else thought that the mechanism this time around (potpourri of mail-in, early and in-person voting) was brilliant? Or, better still, anyone else wondered why the hell this wasn't in place since day one?

One of the doubts thrown out there was that Biden got more votes than HRC or Obama ('how is that even possible???' they asked). Well, it seemed simple to me and I'm definitely no political expert; the introduction of never-before options maybe drew a ton more voters than the traditional Tuesday-only scenario.

I'll NEVER let it go that 100 MILLION voters chose not to participate in the 2016 race; which one could cynically muse that "None of the Above" landslid the popular vote. That will ALWAYS be a pebble in my shoe. Were it not for the pandemic, I'd probably be as cheesed off that 80 million eligibles did not participate. But 20 million increase in the turnout is nothing to sneeze at either.

But if we go back to the old style of voting, what will the numbers look like then? One thing's for sure, I've never heard a conservative say things like, "Voting is useless," or "Your vote doesn't really count," or the snarky "Don't vote, it only encourages them." I've never seen freepers doing "Get Out The Vote" campaign. Yet, I do suspect they will be working hard (just as they do with other vote suppression measures) on a campaign to go back to the old system of inconvenience. They gei it: they know damn well they thrive and survive when people stay home (because it's usually not THEIR people).

Higher voter turnout got us our first Black president, the Squad, and the first female vice-president; we CAN'T go back! Voting should be as easy as it was this time around, pandemic or not.

Just a couple cents of thought.

10 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»So, at the end of the day...