Ted Rall for January 05, 2024

Dismantle the outdated electoral college.

Stop the gerrymandering and voter suppression.

Well I wonder who would lead us if none of us would vote (Larry Norman)

Could ranked choice voting make a difference? It seemed to work well in Alaska for the House race but some in NYC say it gave the mayor’s seat to a right-wing tool of the establishment. I guess it depends on who is on the ballot and both big parties make a concerted effort to block the Greens and DSA (the democrats) and libertarians (repubbas) so often the best choice may not be on your ballot thanks to establishment power brokers. This would be a great statistical analysis study if one was given nonbiased data to crunch.

I think the main issue is the Electoral College. But another point of view is simply that Rall is playing with the statistics. When the country is divided almost equally, then states where swing voters are found DO decide the election. And when the country leans strongly one way or the other, it doesn’t really matter.

You have the right not to vote, but if you exercise that right you automatically give up the right to complain about the results.

To quote David Pacman : every democrats vote is a vote against nullifying a vote against heinous maga trumpist

Every vote important the fact you are trying to disenfranchise voters and downplaying votes is just proof that you want trump to win and bring down america your homeland

How about stop trying to demoralize the people who grow your food?

Just remove your opponent’s name from the ballot, easy peasy!

Because we don’t know WHICH 400,000

Church? Is this a hint that elections should be on Sundays?

The good news is that in most places you’re free to vote for whatever candidate represents your views (i.e. nonrepublicratic) without affecting the outcome. Where I live, it’s always safe to vote for whoever one wants, secure in the knowledge that all the state’s electoral votes will always go to the republican by an overwhelming majority no matter what anyone does. The only exceptions in over 60 years have been the two times when one of the republicratic candidates was southern.

No, this is a misunderstanding of the state of affairs, and an oversimplification propagated by the media. If people do not turn out to provide the “reliable” votes, the other guy wins by default. If #45 told his voters to stay home, he would lose. We’ve had enough states switch columns in the past few years to make it clear.

One reason the Republicans win in national elections – even if not at local ones when not gerrymandered – is because their fanatics turn out, since they see this as a war.

As soon as Democrats figure out how many phony votes are needed to carry key precincts, you’ll know who wins the election.

Not to worry, trump will make elections redundant. Gonna go straight by polls.. winner take all.

Yet another lame attempt to hinder and minimize the vote. They spend $billions to get your vote, regardless what state you vote in. Why? Because every vote counts. The only ones who attempt to achieve a low voter turnout are those who oppose our democratic-republic, our constitution and the U.S.A.

I live in DC, where we have the Presidential vote, the vote for our state officials, and a delegate (and two shadow Senators) who can introduce legislation and serve on committees, but can’t vote in the main bodies of Congress. I am a believer in voting, nonetheless. And I have done get out the vote work in neighboring Virginia. I would love to see Congress grant Statehood for DC (or at least full representation in Congress), get rid of the electoral college, and revive the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and to eliminate gerrymandering. But until that wish list comes to pass, I believe that voting is something we should do regardless. John Quincy Adams once wrote, “Always vote for a principle, though you vote alone. And you may rest in the sweet knowledge that your vote is never wasted”.

“The only thing that separates us from the animals are mindless superstition and pointless ritual.”

Latka Gravas (Andy” Kaufman) in “Taxi”

Voting in Washington state has become a joke since they went to all “mail out” voting. They just collect votes for weeks until they get the outcome they want.

Votes are “found” in the trucks of cars and “forgotten” drop boxes.

The technology exists. Go for a straight 52% majority of votes for all elected positions. Also, make gerrymandering a subcategory of Treason.

Rall, lazily forgetting that ballots have more other candidates for voters than just President. Forgetting hat the President is 1/3 of our federal government. Forgetting that state-level offices hold tremendous sway over the day-to-day live of citizens. Who pays you work so hard to suppress voting? Or is it just spite?

Actually, there is not such thing as a safe state. It’s important for everyone to vote. It’s more important than ever, that everyone vote Democratic up and down the ticket. It’s the only way the USA can survive as a country for the free and brave.

The Evangelical Christian church with its Prosperity Gospel has actually had an impact.

There was a science fiction story ages ago – I can’t remember the name, perhaps someone else will – in which the runup to each election was spent finding the one prospective voter who embodied the thoughts and choices of all other voters, so his/her vote would produce the same outcome as if all other voters voted, thus saving tons of money.

It is imperative, for America to be on the path to respectability, for the voting public to be informed by influencers that voting is nothing but an empty ritual, and that each individual is better off not even showing up at the polls.

What could possibly go wrong by convincing the US public that voting is senseless?

There is an enormous illiberal, anti-democracy movement all across the planet right now. It began in earnest in a few former dictatorships a little over twenty years ago, has been joined by heads of state in increasing numbers, and the numbers of citizens in each country who support these leaders and this movement grows annually.

Autocrats, supported with intensity (and nearly unlimited operational funds) by plutocrats, seek to impose dictatorial government everywhere, including the United States.

Stay home. Don’t vote. Don’t participate. This is the mantra pushed by illiberal supporters of dictatorships.

F*ck anybody who thinks this notion has one single iota of merit.

National popular vote elections now!

This is a very deceptive perspective. It’s not like some Americans are more privileged at the ballot box than others. One person, one vote.

Because of the Electoral College, states that are strongly made up of voters from one party or another are a given in the race. But that’s what those voters decided for themselves, one person at a time.

As for the “400,000” comment, it’s only sort of true because we’re a nearly evenly divided country theses days. Presidential races tended to go strongly to one or the other candidate. Since ‘64, you’ve only seen a couple of close races (2000, 2016). But now it’s the norm. So, it’s actually 150 million people who will decide which person will be president. By a slim margin.

Sadly, this is caused by the very un-democratic Electoral College. Without that, our political landscape would be quite different. Candidates would have to campaign everywhere for every vote. Even voters in heavily Red or Blue states would have to be courted. It would moderate the candidates’ stances. Bi-partisanship would rise. And Republicans just might not ever win the presidency again. (They’ve only won the popular vote once since 1988—and that one was a squeaker brought about by 9/11.)

But we don’t live in that world. We live in this one. Thus, a race that shouldn’t even be close will be a squeaker. But no, 400K people won’t decide this. We all will. Because this is all we have.

Voting is the responsiblity of participating in a free democracy, but that’s just to hard for some of us.

Don’t worry, Ted. My vote for Biden will cancel out your vote for RFK Jr.