This is why we should stop letting states decide how their votes are counted and sent in, because they cheat for their own teams. The feds should go to every god damn state and count the votes without those states being allow to fuck with it, states themselves are commiting election fraud openly without consequence.
Unfortunately it would basically take a Constitutional amendment, as Article 2 Section 1 says “Each state shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct….” which basically means states get to decide how they run their own elections. That’s why it took the Fifteenth and Nineteenth amendments to give protections based on race and gender. And considering Congress can’t even pass a budget, there’s no way any amendments are getting passed any time soon.
That’s not exactly true. A big reason why this happened is SCOTUS gutted the Voting Rights Act in Holder vs Shelby County.
The new ruling eliminated the requirement for certain states — those with a history of racism — to obtain permission from independent federal committees before implementing any changes to their States voting rules.
Since that ruling in 2013, Republican legislatures have proposed and passed thousands of laws that gut voting rights, specifically targeting minorities and democratic strongholds.
Limitations to mail in voting, cutting early voting, closing thousands of polling stations, cutting same day voter registration, prohibiting black church voter drives, passing restrictive voter ID laws, creating ever-changing arbitrary rules on how and when people cast their ballot and dozens and dozens more.
This is the consequence of the Bush v Gore election with Nader splitting the left vote. Bush put Roberts and Alito on SCOTUS and Holder v Shelby passed with a 5-4 vote.
Yet another reason why it was so fucking agonizing hearing so many people casting “protest votes” in the 2016 election knowing a SC judge was already on the line.
We could have had a liberal Supreme Court for the first time in over 75 years and we threw it away for nothing.
Democracy doesn’t collapse in a day. It takes decades. People need to stop thinking so short-term when voting for president. It’s a shitty feeling when your preferred candidate doesn’t win the primary, but that doesn’t mean it’s all for nothing. Right now who you’re keeping out is more important than who gets elected and in the long run your vote still helps protect democracy.
Presidents are important for judges, SCOTUS and veto-power. That’s literally it. All you have to do is ask yourself which candidate you’d prefer nominating a lifetime Supreme Court position. These rulings affect generations of Americans — not just the four years that President is in office.
If you live in a swing state make sure you are registered to vote and cast your ballot. Vote early. Research absentee ballots. And ffs vote in the midterms and any other Congressional election. The Presidency is severely limited if congress is gridlocked and can’t get anything passed.
Looking back — history will judge these two specific elections as major contributors to the downfall of democracy simply because of the SCOTUS appointments.
But we can still fight for democracy. The youth vote can single-handedly crush fascism at the ballot box — all we have to do is vote. It doesn’t matter if you think the candidate isn’t going to win — voter apathy is the tool of fascists.
Many important elections have come down to just a few hundred votes and not all of them get national media coverage. Citizens need to be proactive and vote by default. The youth vote made a huge difference in the last midterms and only 27% of people under 30 participated. Think about how much progressive legislation we could pass if we get those numbers up to the senior participation rate — which is 75%.
It’s all within reach. Don’t give up and don’t listen to anyone saying “democracy is dead” or that voting “doesn’t work”. They’re wrong.
Thisnis supposed to be a democracy, but the will of the people is not being upheld by the cheats, liars, schemers, and crooks in government.
We need to band together as the people we are and make those liars and cheats answer for their collective fucking treasons. A couple thousands political assholes and their several thousand rich friends are fucking over 300 million people. The American people need to remember where the power really is.
Well remember, at least 75 million of those people are a lost cause. Also there's no time off to protest or take any action because you're living paycheck to paycheck. Lose your job, you lose your livelihood, and likely your health insurance as well. Even if all those stars do align, you go to the protest and it's just standing around waving witty signs for a half hour before going back home. Something that the ruling class can chuckle at and ignore because it does not endanger their power in any way.
Of course, it's understandable why it wouldn't be anything other than that. Because the moment a hand is raised, you get attacked by a police force frothing at the mouth to murder people along with all of their right-wing militia friends doing the same. Then, even if you did manage to keep your job and such, you get the shit kicked out of you by the cops and militias, resulting in you going bankrupt from medical expenses. And if you were severely injured by the cops and their buddies and couldn't go back to work? Well, say goodbye to your job, livelihood, and insurance!
Assuming you weren't arrested and simply fined more money you don't have, you limp home and turn on the TV before your electricity is shut off, and you see the mass media talking about how a violent and destructive riot of extremists was heroically foiled by noble patriots and our underfunded barebones police force. The Republicans go on TV and screech about how you're all dangerous radicals who need to be imprisoned or exterminated, and the democrat leadership tut tuts at you for using such violent methods instead of voting for them. Even though you have been your entire life and nothing has changed.
I'm not trying to be a Doomer or discourage any form of civil disobedience since that's how things get done. I'm just trying to paint a picture of the very bleak situation we find ourselves in.
Basically if people want things to truly change for the better, they'd better be prepared to risk just about everything for it. And as dismal as things are, I think most people don't want to risk their meager comforts. And I can't say I blame them. Comforts are what make life worth living, small as they might be.
I agree wholeheartedly. But at the same time, it's easy to say that now. Much harder to keep saying it when faced with a group of state-sponsored thugs who can maim and kill with impunity.
Were dying every day to these thugs anyway. A lot of people don't even think life is worth living under this oppressive regime.
People who work 40 hours a week to sleep Ina. Gutter
People who are ten of thousands of dollars in debt from medical emergencies
People who can't afford live saving medications
We are hitting a turning point where the violence of oppression is nearing the actual violence of ...well, violence
"The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators."
Basically congress can outlaw such behavior without an ammendment, but they never have or never were willing to do so.
Article 1 is for the Legislative Branch, the OP is specifically talking about the Electoral College which is covered by Article 2 for the Executive Branch. You are correct that for senators and representatives Congress can pass a regular law, because they are regulating themself. They cannot do so in regards to regulating the Executive Branch, requiring a Constitutional amendment for that is part of the system of checks and balances at the heart of how our federal government is structured.
What do you think electoral districts are? They are the same districts as the congressional ones. Also, remember congressional and presidential elections are held at the same time.
That is done for convenience, it is not a federal requirement that the same ballot be used to vote for both the president and congress or that the same districts are used. The only requirement is that the state sends the same number of electors as they have members of congress, how they decide that is up to them. It would be wildly impractical to hold two simultaneous elections with different district maps, but there’s nothing legally stopping them from doing so if they wanted to.
Actually the federal congress gets to decide when the presidential elections are held, so they would have to separate them on purpose. States cannot change that, thus as it is currently illegal attempting to discriminate against certain peoples in a congressional election it could be unconstitutional. If the federal government separated the two out then yes, they might be able to discriminate.
And any laws congress makes regarding congressional elec5ions also have to be followed.
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u/WatchItAllBurn1 May 26 '23
There is also a chance that in bush' second election that there were some genuine problems
54% of votes discarded in Florida were African americans
in the same election, Ohio made it harder and less accessible for African Americans and poor communities to vote too.
While these were ultimately rejected by the republican congress at the time. It does not change the fact that Bush only won the popular vote by 0.7%.