I remember around Obama's first term looking up the different political parties in the US and I noticed that the Democrats had way more registered members than the Republicans and that's when I learned about gerrymandering.
They also outright lie. When I registered to vote at 18, I was asked my political party. I selected "independent" because at the time I thought it meant non-affiliated. I later got a mailer in the mail thanking me for joining the Independent Republican Party (whatever the hell that means). I left it alone because I really didn't care that much at that age. When I actually went to vote, I was told by an official that I was not allowed to vote across party lines. I could ONLY vote for the Republican candidate since I was registered as Republican. I chose not to vote instead.
They were likely trying to vote in a primary in this anecdote. You can't vote in a primary for a party you aren't registered with and the ballot is for that party only. For a normal election they don't know who you vote for since it's all the same ballot.
If anyone could vote in any primary, how many republicans do you think will show up to vote for the democrat they think has the worst chances of winning the presidential race?
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u/VolatileUtopian May 26 '23
I remember around Obama's first term looking up the different political parties in the US and I noticed that the Democrats had way more registered members than the Republicans and that's when I learned about gerrymandering.