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Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

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Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#151

Post by cloudjacker »

burkaman wrote: post #132
cloudjacker wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, a representative sample votes. A shift in the demographics of voters influences change.

Do you know of any evidence that a representative sample votes? Even if that's true, I think 100% voting is a worthwhile goal, because it removes any doubt. If voting is already perfectly representative, then nobody should have a problem with this initiative, because it would change nothing.

It is a waste of energy. Yes it is quaint that people actually fought for this right, now logically, you should realize this is unnecessary duplication of efforts, and you have suggested that there should be no problem increasing that unnecessary duplication of effort.

Some people, and their entities, are more influential than others and will always be. The popular vote has limited utility.

This observation has nothing to do with alternative forms of governance. This observation is simply that here and now, there are better rules you can play by than even caring about the popular vote one bit.

Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#152

Post by igorgue »

pixelatedindex wrote: post #144
igorgue wrote: post #114

I have a theory that since that the USA doesn't make election day a federal holiday is one of the major factors the working class of america is not voting, usually it takes too long to vote, and it's not paid for employees, especially blue collar ones. I wonder what are your thoughts about it, and how can it happen in America? I've seen every single proposal be rejected in congress.

I am inclined to agree. During election days, I struggled to get time off from my retail job to go vote. If young people are encouraged to vote, they should not be financially penalized for doing so. Also, you have to go to a polling place next to your neighborhood. Most of the time work is not anywhere close to just take off during lunch and get the vote out. It almost ends up being a hassle. Sundays would be better…

Yes, it's very much bs, also take a look at the way districts are laid out in America for congressional and presidential races...

It's just A LOT OF THINGS are a little fucked up with our voting system and the combination of ALL OF THEM makes it a HUGE MESS!

Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#153

Post by koolba »

cpeterso wrote: post #122
igorgue wrote: post #114

I have a theory that since that the USA doesn't make election day a federal holiday is one of the major factors the working class of america is not voting, usually it takes too long to vote, and it's not paid for employees, especially blue collar ones. I wonder what are your thoughts about it, and how can it happen in America? I've seen every single proposal be rejected in congress.

You don't need the day off if you vote by mail.

> You don't need the day off if you vote by mail.

Many (most?) states don't allow voting by mail or absentee ballots without a bonafide reason. "I'm busy that Tuesday" doesn't cut it.

Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#154

Post by fotbr »

debracleaver wrote: post #15
redthrowaway wrote: post #12

Not to sound elitist, but is that really a good thing? What sorts of people are going to be simultaneously not motivated to vote, and good at picking the best candidate?

very few non-voters are unmotivated to vote. voters are far more likely to not cast ballots because voting is too hard.

I refuse to participate in a process I know from personal experience to be corrupt at the local level. When the people responsible for investigating are the same people responsible for the illegal acts and the state and federal agencies tasked with enforcement won't even take the complaint -- well, there's nothing that's going to convince me that there is any hope for this county's process.

In 2004, our ballots had the presidential candidates as the first item. I personally witnessed ballots being sorted at the polling location and placed in different boxes based on that first item. The boxes were identifiable as to which was which ("GWB","JK" and "AO" - all others), placed into the back of a sheriff's car, and driven to the election board's office. The "GWB" box remained in the back seat of the car while the "JK" and "AO" boxes were taken in to the office to be counted. Since I wasn't blessed as an "official" observer, I was not allowed inside. The "GWB" box was never counted, driven back to the Sheriff's office, and was discarded in their dumpster, locked and unopened. Anyone in that particular batch who voted for GWB had their votes, not just for president, but for congressional office and local issues, thrown out. Every single official -- county, state, and fed -- I tried to report the issue to responded with some variation of "mistakes happen, it's not an issue we're going to look into". Party officials didn't care -- D's votes got counted, R's didn't care because the D's had solidly carried that county for decades and more-or-less written the county off, and no one else had the manpower to do anything about it. My vote (in the AO category that time around) was counted, or at least made it inside to be counted, but it still bothers me that things are so corrupt that there isn't even an attempt to hide the corruption.

Fix the absolutely blatant corruption, and I might, possibly, be motivated to vote. I don't mean charging people with little misdemeanors and letting them plead out to fines. I want to see felony charges and jail time for those participating, furthering, and knowingly benefiting from the systemic abuse of our election processes.

Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#155

Post by rjbwork »

igorgue wrote: post #131
izacus wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm, here the elections are on sundays because of that. USA votes on workdays?

That's EXACTLY my point, I'm from the "third world" and our election is on a Sunday and Monday is off for everyone, elections are a celebration, it should be a very important moment to everyone, enough to get so drunk the day after :-). It's so confusing living in the USA and looking at so much justified apathy for the political environment. What people here would never understand (and this is due being mostly white…

>I work at a startup and nobody went to vote, everyone has work to do.

Indeed, everyone has work to do. It does not absolve us of our civic responsibility. I don't live in California, but would be surprised for anyone at a startup here in Atlanta to have significant problems taking a couple hours out of their day to go vote were they to want to. Apathy is a definite problem however.

Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#156

Post by baron816 »

The biggest reason people in the US don't vote is because they don't have enough options so they never get to choose people they really care about. Plus, no individual vote matters. This all has to do with our winner-take-all elections. Countries with proportional representation have much higher voter turnout rates (often in the 80-90% range). That's because you get to vote for the person or party you want, and they'll at least still get a seat in government even if they're just in the opposition. But you still have an incentive to get out and vote and make their position stronger. There are no lost causes or strategic voting.

Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#157

Post by sayhar »

debracleaver wrote: post #2

Hey everyone. Debra Cleaver here, founder of Vote.org. I am ready to answer all of your questions about voting in the US, as long as they are non-partisan. Partisan questions should be directed to your local political party. I'm especially keen to talk about ways we can use technology to modernize the election process. My current focus is how we can use electronic signatures to roll out online voter registration in s…

Debra -- you're awesome. Thanks for doing this. (And congrats on getting into YC!?)

Question for you -- you famously have run the predecessor organization to Vote.org on a shoestring budget. Do you have tips on how to interact with "software volunteers" who want to help on civic projects like this?

Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#158

Post by lotharbot »

koolba wrote: post #153
cpeterso wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't need the day off if you vote by mail.

> You don't need the day off if you vote by mail. Many (most?) states don't allow voting by mail or absentee ballots without a bonafide reason. " I'm busy that Tuesday " doesn't cut it.

34 states + DC allow no-excuse early voting or absentee voting: http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/absente...

I live in one of the three states that mails every voter a ballot, which can either be dropped off or mailed in.

If your state doesn't allow this, it's a simple reform you can push for. Write your representative.

Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#159

Post by kej »

igorgue wrote: post #145
nommm-nommm wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How would making election day a federal holiday increase voter turnout among anyone not working for the federal government. Plenty of federal holidays are working days for my company.

And plenty aren't... Many companies actually respect that every single company I worked at in the 10 years I've lived in America respected Christmas and New Year Day for example. I don't get your point, your situation is not the same as everyone else.

His point is that being a federal holiday doesn't mean everyone actually gets the day off, especially among the working class.

Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#160

Post by jakeogh »

burkaman wrote: post #137
jakeogh wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I realize that, but all to often bad ideas are implemented incrementally. Online registration is an obvious step along the way. Next up: Internet ID (for "secure" online registration).

Well there are a bunch of comments from Debra Cleaver in this thread that make it clear that she doesn't trust online voting yet. But yes, this is an obvious step along the way. Eventually we will get to a point where online voting is practical and safer than physical voting.

That's the point, it wont be safer. Software and it's hardware are inherently buggy (or worse) and that's not going to change any time soon.

Hand counted paper ballots are by far the safest. http://www.handcountedpaperballots.org/documents/requirement...

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