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World reaction to long queues of voters in US

bbc.com

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Re: World reaction to long queues of voters in US

#81

Post by DoofusOfDeath »

734129837261 wrote: post #8

I've never voted for the POTUS and I expect I never will. From my POV I don't really care who wins but I think my preference leans to Trump. That has mostly to do with the Democrats being overly populistic about all the concerns, without offering any solutions. If you push through the endless barrage of misinformation from both sides, it does seem that the conservatives have a better understanding on how to progress…

This is a conversation I'd like to have, but I'm not sure the thread will survive long on HN. If you're left wanting for more discussion, please feel free to DM me.

Re: World reaction to long queues of voters in US

#82

Post by LiquidSky »

james_pm wrote: post #10

I have never in my entire life waited longer than five minutes to vote in any election in a municipal, provincial or federal election. That includes early voting or election day voting. I walk over to a school near my house (or community center, or church) and vote. I can't understand how anyone in the US accepts the status quo of their terrible and flawed election system. Make it a terrible experience, especially in…

>I can't understand how anyone in the US accepts the status quo of their terrible and flawed election system.

Your next paragraph shows you understood all too well. People support things like long voting lines because it suppresses the votes of other people they don't think should be voting at all.

Re: World reaction to long queues of voters in US

#83

Post by hexadec »

james_pm wrote: post #10

I have never in my entire life waited longer than five minutes to vote in any election in a municipal, provincial or federal election. That includes early voting or election day voting. I walk over to a school near my house (or community center, or church) and vote. I can't understand how anyone in the US accepts the status quo of their terrible and flawed election system. Make it a terrible experience, especially in…

What is the alternative to acceptance? My state has closed hundreds of polling places over the past decade or so. Mostly in poor area, college towns, or cities. What should we do if our option for making our voices heard are removed?

I hope we just make voting compulsory and a national holiday, but I won't hold my breath.

Re: World reaction to long queues of voters in US

#85

Post by aww_dang »

itsangaris wrote: post #46
jdmichal wrote: post #19

So, these lines are not representative of an actual election day. Actual election day is November 3, 2020. Some states are in early voting right now [0]. That typically means that there's a very limited number of polling stations open. For instance, in Pinellas County, FL there's only 5 early voting locations, compared to 301 poll locations during election day. That's a 60x discrepancy! This is for 713,000 registered…

At the end of the day ordering the new iPhone should not be easier than voting

Generally speaking, commercial enterprises are more accountable to customers and efficient than state endeavors. Fanatics still line up and camp overnight to obtain a new iPhone when they are first released.

That said, I've never waited more than a few minutes when voting on election day in the US.

Re: World reaction to long queues of voters in US

#86

Post by Jtsummers »

kawfey wrote: post #40
cletus wrote: post #4

In Australia we have two things the US system desperately needs: mandatory voting and preferential voting. Preferential voting allows you to vote for a third party without wasting your vote. The standard argument against mandatory voting is people not wanting the uninformed to vote (trust me, they're voting) and the usual US predilection against that infringing "freedom". I was sympathetic to this until I saw the US…

My voting location is a school, but voting days are always on weekdays while school is in session. The voting public occupies the school's gym, so it annoys me that the students must forgo PE and physical activity for the day for my precinct to vote.

Voting should probably be a higher priority than PE. It's one day.

Re: World reaction to long queues of voters in US

#87

Post by patagonia »

manishsharan wrote: post #9

I think the most worrying aspect is an emerging strain of political thought in the US that USA is merely a republic but not a democracy. I find it quite shocking that it has gained a great deal of acceptance. edit : typo

It's a representative democratic republic. A system of governance need not be a "direct democracy" to be a democracy.

Article 1

Section 1: All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Section 2: The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

Re: World reaction to long queues of voters in US

#88

Post by bpt3 »

dubcanada wrote: post #55
jdmichal wrote: post #19

So, these lines are not representative of an actual election day. Actual election day is November 3, 2020. Some states are in early voting right now [0]. That typically means that there's a very limited number of polling stations open. For instance, in Pinellas County, FL there's only 5 early voting locations, compared to 301 poll locations during election day. That's a 60x discrepancy! This is for 713,000 registered…

Are you saying that this is fine because everyone knows early voting means limited number of polling stations? You also cherry-picked a specific county with an extreme difference. Are they all 60x difference?

I posted something similar to the parent below.

There has been 1 open polling location in my county, with a dozen or so more opening this week, and hundreds more opening for election day. All the other counties near me are following the same model.

I haven't seen data for every locality, but in my experience, yes there is an extreme difference between the number of early polling locations vs. the number open on election day.

Re: World reaction to long queues of voters in US

#90

Post by manquer »

cletus wrote: post #4

In Australia we have two things the US system desperately needs: mandatory voting and preferential voting. Preferential voting allows you to vote for a third party without wasting your vote. The standard argument against mandatory voting is people not wanting the uninformed to vote (trust me, they're voting) and the usual US predilection against that infringing "freedom". I was sympathetic to this until I saw the US…

One difference in US is there are lot of jobs which have elections like sheriff, judge, board comissioners etc.

Prefential or ranking systems work better when you vote a party and /or have less positions to vote for.

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