Just something to think about , and this has absolutely nothing to do with just this election but also all elections that have been questionable in the past. Why not have 2 rounds of voting for presidency and a different set of poll workers on the second vote meaning if you volunteered the first time, your name and information is noted and you won’t be allowed the second? I’m not talking about midterms, primary’s or run offs, I’m talking about an opportunity for each American to go to the polls twice (back to back and put a ballot in. The first round of voting is counted, processed and stored in a database, a winner is announced and then the second round of voting starts.
We have multiple attempts to determine who we have as a champion in baseball (7). If baseball, tennis, hockey, and also other elected positions are important enough to hold multiple attempts to determine a clear winner, why is our presidency not that important?
No dems, this isn’t just a reference to this election. Even you guys would admit that you would have loved the opportunity 4 years ago at another shot to get Hillary in. Heyll, it was nearly 18 years ago when we had the whole Florida conundrum.
If we have so little faith in the voting system as Democrats and Republicans, why not give ourselves an additional opportunity to get it right? It don’t have to be a best of 7 or any garbage like that. However if the second go around the other party wins, maybe look at the best 2 out of three. I know that’s a lot of voting and counting, but we are talking about choosing a leader (spokesperson) for our well being and livelihoods.
A lot of confusion and disagreement could be avoided with a public voting system...
I know the “secret ballot” is every citizens right and protects the system against voter intimidation. However, on the current political horizon, you can almost tell who anyone is voting for by their own declaration, or at least by the signs in their yard....
A secret ballot seems pointless ... Voter intimidation is easier to police/report now than it was in the past ....
Polls and predictions by news agency / television networks should be illegal. To many of the American -informed voters- are swayed by this crap. Regretfully many people want to be on the winning side and bend easily to media influence.
Just my opinion, but we no longer have any Voting Integrity. The whole system needs to be scrapped, and started over. And it needs to be Bi-partisan. Both sides have to agree to the same standards. You brought up some good points. But I have nothing to add. No suggestions ,or solutions . I'm 70 and have voted in every election since 1968. And we knew the outcome. And we thought it was fair. But all of that just went down the drain. I don't think we can ever again trust the current system.
Where did you live? I am almost 70 but could not vote until they changed the law in 1971. My first car had to be in my dad's name. Just wondering how you voted in 1968 at the age of 18.
The 26th was ratified in 1971, however the Voting Rights act had a provision about being 18 to vote. Yeah a few states had a lower age to vote but other challenged to the supreme court. In addition, while there was major disagreement between local/state wide voting for those under 21, I think that even earlier that federal elections were possible and thus depending on the jurisdiction and if they were in Jawja or K'tuckee they yes, 18 would have been the age in 1968.
I was thinking the same thing. I'm almost 72 and could not vote til i was almost 23. But he did say "since" 1968. So he didn't vote in 1968. Memory does get foggy over time.
While we are on this subject, why do the voters in a handful of states get to select the president every 4 years? I live in Florida which is considered a swing state. Why should my vote count more than a voter in SC (which votes republican every cycle), or a voter in NY (which votes democratic every cycle)?
Do you understand what the Electoral College is? Or how it works? Or why America uses it to elect its presidents instead of just using a straight popular vote? Author, lawyer and Electoral College expert Tara Ross does, and she explains that to understand the Electoral College is to understand American democracy.
I have never thought much of Prager University, but both of those videos are horrible.
The first one makes a number of false assertions with absolutely no evidence or logic.
The second one at least explains how the EC actually works, but it never supports ANY of its positions on why it is important. None of the major benefits of the EC that this video proposes actually works.
1. The EC does not protect against the tyranny of the majority. The majority of voters in every state totally disregard the minority of voters. Millions upon millions of voters ballots are not even considered in the EC.
2. The EC does NOT encourage coalition-building. Again, in every state, the majority has absolutely NO motivation to build coalitions with the minority. Did anyone see any coalition building in this last election cycle ??
3. The EC does NOT discourage voter fraud. It actually encourages it. In critical swing states, the stealing of a relatively small number of votes could change the results in a national election. This increases the motivation for fraud in a few states. (sorry Reps, no evidence that it happened in 2020)
I have a tremendous respect for the Founding Fathers, but they did NOT design the EC as some masterstroke. Any reading of the diaries of the Constitutional Convention will show that it was a hastily created compromise to give the states some semblance of retaining some of the power that they were losing by switching from a confederacy to a federal form of government.
The Founders felt strongly that if they left the Constitutional Convention without a fully formed new government, that the American states would fall apart and fail. They therefore accepted numerous compromises that they did not have a particularly high opinion of.
The EC may be the worst of these that is still in existence.
Told friends years ago that our elections should span at
Dec 3, 2020, 7:24 AM
least a three day period, thereby allowing ample time for folks to get to the polls.
That would probably eliminate the allowances for early or mail-in voting, while giving workers a longer time period to make it to the polls.
There would be no vote tabulating until the end of those three days with absentee ballots counted at the same time. Might also encourage even higher turnout of registered voters.
I wish I had a dime for every time I’ve said that. This mass mail in voting has to stop. If we give a flying frogs behind about voter integrity it has to stop.
Seems like common sense would say mail in ballots could potentially be more susceptible to fraud or at least error. If you have a million dollar lottery ticket are you going to mail it in or are you driving to Columbia?
I don’t think it’s a bad analogy at all. At least I think I would drive to Columbia. I won’t ever have that dilemma because I’m not dumb enough to buy lottery tickets. Lol. By the way, I’m basing my statement on logic and human nature. As a private citizen I can’t show evidence of fraud any more than you can prove it did not happen.
I think common sense would indicate that it's much more
Dec 3, 2020, 9:10 AM
likely that there wasn't wide-spread fraud. It would be very difficult to do that on a massive scale (tampering with hundred of thousands or even millions of ballots), and would require widespread collusion and coordination between hundreds, if not thousands of people, all without getting caught. That doesn't seem likely to me.
When it comes to plots, the fewer people that are involved, the more likely it is to succeed and stay hush hush. Something done on a huge scale is much more likely to suffer from leaks, screw ups, etc.
Re: I think common sense would indicate that it's much more
Dec 3, 2020, 9:39 AM
We are not talking about millions of fraudulent votes, but thousands in key cities and swing states, affecting that state winner. Liberal northeast and west coast is not really questionable.
I think all states, as SC does, have early absentee voting in person, with curbside voting as needed, at a site in each county for several weeks before presidential election. Very convenient to avoid voting in person at polls on election day.
Re: Told friends years ago that our elections should span at
Dec 3, 2020, 9:38 AM
NO WAY IN HELL ALL THESE WHISTLEBLOWERS ARE LIEING. HAS ANY OF IT BEEN SHOWN ON THE FAKE NEWS CHANNELS. HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WILLING TO TELL WHAT THEY SAW UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY. IT MAY NOT GET TRUMP BACK IN OFFICE BUT OUR SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE FIXED OR WE CAN JUST DO AWAY WITH ELECTIONS ALL TOGETHER, WHICH IS A GOAL OF THE DEMS ANYWAY.
When I call customers to collect on outstanding bills they often tell me they have not received the bills and that they have a lot of trouble with the postal service. I believe most of them because we’ve had a lot of problems too. Funny thing is that some of them who are democrats will be the first to tell me there’s no way the mail in ballots can get screwed up.
There may be an argument that some votes did not get delivered (waiting on evidence on that), but ALL of the arguments put forth this election cycle have been centered around the ballots that WERE delivered - and their legitimacy, so your analogy does not seem applicable.
Rational people have faith in the voting system and don’t see a need
Dec 3, 2020, 11:09 AM
to drastically change it. The people who don’t have faith in the system are Trump who is a child and can’t accept losing, and his followers who are sheep and take everything he says as fact, including all the blatant lies.
I’d be in favor of some minor changes like ID requirements and certain things like that, but don’t think we need an overhaul of the system.
Re: Rational people have faith in the voting system and don’t see a need
Dec 3, 2020, 11:13 AM
If you can be in favor of voter ID we can agree on a lot. All we’re asking for is somehow and some way prove you are a citizen and make sure you vote one time. Anyone who opposes voter ID does so for one purpose. Cheat!!
Well this post is wrong for multiple reasons. For one, you said
Dec 3, 2020, 11:17 AM
all you are asking for is a way to prove you are a citizen, wheres the OP and this discussion is about totally redoing the system and having two elections.
Second, many people oppose voting IDs for multiple reasons that don’t involve cheating, thinking that requiring IDs disenfranchises certain groups of eligible and legal voters. While I disagree with those people and say tough $hit, if you can’t get an ID that’s your own #### problem and you shouldn’t be able to vote, they are not opposed to IDs because they want to cheat.
Re: Well this post is wrong for multiple reasons. For one, you said
Dec 3, 2020, 11:21 AM
Actually we are coming close to agreement. I just want to have confidence in a fair election. Hopefully we all want that. I agree with you about the ID. If you don’t have an ID , tough you don’t vote. If you’re not productive enough to have an ID , I personally don’t want you decided the fate of this country.
I wouldn’t expect you to. Luckily those in power who share
Dec 3, 2020, 11:30 AM
your sentiment, based on no substantial evidence, will be out of office next month and the country can move forwarded without being guided by conspiracy theories.
in a fair election. The people who don’t are Trump and his supporters because they lost this time. Luckily, this clown show is almost over and rational thought can once again guide this country.
2. Many productive people have some trouble acquiring a suitable ID. They are none-the-less Americans and deserve their inalienable right to a voice in their government - whether you like it or not.