General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forumsguillaumeb
(42,641 posts)Who could have imagined?
The GOP, that is who.
ismnotwasm
(42,028 posts)L. Coyote
(51,129 posts)frazzled
(18,402 posts)Because:
a. Theres no difference between the candidates, and neither one reflects my own personal impeccable tastes/ideals
b. Its too much trouble and wont matter anyway
c. Theres an election?
Hillary Clinton lost Wisconsin in just this way, with only a few people in enough precincts who didnt vote.
L. Coyote
(51,129 posts)That's a fact you cannot sweep away with pure conjecture.
frazzled
(18,402 posts)We dont know exact numbers on either count.
L. Coyote
(51,129 posts)Wisconsins Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016 (Trump Won by 22,748)
A new study shows how voter-ID laws decreased turnout among African-American and Democratic voters.
By Ari Berman -- May 9, 2017
frazzled
(18,402 posts)One cannot deny that Voter ID laws deter voters, especially minority voters, and it probably had some effect; but so did voluntary non-participation.
The study looks at turnout in Wisconsin and Minnesota, which does not have a voter ID law. It finds that Wisconsin had lower turnout among nonwhite communities, while Minnesota did not. The study concludes that if turnout had increased by the national no-change average, over 200,000 more voters would have voted in Wisconsin in 2016.
But correlation isnt always causation, and the study does not offer evidence of causation.
One of the main criticisms of this study is that it attributes all 200,000 votes to Wisconsins voter ID law. Yet its not that simple. While the law likely had some impact on deterring potential voters, there are other things that may have affected the lower turnout.
For example, many voters in Wisconsin decided to sit out this election. There was a lack of enthusiasm among voters for Clinton or Trump, and some may have believed Trump didnt have a chance at winning Wisconsin, PolitiFact Wisconsin wrote. PolitiFact Wisconsin also pointed out that 2016 turnout in the state was higher than in 2008, before the voter ID law.
Rick Hasen, an elections expert at the University of California at Irvine, noted that black voters in Milwaukee, which experienced a dramatic decline in turnout in 2016, were not motivated by Clinton the same way they were for Obama in 2012 or 2008. Moreover, there was a general decline in the black vote in 2016, compared with 2012 or 2008, in both states that had voter ID laws and states that didnt.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/05/30/do-voter-id-laws-help-or-hurt-voter-turnout/?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.0d3872d7e4a5
NewJeffCT
(56,829 posts)However, the margin was so small that it still likely made a difference. Difference was around 23,000.
Even if those 200,000 suppressed votes are accurate, are all of them people that would have gone out to vote if not suppressed? Just a guess, but I'm guessing of the 200,000, somewhere close to the actual turnout percentage would have tried to vote. Let's say about half - or, 100,000. Since most of them were likely minority voters, we can probably say that at least 80% would have voted for Clinton, with the remainder going to Trump, Stein or Johnson.
80,000 more votes for Clinton, maybe 10,000 more for Trump and 10,000 for Johnson or Stein.
Clinton wins by 47,000.
Even if 80% is too generous, let's go with 75% and 80,000 suppressed voters instead of 100,000
Clinton gets 75%, or 60,000 more votes
Trump gets 15%, or 12,000 more votes
Stein & Johnson combine to get 8,000 more votes
Clinton still wins, but only by 25,000 votes.
spike jones
(1,697 posts)I have always though we should have mandatory voting. There could be a none of the above box for people who do not want to vote, but everyone must show up at the voting booths. The fine for not showing up should be a twenty percent tax on gross income.
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)thucythucy
(8,135 posts)or paid day off.
There are people who work ten or twelve hour shifts on election day, have kids to deal with when they get home, or aged parents to care for.
Other democracies either make election day a holiday, or they extend voting over the course of two or three days so there's more opportunity to vote.
Our "first Tuesday in November" system comes out of an era where most people were farmers, and had to work all spring to get in the planting, all summer to manage it, and through the early fall to get in the harvest. Having elections the first Tuesday in November was done as a matter of convenience--a day people would be able to take off from working their farm.
Now it's just the opposite--difficult for working people, especially working parents, especially single working parents. Like the Electoral College, November elections is another one of those anachronisms that eventually will have to go.
There ARE states that have early voting and absentee ballot voting, but of course Republicans are busy trying to gut those options as best they can.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)We can never allow ourselves to get complacent. Every vote counts!
bdamomma
(63,974 posts)want it to stop VOTE!!!! please.
Yonnie3
(17,516 posts)23 precincts of 23 (100.00%) reporting
Candidate Votes Percent
Donte T. Tanner
Democratic 14,988 49.73%
Timothy D. "Tim" Hugo
Republican 15,103 50.11%
Write-In 48 0.16%
Last Modified on 11/08/2017 12:48 PM
Sorry. We will have to wait to see what effect the provisional ballots have. I am sure there will be a recount.
http://results.elections.virginia.gov/vaelections/2017%20November%20General/Site/GeneralAssembly.html
TeamPooka
(24,303 posts)onenote
(42,852 posts)Donte T. Tanner has 14,988
Tim Hugo has 15103
Recount almost certainly coming.
Ezior
(505 posts)Roland99
(53,342 posts)had yet to review hundreds of absentee ballots and much smaller number of provisional votes.
Girard442
(6,088 posts)You never know where you'll find them.
Roland99
(53,342 posts)And both sets were in precincts near each other? Special ballots pulled out when needed?
BBG
(2,566 posts)Theres more of us than them, we just need the motivational reminders.
progressoid
(50,020 posts)cwydro
(51,308 posts)Ive seen posts on this site where people said they didnt see any point in voting. Or they could vote their conscience because it wouldnt count.
Gah!
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)lastlib
(23,388 posts)to prevent an R- win.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)Or thanks to the 68 Repubs who DID stay home.
All sorts of ways to shake it.
Tarheel_Dem
(31,257 posts)Bleacher Creature
(11,258 posts)That's why we need to keep running up the score.
IronLionZion
(45,667 posts)be wary of any so-called liberals trying to discourage our people from voting