#ranked choice voting
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Hot Take: If you want to actually have a shot at getting US electoral politics out of its ratchet-esque death spiral, you need to start advocating for ranked-choice voting in your state.
Like, due to the way "first past the post" voting inevitably leads to a two-party system, it's basically the big reason that the political system has devolved into "Which Skeksis are we going to let drain the Gelfling essence this time," and ranked choice voting is one of the big ways that we can end up making it so that we can actually have another option besides "barely tolerable neoliberal war-pig" "literal insane theocratic fascists" and "spoiler candidate that will leech votes from the barely tolerable one and give the fascist a seat"
And like, it's a state-based issue! you can have a direct impact on it! Look up if there's any efforts to put it on the ballot for next election!
Here's the org trying to do that for my state, Arizona, look up the ones trying to do that for your states as well and post 'em in the reblogs!
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I have seen a post circulating that talks about US politics and basically insinuates that in the upcoming presidential election, Biden is "99% Hitler" and Trump is "100% Hitler" and it makes me so frustrated that people can't see this as the disinformation and anti-vote propaganda that it is.
I'm intensely frustrated with Biden for how he has acted too little, too late on the Palestine issue, and how the U.S. continues to send billions in arms to Israel. And yet I'm going to be voting for him, and the analogy above is hugely dishonest. There is a massive difference between Biden and Trump:
The Biden administration and Democrats have strongly and unambiguously protected abortion rights, whereas Donald Trump appointed three supreme court justices who overturned Roe vs. Wade, and Republicans have across-the-board passed draconian abortion restrictions far more conservative than even their base.
Biden and the Democrats are strongly pro-LGBTQ rights including trans rights, at a time when Republicans are threatening trans rights in every state they control, and when even mainstream, "center-left" publications like the NY Times have been publishing transphobic drivel.
The Biden administration continues to expand healthcare access and work to control costs whereas the Trump administration worked to undermine much of the coverage we had.
The Trump administration was hopelessly corrupt and dysfunctional, with turnover in most appointed positions, scandal after scandal. Trump committed crime after crime in plain view, and incited an insurrection when he lost the election and has continued to back conspiracy theories undermining the very foundation of our democracy. Biden has been a relatively straightforward, "what you see is what you get" politician over his whole career, with a sort of level of flaws and corruption that is more typical of politics.
Trump had unprecedented anti-immigrant stances and under him, life became much more difficult for immigrants to the US as well as for non-citizens living here legally. Biden's administration has tried and worked against tough resistance to reverse many of the worst immigration changes made under the Trump administration, including doing things like giving 320,000 Venezuelans temporary protected status as refugees, trying to halt the border wall construction, and increasing legal immigration across-the-board.
Biden's rhetoric has become more critical of Israel over time, Biden has called for regime change and the ousting of Netanyahu, and under Biden the US Ambassador finally stopped voting against a ceasefire resolution and only abstained. Whereas Trump and the Republican's rhetoric has retained entirely critical of Palestinians and not at all critical of Israel, and Republicans have consistently supported draconian restrictions such as bans on BDS and some even introducing legislation banning referring to the region as Palestine. And weeks back, when public sentiment was not as anti-Israel as it is now, several Democrats voted for scrutiny to the Israeli military aid, whereas only one Republican did.
I am highly critical of Biden and I too am appalled that he's still running and that we don't have a better candidate who even ran in the primary. But it's far from truthful to say there is only a 1% difference between Biden and Trump, and even more dishonest and inaccurate to call Biden "99% Hitler", that's crazy talk and it serves only one purpose: to demotivate people and suppress voting.
There is a huge difference between these candidates. They will affect my daily life and your daily life and they will affect the whole world and they will affect Palestine.
Do you want a better candidate? Do you want to vote for an idealistic third-party candidate as a protest vote?
Support ranked choice voting first. Then, if you are in a state like Maine or Alaska that allows ranked choice for the president, vote for your ideal candidates and place Biden however low you want and then omit Trump entirely.
But if you do not have ranked choice in your state, especially if you live in a swing state, vote for Biden. And make sure to also join a movement that advances ranked choice, ideally Total Vote Runoff (TVR) as that is the best system for ranked choice.
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And on that note, the green party is such a trash party.
I'm only registered green because of their current national ballot access. It seems like they've lost a lot of momentum. Less candidates run and less candidates get elected each year. And I feel that has to do with the level of professionalism that goes into the party. The website really needs an entire update on functionality and there are tons of typos and links that are messed up. A scene kid from myspace could make a better website. Under the 2024 candidates page (a page that isn't a list of candidates, but a feed of articles including some relating to candidates) there's a picture of a candidate where most of his face isn't even in the picture.
When it comes to candidates my biggest gripe is that many don't take the time to make a campaign website. In 2024, it's pretty much a requirement to at least have something come up in your name in a search engine. Second gripe is that many seem to think an ill fitting polo is formal wear and most don't even think that is a requirement. No one is going to elect someone who only wears tshirts and cargos.
I've wanted to get involved myself over a decade ago and was even asked by another candidate to run but now my focus is on women. Regardless of which party is picked I would still have to fight for female liberation under any of their platforms. I'm more invested in a push for ranked choice voting when it comes to elections.
(Third gripe, the green party is a total sausage fest)
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Video
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The One Thing That Would Make Elections Better For Everyone
Are you sick of the onslaught of negative political ads that air on your TV every election season?
The fear-mongering. The half-truths.
Believe it or not, there’s a simple reform we can enact to make elections more bearable for voters.
It’s called ranked choice voting, or RCV, and it could change our politics for the better.
When you head to the ballot box under ranked choice voting, instead of voting for just one candidate, you have the option to rank candidates in order of preference: first, second, third and so on.
So if you’re stuck between two preferred candidates for a position, you can spread your preferences out in hopes that one of them wins.
When ballots are counted, if none of the candidates gets an outright majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed to their supporters’ second choice candidate.
This process continues until a candidate receives over 50% of the vote, and is declared the winner.
It’s also good for a whole host of other reasons.
Implementing RCV could have the added benefit of making our elections… well… nicer.
In a ranked choice voting system, candidates are less likely to engage in the kind of mudslinging we see every election season, because they’re not just trying to be a voter's first choice — they also want to be the second choice of voters who are backing their opponents.
This can motivate anyone running for office to be more inclusive and appeal to a broader range of voters — helping to connect people who don’t always agree on every issue.
RCV also allows us to exercise our right to vote without feeling like we’re compromising our beliefs or simply voting for the “lesser of two evils.” We can vote FOR the candidates we like the most, rather than voting AGAINST the candidates we like the least. RCV could also open the door to voters casting their ballots for more third-party candidates.
Even if your favorite candidate from your preferred party is not favored to win, that person could still be your first-choice — without you feeling like you are giving up your vote entirely. If your candidate doesn’t make it to the final round, your second or third choice could still end up winning in the final tally.
Ranked choice voting can even change the kinds of people who run for office — for the better. Potential candidates wouldn’t have to avoid running for fear of splitting the vote or “spoiling” a close election — allowing for a potentially more diverse pool of candidates to run.
Look at Alaska, where voters used RCV to elect Mary Peltola to Congress — making her the first Alaskan Native and first woman to represent the state in the U.S. House.
Lastly, ranked choice voting saves everyone — you, me, elections officials — time and money.
There would no longer be runoffs, which can be costly and often have lower turnout — which means election results that are less likely to reflect the will of the public.
There’s a reason why RCV is starting to sweep the nation — it’s currently being used by 13 million voters across the country.
Ranked choice voting makes elections less painful, less expensive, and can help make our government more inclusive and responsive to what people actually want.
Maybe you can organize to make ranked choice voting a reality where you live.
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Ranked Choice Voting and how it works
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A couple of comments to this cartoon on GoComics.com:
#editorial cartoons#doonesbury#garry trudeau#voting#2024 elections#scotus#ranked choice voting#electoral college#political cartoon
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Bringing this back because ranked choice voting is on the Washington state ballot this election! 🗳️
#washington state#midterm election#ranked choice voting#infographic#politics#USA politics#voting alternatives#furry art
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📣 Exciting news from Resistbot!
They've launched a new feature called approval polls. Now you can express whether or not you would re-elect each of your federal elected officials.
This is an important step in making our voices heard and holding our elected officials accountable. Let's use this tool to let them know what they need to do to earn our votes! Try it out by texting "approval" to the bot. Your input matters!
Resistbot continues to innovate for civic engagement. I look forward to seeing more developments like this in the future. Share your thoughts and feedback in the general discussion. Let's make a difference together! 🗳️✨
📱Text APPROVAL to 50409 and earn FREE Coins!
I just tried it out and here's my feedback:
For President Biden, I might vote to reelect him because he took steps to repeal discriminatory policies like the Trans Ban (DADT 2.0). While I appreciate this progress, I hope to see a more critical approach to U.S. support and funding for Israel. Even still, Trump would be worse for Palestine. Vote Blue No Matter Who, until we get Ranked Choice Voting.
For Senator Murkowski, I approve of her reelection because I appreciate Senator Murkowski's dedication to child development and her progressive stance on LGBTQ+ rights. However, I wish she would support stronger gun regulation and prioritize green initiatives more consistently. I'm encouraged by her stance against Trump's policies.
For Senator Sullivan, I strongly oppose Senator Sullivan due to his positions against reproductive rights, transgender rights, and affordable healthcare. Additionally, his denial of climate change, support for gerrymandering, and alignment with extremist views surrounding the January 6 insurrection are deeply concerning. He is an un-American Trump Sucker and I need him out of my chair this instant.
For Rep. Peltola, I approve of her because I appreciate Senator Peltola's support for COVID-19 proposals and her progressive stance on marriage, children, LGBTQ+, and transgender rights. However, I believe there is room for improvement in her support for military service members, veterans, and moderate gun regulation.
#trans ban#DADT#palestine#Vote Blue No Matter Who#Ranked Choice Voting#early child development#President Biden#Senator Murkowski#Senator Sullivan#Mary Peltola#LGBTQ+ rights#gun regulation#green initiative#anti trump#reproductive rights#trans rights#affordable healthcare#climate change#gerrymandering#jan 6#insurrectionist#covid#marriage equality#military service members#veterans#Resistbot#Civic Engagement#Approval Polls#Election 2024#Government Accountability
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#mary peltola#2022 special elections#Alaska special elections#democratic congressional seat#ranked choice voting#blue wave#sarah palin#indigenous women#native Alaskan#indigenous elected officials
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USA's two-party system is an abomination.
Consider Republican party. The fact that there are only two parties forces all of these to band together in support of it:
-Evangelical Christians
-Proud ideological sucessors of Nazis
-Rich assholes and wannabe rich assholes (libertarians)
-Professional con men (also libertarians)
-Incels
-Paranoid uneducated rural people who both feel underrepresented at the federal level and buy into "the Left wants to legalise pedophilia!1!" bullshit
-Cultured, intelligent, kind Catholics who love their neighbors no matter their race or income, and may even be weakly supportive of LGBT; who would have been otherwise stauch enemies of the GOP and all of the groups above... if they weren't brainwashed into feeling they have a moral obligation to protect the lives of the fetuses more than the actual human beings
The latter two groups are the most disgusting to me precisely because I can see they are not entirely bad people deep down, and seeing them destroy their potential for goodness like that is... The two-party system must be destroyed just so these people could have a better choice than to team up with neo-Nazis.
So its important to understand that the US has always had a two party system, starting right after George Washington's election our politics have been dominated by two major political groups. Federalists vs. AntiFederalists, Federalists vs. Democratic Republicans, Democratic Republicans vs. Democrats, Democrats vs Whigs, Democrats vs. Republicans, and then the two parties changing what Democrat and republican meant for about 150 years. And its due to our voting method, we have a First Past the Post Voting system, which means that to win an election you don't need a majority of the votes, just a pluroality.
So lets say that the 2024 presidental election comes down to AOC, Biden, and Trump (ignoring the electoral college) The people who would vote for AOC are likely people who would have otherwise voted for Biden, which splits the vote. So Trump wins lets say 40% of the vote, while Biden wins 38, and AOC wins 20%. Despite the fact that only 40% of the nation voted for him, Trump because the president, nevermind the fact that literally 60% of the nation voted against him. So in that scenerio, it would be stupid to vote for AOC, even though she is objectively the better choice. Its basic mathematics, voting third party in a First Past the Post System is self destructive.
So all that being said, I think that the Gop has been losing the last group for awhile now, anybody who is still with them at this point I don't think are really kind
#ask evilelitest2#historical fact#two party system#First Past the Post#Voting systems#Ranked Choice Voting#Democratic party#Republican party
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We don't need to keep letting democrats and republicans dominate our government. Voting for the lesser evil just permits evil to stay. Voting for "damage control" isn't halting or reversing damage, its only *maybe* slowing it. We need to start voting for better, not for getting worse slower.
Things are not getting better under these Big Two parties, we can't keep letting them get our votes when they have not earned them. And while the ideal situation is to get third party candidates into office, they don't have to win for supporting them to have an impact. Simply showing the Big Two parties that their actions are losing them votes -Showing that we refuse to give them any more free votes- will pressure them into letting up on the unpopular policies that they try to push.
Voting for the lesser evil may have the better short term outcome, but the long term outcome is that nothing gets better. Using our support to increase the prominence of third parties, even if they aren't winning right now, allows us to move toward genuine improvement and genuine solutions. They cannot win in the future if we do not build them up now. There is no magic solution that will get them in office without voting for them. We need to actually work for it, even if the payoff isn't immediate.
If you want it, stand for it. All the way. You don't have to win for it to mean something. (though we can win. Maybe not the presidency, but third parties have won numerous seats in various levels of government over the years. Those seats have an impact too.)
#usa politics#presidential debate#vote third party#libertarian#green party#socialist party#please vote#debate#independent#republicans#democrats#democracy#ranked choice voting#election 2024
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A group of former Republican and Democratic officials are forming a new political party called Forward, in an attempt to appeal to what they call the "moderate, common-sense majority."
"Political extremism is ripping our nation apart, and the two major parties have failed to remedy the crisis," David Jolly, Christine Todd Whitman and Andrew Yang wrote in a Washington Post op-ed published Wednesday. "Today's outdated parties have failed by catering to the fringes. As a result, most Americans feel they aren't represented."
Jolly is a former Republican congressman from Florida, Whitman a former Republican Governor of New Jersey and Yang is a former Democratic presidential and New York mayoral candidate. The three will merge their political organizations into the new party, whose launch was first reported by Reuters.
The group cites issues including guns, climate change and abortion as those that could benefit from a moderate approach. The new party will also advocate ranked-choice voting and open primaries, the end of gerrymandering, and nationwide protection for voting rights.
"Sixty-two percent of Americans now want a third party, a record high, because they can see that our leaders aren't getting it done," Yang told CNN's Brianna Keilar on "New Day" on Thursday in a joint appearance with Whitman. "And when you ask about the policy goals, the fact is the majority of Americans actually agree on really even divisive issues. The most divisive issues of the day like abortion or firearms -- there's actually a commonsense coalition position on these issues and just about every other issue under the sun."
Forward is planning a national convention next summer and will soon seek ballot access to run candidates in 2024, according to the Post op-ed.
The party said in a news release that it would launch "a national building tour this fall to hear from voters and begin laying the groundwork for expanded state-by-state party registration and ballot access, relying on the combined nationwide network of the three organizations." It plans to gain legal recognition "in 15 states by the end of 2022, twice that number in 2023, and in almost all U.S. states by the end of 2024."
While Forward won't be running its own candidates in this year's midterm elections, it will "support select candidates in November who stand up for our democracy, even if they come from outside the new party," according to the news release.
Jolly, Whitman and Yang acknowledged the clear lack of success third parties have had in the United States previously, writing in their op-ed, "Most third parties in U.S. history failed to take off, either because they were ideologically too narrow or the population was uninterested." But they said that "voters are calling for a new party now more than ever," citing a Gallup poll from last year.
"Americans of all stripes -- Democrats, Republicans and independents -- are invited to be a part of the process, without abandoning their existing political affiliations, by joining us to discuss building an optimistic and inclusive home for the politically homeless majority," Jolly, Whitman and Yang wrote.
Asked by Keilar on Thursday why they believe their effort to create a third party would work, Whitman said, "We're in a different time."
"When you have 50% of the American people saying that they are registered independent ... people are sick and tired of what they're seeing in Washington and the fact that nothing major is getting done is frustrating them. We have big problems and we want to see them resolved," she said.
A few independent candidates have earned national attention in their races this cycle. In Utah, Evan McMullin, who ran for president in 2016 as an anti-Trump conservative, is challenging GOP Sen. Mike Lee and has the backing of the state Democratic Party. In Missouri, John Wood, a former senior investigator for the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, is running as a "commonsense alternative" to the field of Republican and Democratic candidates for the state's open US Senate seat. And in Oregon, former state Sen. Betsy Johnson, who left the Democratic Party last year, is a top contender in the open governor's race.
#us politics#news#cnn#2022#the washington post#David Jolly#Christine Todd Whitman#Andrew Yang#third party candidates#forward#forward party#independents#democrats#Republicans#reuters#climate change#gun control#abortions#abortion bans#ranked choice voting#open primaries#gerrymandering#voter rights#Evan McMullin#John Wood#Betsy Johnson#liberals#fuck liberals#splitting the vote#moderates
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I just went on an npr ranked choice voting binge a couple of days ago. I honestly think Massachusetts can get it this year. Hopefully it's a total sweep this election year.
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Look into Claudia De la Cruz! She's a 2024 presidential candidate with the Party for Socialism and Liberation and she is actively participating in pro-Palestine protests.
Without ranked-choice voting, third-party candidates stand no chance against the duopoly. They won't even be allowed on the ballots in most places. I appreciate your optimism, but anyone trying to run third-party under these circumstances, should put their energy into civic-betterment, educating people about ranked-choice, and mutual aid, instead.
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I think that Tumblr should add a ranked choice poll option because I think the results would be very funny and also it normalizes real democratic voting.
#tumblr#tumblr polls#ranked choice voting#this post brought to you by Eugene once again trying to put STAR voting on the ballot#every time it gets a little closer to winning so we'll wear everyone down eventually#it really is a much better voting method for elections and the only thing that could break the structural reasons for two parties
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