Not all states allow early voting, or voting by mail. In states where it is allowed, the dates are not the same. Even in states where it is allowed, a large number of people vote on election day. That’s not to mention all the other obstacles that prevent people from voting, such as voter id laws, limited polling places, transportation issues, etc.
If your goal is to get people to the polls, there are many obstacles that can be removed to make it easier to vote.
Again, there are often attacks on democracy that lead to people not being able to vote. This was attempted THIS YEAR in a rural GA co that has a large black population:
The consultant who suggested this was recommended by our secretary of state Brian Kemp, who is currently in a tight race for Governor with Stacey Abrams, a politician who put in the time and went to much of the rural parts of the state during the primary race. She continues to reach out to these parts of the state that have a long history of disenfranchising black voters. I don’t doubt that this was a voter suppression attempt by Kemp.
There are active voter suppression campaigns happening right now that have nothing to do with people being lazy. It’s not just because “young people” are lazy or ignorant… and of course, older people can be just as ignorant (see your average Trump voter who is ill informed on a variety of issues).
As a country, we absolutely need to make it easier to vote, and many states have been working to make it much harder.
Voting should take place on the weekend, or voting day should be a paid holiday; full stop.
@ Mindysan33 - I’m talking about all those young voters who say “it doesn’t matter” or “I’ve got to wash my hair that day”. The ones who can’t be bothered to read about the issues and vote - a couple of hours out of their year to participate is too much. The ones who’s existence horrified Samantha Bee recently. They outweigh the voters who work 3 jobs (many of whom do manage to vote).
It has not always been easy for me to vote, either, but I always do vote. When I worked multiple jobs, when I had family issues, when I had health issues, I voted.
Unless there are armed people out there physically preventing you from voting, or your polling places have been closed, or you’ve been removed from the voter rolls, you need to vote. If it’s not that important to you, you are a failed citizen, a pawn of the GOP.
As opposed to all the ones who DO come out and vote, have been active in recent campaigns? There are quite a bit of them, actually.
That’s great for you. That doesn’t mean it’s not a real problem for millions of Americans. Or that those who live in places where they have been disenfranchised (within living memory) and are still sometimes subject to intimidation or pressure not to vote, are simply lazy or uninformed.
Given the history of this country, it’s entirely understandable why some Americans would see the system as entirely rigged against them, and give up - because the system has been rigged against them for decades.
That’s an awful lot of privilege talking there.
Dude, you’re seriously preaching to the choir here.
That voting is important and it’s the least that citizens can do when it comes to civic engagement isn’t the issue at hand; most of us who comment here regularly are already well aware.
But voter suppression is still a real problematic issue that needs to be rectified, regardless.
Two things can both be true:
More old people than young people vote, and the old people like it that way.
There are very few legitimate excuses for not voting. I’ve voted every year since 1980, primaries included. It takes half an hour every six months every other year. That’s 30 minutes per year to prevent idiots like Trump. And that doesn’t even take into account absentee voting.
Calling young people stupid, narcissistic and/or lazy isn’t going to motivate them to vote.
Bwahhhaaaaa haaaaa haaaaa!!! Now that’s hilarious. Guess you don’t live in a “work at will” state, eh?
This is an on going problem.
shitting on the choir
I’d suggest you take a look at the article I just posted above, where there was an attempt to disenfranchise nearly an entire county. This was months ago, not years, not decades, MONTHS.
Stop pretending like your experience is every one elses. Stop ignoring real problems that real human beings face in making sure their voice is heard.
I’m in my 40s now and not sure weather to agree with this or not.
Please read my post. I made allowances for SOME people not being able to vote. That doesn’t change the fact that many people who COULD vote, DO NOT VOTE.
Please unpack that for me. I don’t see where my “privilege” makes me value voting so highly. It sounds more like a facile way to delegitimize my opinions. My knowledge of history and my observations of the world around me make me value voting so highly, not the way other people treat me.
Are you saying that voting is only for people with “privilege”? Really? Or that only people with “privilege” understand the history of the country and the dangers of not voting, or how voting is part of the core of being a citizen? Why not just give up now, then?
Yes, voting is hard for a lot of people. That’s not a valid excuse, if they are able to vote in spite of it being hard.
Well, there’s your complete lack of acknowledgement that not all citizens have the same amount of access to the polls that you do, or that fact that not all states offer early or mail-in voting… and even when they do, there’s no guarantee that mail-in/early votes will be counted in time, if at all.
That’s not what was said, nor even implied.
Every citizen should vote, and the government should make it as easy as possible for all citizens to do so.
Alas, that is not the current status quo, and it’s a problem that needs to be acknowledged and fixed.
Brother, you ain’t kidding.
It’s better than the alternative…
Your privilege is what makes it possible for you to assume that other people’s reasons for not voting are not as legitimate as your reasons for voting. Other people don’t all have the same choices you do. You have the “privilege” of being oblivious to other people’s suffering. You can choose not to be oblivious, though. They don’t have that choice.
