How the fuck does the US manage to make people stand in line for early voting?
In every civilized country, you can show up on election day (when basically everyone has a free day cause it’s Sunday), you vote with maybe 3-4 people in line before you, and you’re done after 10 minutes.
This is what happens in some Republican controlled states when they limit the times and places and how people can vote. Trump said a few years ago that if minorities vote, Republicans will never win another election. So Republican controlled states started getting rid of polling stations and changing voting times to standard working hours, etc, knowing that people wouldn’t be able to take time off from work to stand in the now longer lines (due to fewer polling stations) or would want to stand in longer lines.
Plus, election day is not a national holiday like it is in most other countries, so people don’t get the day off to vote. Though some companies give 3 or 4 hours paid time off strictly for voting.
It is working as designed, since it is meant to discourage people from voting. The less voter participation the better results for Republicans.
I don’t know took us almost an hour to vote.
Well you see, the point is to prevent people from voting.
The people’s will gets in the way of the will of the Oligarchs, religious leaders, and Plutocrats. Hence the effort to make it hard to vote.
I like what california did last election: everyone got an absentee ballot. That way I could fill it out at home and drop it off at my polling location at my leisure. There was a line, but I got to walk past it.
Man you see how it happens. You see these Republicans out there trying to fuck everything when it comes to making it easy to vote. In some places you dip your finger in a jar of ink after you cast your vote, that’s how they make sure nobody was twice on election day. In some places, I assume it’s all computerized and still accurate. That, and Nobody wants to run for office and get death threats from their neighbors, the most absolute gullible dumbasses in town. Every person in my neighborhood with a Trump sign have no idea how anything works except their own one particular job, and how to get scared at anything else.
In the state of Oregon, I just get mailed a ballot and can either mail it back or drop it off…last year, I did a drive-through ballot drop off at the state capital.
I’ve always been able to vote within 10 min or less. Must vary a lot by location.
It most certainly doe vary a lot by location. And if your voting location is in a high minority or poor population area, it’s going to be a long wait for you.
Same here. I’m in a major city, only ever takes about 5 minutes for me to vote.
There are usually way more polling locations open on election day than during early voting. They set up polling at churches, schools, and community centers all over.
During early voting I have to go to the courthouse which is in the next town over. There aren’t any polling places in my city.
Every election I’ve ever voted in has had at least a 20 minute wait. I’ve mostly lived in medium to high density population centers my whole life. I’ve voted on voting day, I voted by absentee and there was a line for the drop box during COVID, I just did my early voting as a first time Texas voter and there was a 45 minute line to use the voting machines, not even a pen and paper ballot. I’ve never not seen a line at the polls. It’s always been strange to me thinking about the number of folks who DON’T vote vs how many people I personally witness voting every season. But then again, many people don’t like standing out in a heat wave while it’s raining so I guess it makes sense that a lot of them don’t go.
Same. It’s like a short stop on a Sunday walk… Because we ALWAYS VOTE ON SUNDAY!
Also it takes five minutes to walk to the voting office from my home, on the voting Sunday.
That’s pretty much how it is for me unless they’re having problems with the printer or something
For me 10 people are usually in line :(
Although it still doesn’t take longer than like 15 minutes
I dont know I live in America, longest it has ever taken me to vote on Election Day is 20 minutes, yet people are still waiting in long lines to early vote this year. Typically few people early vote so there are fewer early voting places. But that is not the case this year, so we have giant early vote lines. I am not sure why my neighbors are waiting in long lines to early vote when it will take 10 times as long as in Election Day.
One of the things conservatives are doing is to limit the number of polling stations per X square miles. This is done in the name of fairness and spending, but it disproportionately impacts urban voters more than rural, and thus impacts areas of more progressive voters.
I’d guess this is a larger population center of Oklahoma.
I could have been more clear I guess. I was not trying to question why other people early vote, only why people around me do.
If you don’t know you live in America you should quickly go check. It makes a big difference knowing where you live!
Hello, fellow Okie.
I know how this state is going to vote. It’s been a given every year for nearly six decades. But I’m still gonna vote, as I have in every election since I turned 18. Change doesn’t happen if those who want it get discouraged and sit their asses at home.
What has really inspired me this year is the overwhelming majority of Harris-Walz signs in my neighborhood. I stopped counting, but I reckon there are at least thirty of them. I’ve seen a grand total of five Trump-Vance signs, and three of them are at the same house.
Also, you get much rain last night? It was so good to finally hear thunder again. I had six tenths in my rain gauge this morning!
Update: I stood in line for an hour and a half and cast my ballot. Next time around, I’ll remember to request my mail-in ballot on time lol
I’d be very happy just to see Oklahoma actually wait until the polls close to declare the republican presidential win…
I swear every year, they decide it so early I am convinced the electors don’t even care what the vote counts are. There is no fucking way backwards as fuck Oklahoma figured out a way to accurately track and count votes faster than any other state - and voter turnout would need to be so high they know it can’t possibly turn around in the last 2 hours of the polls still being open? Yea right.
Wow another Okie!
Crazy storms in the Tulsa area for us btw. And probably why I also see Harris Walz signs. We’re about to get a Democrat for a mayor!
I reeeeeeeally envy y’all for that flag. The design is dope.
My house district represented by a Dem so it’s not that surprising to see Harris-Walz signs, but it IS surprising to see so many. As someone who grew up in the butt crack of Jackson County in DEEP Republican territory, it’s just such a breath of fresh air to be able to live around neighbors who aren’t crazy goobers.
What a cool freaking flag.
CGP Grey hasn’t made a video about it because he can’t stop staring at it
Feel really old now but is only been since 2011 since Brad Henry was governor.
It’s weird seeing queues for voting.
When I vote, I walk to my local voting place, chat with people I know, vote, chat a bit more, then walk home. Perhaps half an hour, if I’m feeling chatty.
This is what voter suppression looks like.
I grew up in Missouri before moving to Washington state. When I reached voting age, it was (and still is) ridiculously common to see polling places in rural and suburban areas with no waiting to vote. Meanwhile, in the cities (which happen to vote more democratic), you’ll see loooong lines extending outside. When voting facilities and staff are not proportionally distributed to accommodate voter density, you get shit like this; voters in different districts receiving different treatment. And people who live there never know any better to ask for something different.
This all blew my mind after living first in a suburban area, then an urban one, and now living in a state that has done voting my mail for decades. I love voting by mail. It’s unconcionable to me at this point for people to stand for in-person voting anymore.
Sad part is I am.in a small town, but this was only place to early vote for the county.
It’s probably a blue area in a red state. They intentionally open fewer polling places there as a voter suppression tactic, hoping people will see the line and figure their vote doesn’t have enough weight to justify the time.
exactly this. I’ve moved around a bit and the only places I’ve had to wait any significant amount of time have been near cities in red states.
really wish we just had universal vote by mail
Where I live, we had early voting for a whole month now. We went during the second week - 0 minute wait. It took longer to walk into the building and follow the signs than it was to get my ballot, vote, and walk out.
I came here to say the same thing. Like I’ve waited behind a few people before in Cananda but a line going out the door and down the street is insane
I just mail my vote, mail comes in fill in form and mail goes out.
It takes 5mins out of my day tops
I also vote by mail and it usually takes me longer in non-presidential years because there’s more offices to vote for and zero local campaigning. So I have to creep on people on social media to know if I’m comfortable with them having the powers of prothonotary.
That’s so much “fun” with all those tiny local offices. “Okay who is this person?”
Zero public web presence about them at all.
It’d be nice if there was something like Ballotpedia but public owned. “You want to run for an office? You need to fill out this profile.”
I imagine lots of people are just like “Eh, this name sounds pretty.” Lol
For one the only thing I could find was a locked-down Facebook profile.
They were running unopposed.
zero local campaigning
That’s usually true here as well. This year is the only time I have seen someone campaign. I know him and he’s an amazing guy, so I hope he wins, but I have just never seen local politicians willing to go out and press the flesh.
He works for one of the local TV stations as a “one-man-band” (someone who goes out with a camera and gets the story and the interview and such themselves, but doesn’t get a reporter credit), so he knows how to talk to people, likes to talk to people, and he’s well-known in the community.
That’s it. Him. No one else ever.
Probably why we had the same Republican mayor for four terms.
Don’t worry. Either way, there will still be elections. The real question is whether we start to see candidates “accidentally” falling out of windows or drinking poisoned tea, etc.
Well they better be careful how far they push it, or else the super PAC leaders, the thinktanks, and the 1% are going to start dieing in interesting ways.
Weird, in my conservative and high income county it took me literally five minutes at the library.
The system works as intended
Same. In my conservative and low income county it took me longer to drive to and from the location than it did to actually vote.
How many machete wielding loons accosted you?
None but took almost an hour to vote. What I was most mad about was that they placed Kamala and Tim 4th on the ballot.
Who was first?
Someone I never heard of. Mark somebody, then Robert Kennedy, Donald Trump the Harris.
I thought RK bowed out, but he’s still on the ballot? Odd.
He didn’t file the paperwork soon enough in some states, so he’s still on the ballot. He sued at least one state to get himself removed even though he missed the deadline and ballots were already being printed.
Piece of information I found interesting that may apply to your experience https://youtu.be/_-uJl_Db4Rw?si=pKSj5m0OVvRGLy2W
In Oklahoma, the order is actually randomized. Different districts will have the candidates in different orders.
You guys still have a liberry?
Yeah, it’s even got books in it and not just computers.
Sounds like something someone trying to get rid of the books so they can turn a library into a big cybercafe would say.
Did you even look at the post? Does that look like a “big cybercafe” to you?
Libraries are the only place in this country where everything is free and you can stay as long as you want with no one giving you any shit for it as long as you follow some basic rules.
Go look at my post and then come back here and tell me about how things like a free shower and washer/dryer for homeless people, a commercial level kitchen for anyone to use and a tool library where you can take home power tools you need are a bad thing that shouldn’t exist.
No, because Jerboa can’t find the post.
And no, that’s not a library. That’s a community center.
That those have been eradicated is a separate issue from libraries being eliminated as places for readers.
What the fuck are you talking about? It’s literally a library.
Do you have a degree in library science or are you just talking out your ass because you don’t actually know what a public library is and think it’s just a place where you get books even though that’s never been true?
Because I’m guessing it’s the latter, but feel free to tell me where you got your degree from.
sounds like you need some freedumb.
“It’s not a bug, it’s a feature”
Jeez I have voted by mail for every election I’ve participated in. That looks miserable.
If Republicans get their way, voting by anything other than in-person on election day will be banned.
Also, voting in-person on election day will be banned.
Im ok with that.
Why would you want to limit access for legally eligible voters?
Because reactionaries know that they only win when they supress the vote.
If everyone voted, the GOP would not exist as a national party.
They’re a MAGAt. Look at the community they frequent. Scum like them need voter suppression to win, because they sure as hell can’t win by popular vote alone.
I’ve never stood in like for early voting in the EU. I’ve done it at my supermarket while getting groceries.
Grab a ballot and envelope, enter booth, do the thing, walk to desk, flash id, get crossed off list, watch volunteer put your envelope in another envelope and drop it in the ballot box.
In-and-out, three minutes.
Come to think of it, voting on election day has always been just as smooth. I just have to go to the library or some school, so it’s not as convenient.
I never had to wait for longer than 5 minutes to vote and I never voted early. Mostly because it takes 10 minutes of my time on voting day, which is always a Sunday.
Polling places can’t be further away than 1,5km I believe, so wherever you live, it will be close enough to just walk there.
I have voted in schools, kindergardens, a community center and a church.
The press has already walked back at the threat of Trump, so the autocracy has already begun. It’s happening, pre election.
This terrifies me.
Right there with you.
“Walked back at the threat of trump”, can you explain what you mean by this a little more? Sorry I’m just not sure what it means.
He’s probably talking about the media capitalulating to the Trump campaign by agreeing not to fact check during the Vance/Walz debate. And most recently, the WSJ blocking the Harris endorsement. I.e. a lot of the very rich and powerful people seem to be acting like an authoritarian Trump administration is inevitable, and they’re trying to avoid his wrath or position themselves to be favored oligarchs.
It will be the last election in this version of America. The problem is that Trump may legitimately win this election. Voters, a majority, may he causing this.
What then? What if it is the last election in this version of America, and Trump wins legitimately? What does the left do if this happens? How much will you watch the country change? Will you be strong enough in your convictions to resist passification? Mental, and or physical passification, and/or political deactivation?
There will be forces at play trying to make you forget. Move on. Adopt the new normal. Go with it, just for now - because it’s not that bad for you. Will you be strong enough to resist that urging?
What will the future hold under Trump? Who knows. But I do know, this is a terrifying comment to have to write.
I will stock up ammo and be prepared, but I want just sit back and watch it happen. I will fight. I have LGBTQ kids no fucking way will I sit back and let Trumps world become the norm.
To be honest if Trump wins its really going be JD Vance as president. They will remove Trump and Vance will in act Project 2025 on day 1.
I.do hope with the huge turn out that this filps and Harris wins. There was a lot of women in line to vote. I hope a lot of them are secretly voting against their mega husband wishes.
A gentle reminder that the Socialist Rifle Association is a thing! No personal experience with them, but I like that they’re an underdog foil to your typical “American gun culture” stereotypes.
I should really be more active about this. I don’t have the money to dump a ton of brass on the regular but I enjoy the freedom to do it while keeping my ideals!
I hope so, really discouraging to see the maga women who just accept it
Well, ya know what Grammy always said:
Hope in one hand, shit in the other, and see which one fills up faster…Why no vote by mail?
Some might think it’s safer to be there in person I guess
Definitely think so too
You can track your ballot after it’s mailed/dropped off.
California does an excellent job at this. You get a notification that your ballot has been counted.
Same in Colorado!
When they’re burning drop off boxes in THREE different states, I want to see it counted.
I vote absentee, as do most of the people I know, and after 2020, none of us are mailing our ballot back. We are taking them to the in-person voting areas and dropping them off with staff.
In 2020, there were reports of ballots being dumped, and so far there have been reports of drop boxes set on fire and stuff… it’s hard to trust, because of republican stooges seeding chaos, and enough of a pain in the ass to fix if it gets messed up that we aren’t taking chances.
Edit: seeing to seeding
I mailed mine. But I also got a text that the ballot was coming and another a few days after mailing saying it was accepted and counted. I imagine it would be annoying if I had to get a new ballot because some ass caught it on fire, but probably not any more so than having to vote like in the pic.
Yea I heard about ballots being dumped and the fires that’s why I’m voting in person
this mf said erarly
Give them a break, it’s really erarly.
one time I ended up getting a job after sending an email that started “dearing hiring manager”
“best retards”
This is what 49th in education gets ya.
–Fellow Okie
Ha!
— Former Okie, now Nevadan, proud 50-somethingth in education for many years running
(Are we not aware of how many states there are or are we counting outlying U.S territories? Anybody’s guess! 😉)
I herd we may be dropping to 60th here purdy soon 😡
Good luck from someone who grew up Edmond.
Why does it look like your voting location is just a random house? Voting here happens in school buildings or things of that scale usually with at least 20+ booths in parallel.
Or do you just have many locations?
I think the line is just very long and the actual location is the building off in the distance.
Looks like the line is leading into that house to me.
That looks like a community centre entrance to me. Could be wrong :)
This is the local election board office.
Oh okay funny lookin building, thanks for clarifying :)
