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[–] 20 points 9 months ago (2 children)

In person, I don't really see a whole lot of people in the US admitting or claiming that they didn't or don't vote.

I do, however, see a lot of life-long Republicans and known Trump voters making claims like "I don't really use social media" and "other than the weather I don't keep up with the news", both of which I know are lies in many cases.

However, giving them benefit of the doubt on that, they're admitting something equally as bad: They aren't educating themselves, they aren't informed on important matters, and facts do not matter to them. They're shirking their responsibilities.

Personally, I've always, always, always operated under the principle that our rights come with responsibilities, so I find it shameful that so many people are so negligent in that respect.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago*

    In person, I don’t really see a whole lot of people in the US admitting or claiming that they didn’t or don’t vote

    Political discourse in the USA is mired with douchebags who think that not giving the biggest widest smile possible while licking ketchup off of chuck Schumer's toes means youre a secret Russian republican bot. Doesn't matter you voted.

    These people literally do not care you are disenfranchised. In fact, they relish throwing it in our faces every election.

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  • [–] 16 points 9 months ago (10 children)

    The US political system is so, so very broken and honestly needs to be built up from scratch.

    Voting should be compulsory.

    Voting should be accessible.

    The bar for entry to run should be much lower and more accessible to people who want to run and make a change.

    Preferential voting should be considered.

    The people should have veto power over government if there is a vote of no confidence to allow a dissolution of said government and snap elections held to redistribute power in favour of the people.

    And so much more. Like getting rid of gerrymandering, electoral college etc. So that the votes actually reflect what the people want. If the country is mostly progressive, then it moves in a progressive direction.

    Etc. Etc.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago (6 children)

    I can envision how to make voting accessible. I can’t envision how to make it compulsory. Any suggestions?

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    We get a fine of $50. The purpose is not to punish those who don't vote but to make the act of voting more palatable.

    In Australia, we still get donkey votes and non voters but they're in the minority, and definitely not in the millions.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (2 children)

    So in AU you must vote or it’s a $50 fine?

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago

    Yep. Or at least that's how much it was 10 years ago when someone I knew didn't vote and purposefully stayed home. Could be a bit more than that now. I think the money goes to the electoral commission and is redistributed as election funds to parties on the next election. Happy to be corrected on that point, though.

    We also have preferential voting, which means there's more than 100 people to vote for. You can pick your top 12 or number every single one in order of preference. This means that your vote counts for something in the end, so there's no feeling of having your vote wasted if "your side" isn't elected.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago

    Technically it's just that you must show up to a polling location and get your name ticked off, if you really can't handle voting nobody will know if you drop in blank slips.

    If you don't show up and haven't done a postal vote you get a letter later on asking whether you had a valid reason to not vote, if you don't have one then pay the fine.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    ONE party works towards those things and ONE party does not.

    The third party never gets in the room.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    And it shouldn't be like that at all. The government should be a reflection of all the different voices and perspectives of a nation. That way, not one party of whatever colour holds power and everyone can be more easily held accountable.

    There's room for conservation, to keep things like nature parks the way they are and there's room for progression such as adapting laws to be emerging tech etc.

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  • [–] 15 points 9 months ago

    Just commenting to get it past 88 comments. Crisis averted.

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  • [–] 13 points 9 months ago* (1 child)

    The side that has nazis also has Donald Trump.

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  • [–] 41 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (7 children)

    Yes, both parties suck, and you are allowed to dislike both, but they don't suck equally and not (completely) in the same way and you are obliged to decide for yourself which party sucks harder, which you dislike more, and most importantly - which are you the most scared of getting into power.

    Just because you don't want to be neither leftist nor rightist doesn't mean you need to aim for the dead center. That's as dogmatic as aiming for one of the extremes, and in fact dumber because it's not even motivated by any ideology.

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  • [–] 14 points 9 months ago

    Also people who chase the word “moderate” because they desperately cling to the idea that being nonchalant in politics is a good thing are so focused on it that they will be a conservative just to avoid the leftmost party even if the left-most party is actually centrist.

    Close to what you said, just exposes even more of how dumb it is.

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  • [–] 9 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

    What socialist progressives in the Democratic Party need to do is what the Tea Party Republicans did over 15 years ago. The whole party needs to be reformed from the ground up at every available primary. They’ll actually get shit done if they get the centrists and corporate boot lickers out of the party.

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    [–] 10 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    You can't get out of one of Jigsaw's games by refusing to play :(

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  • [–] 16 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Coulda... Woulda... Shoulda had Bernie!

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  • [–] 16 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    Go vote, but it’s worth remembering that for the most part, the other party only does milquetoast critiques of the Nazis at best.

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  • [–] 8 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Which is why I, not an American but way too invested in American politics because I'm terminally online (and once upon a time actually wanted to move to the US - not anymore), always said that the right answer is to vote for the shitty blue presidential candidate, but give the milquetoast dems hell in any and all primaries.

    I so fucking hope that Mamdani getting elected and actually changing things for the better in NYC changes something in democratic voters' minds to the point that the party actually has to account for it.

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  • [–] 31 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    Psa: when reading the comments remember that maga want you demotivated and to stay home and just take it. Because they will vote, and they will not split their vote.

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  • [–] 20 points 9 months ago (8 children)

    Which one do I press to stop Palestinian kids from getting murked?

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  • [–] -1 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Your comment is exactly what the comic is about.

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  • [–] 3 points 8 months ago

    My point exactly.

    If the results are the same, why participate in the charade of a system? So you can feel good about yourself? So you can go back to brunch and pretend that Obama didn't found ICE or Biden didn't actually ramp up the family detention centers instead of shutting them down completely?

    Ou êtes-vous même américain à la base?

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  • [–] 7 points 9 months ago (7 children)

    You guys needs more options..

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  • [–] 7 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    When nazis are involved any other option is 99% better. There is a lot of difference between 99% and 100% in a normal situation but the difference is virtually nothing when fascists get in the way.

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  • [–] 7 points 9 months ago

    What I like about this is how it shows communication breaking down, not just disagreement. That feels very real.

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Woof the comments here are....wow. Someone is going out of their way here.

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