Quote (fender @ 16 Apr 2020 19:17)
oh really? that's awesome. why, you ask? because it allows me to show you that i'm principled on the issue, and not just support whatever benefits the slightly less terrible party: i'm still strongly in support of voting by mail - not only because of those extraordinary circumstances, but because everyone should be able to vote.
given how ridiculous republicans are about closing polling stations in certain neighbourhoods, and purging voters from lists, the limiting of means to vote is obviously just another step to make as few people vote as possible. no matter if they actually benefit from it or not (i didn't have the time to read the article yet to check if your conclusion is correct, and also applies to KY), it's STILL a scummy and undemocratic approach. their declared goal of having as few people vote as possible (the emperor himself admitted it, the documents about the census strategy revealed it as well, and it's also blatantly obvious given the measures i mentioned before) should be universally condemned - even by you, especially if it actually hurts them (which i still highly doubt - they have turned voter disenfranchisement into a science, and fund it with multi million dollar studies)...
just for the record: i happen to make use of vote by mail regularly here in germany - even though i have (like the vast majority of people) a polling place right around the corner, and there are hardly ever long lines and waiting times on election day. i'm aware that the federal returning officer stated that voting by mail is supposed to be for absentees only, not a conveniency option, as it strains the resources and slightly distorts early counting, but i think that's a laughably small price to pay, and definitely the lesser evil compared to not having the option at all.
I think it's better for a country if voting requires at least some minor amount of effort, so that those people who are low information and dont really care dont go to vote. Everyone should have the OPTION to vote though, and without having to put excessive amounts of time and effort into it.
Thus, I am quite satisfied with the way voting works here in Germany, or most of the rest of Europe for that matter.
If the corona pandemic is still urgent by fall, then the whole election in the US should take place by mail.
Regarding the "who benefits from turnout"-question: I think no one denies that 100% turnout would favor Democrats. However, I'm not so sure about the effect of the more realistic case, which is going from the usual 50-60% turnout to 70 or 75%. In places like the Midwest, where the nonvoters skew noncollege white, higher turnout might very well benefit Republicans. In the South, it probably benefits Democrats. More generally, the party realignment spurred by Trump might have reduced the difference that turnout makes between the parties. Under Trump, the GOP has lost high-turnout upscale suburb voters to the Dems and won lower-propensity noncollege whites in their place. So I think it's plausible that low turnout used to clearly benefit Republicans in 2012 and earlier, but doesnt benefit them as much anymore under the 'Trump coalition'.
One more thing: I, personally, try to avoid voting by mail because I dont trust the process as much. When you go to a polling place, cast a ballot there and put it into a box while representatives from all parties are in the room and constantly paying attention, there is less opportunity for manipulation than with mail ballots that are lying around somewhere for days or weeks. For example, it's much easier to let a box of mail ballots from a party-X-leaning zip code disappear if the officials tasked with processing it are sympathizing with party Y.
This post was edited by Black XistenZ on Apr 17 2020 08:56am
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