Does voting for Biden change anything if I live in a deep red area of my state? (Ohio)
There is literally 0 chance the area I live in will be blue. Does me going out and voting actually do anything besides add to the popular vote tally?
just under 50% of people voted in Ohio in the 2020 election.
Trump won by 8%.
If just 9% of the people who felt like you (what's the point of voting) had showed up to vote for Biden, that would have flipped the state.
No single raindrop believes it can make any difference. But together, all those insignificant raindrops can change the course of a river in a single day.
This is EXACTLY what was in my head as I wrote the post.
If, and it’s a big IF, the electronic voting system software is legit.
So easy to do. Or, used to be.
Vote anyway. Voter apathy is largely how things got so bad.
I'm in a similarly red state. I know my vote probably isn't going to matter (thanks, Obama Electoral College), but I'm going to do it anyway. And I'm trying to get as many people around me out to vote as well.
You should go vote if for no other reason than to keep Sherrod Brown in his seat.
And honestly nobody knows what's actually going to happen in this election. Ohio is "red" (god I hate that terminology) only by a few points. It's flippable in the right circumstances. Like if people remember that MAGA wants to force 10 year old rape victims to have their attacker's baby.
This is a numbers and momentum game. If you vote AND some of your fellow closeted Midwestern Democrats (or at least pro small-d democracy) vote and convince some people who want to have a chance to fix American democracy to vote for the Democratic nominee, Ohio could flip.
They all could. If there were justice in the world, all 50 states would be "blue" on November 5th because of who Trump is, what he's done in the past, and what he's telling us he'll do in the future.
Vote!
I know my vote probably isn’t going to matter (thanks, Obama Electoral College)
Unironically we can assign some blame to Obama...
In 08 he had the opportunity to "save" the DNC. Instead he viewed the entire concept as outdated and ignored the party, instead handling everything internally on his team
If Obama (or more recently Biden) had worked on the DNC and tried to build it up after Hillary's people burnt it all down (once in 08, again in 16) we wouldnt have had to suffer thru trump and would be seeing the end of a.progressive presidents second term right now.
If he'd have done that and lived up to 08 campaign promises, then there probably wouldn't be any "red states" left by now.
Obama didn't break the party, but he had a chance to fix an already broken party and instead just ignored it. We're still paying for it
This post is kind of like when somebody who doesn't know anything about cars starts throwing out words like carburator, transmission, and alternator because they know those are car things, but they have no idea how to use them in the context of how they are actually relevant.
It's hard to begin to know how to tackle correcting anything because the amount of effort it would take to unweave and reconstruct the kernels of truth is like trying to extract an egg out of a fully baked cake.
This is probably overly harsh considering the slant of the post is absolutely in the right spirit, the analysis is just completely broken.
Will you just stop man? Jesus fucking Christ with the “everything is the fault of democrats” bullshit.
Be less obvious.
Remember that the president isn’t the only thing on the ballot.
Don’t give up on fighting fascism from your school board up to your state reps. If you organize/join existing groups, you can make your voice heard.
Your vote is sending a signal to future elections. If Ohio has a 20-point red margin, it's unlikely to get any attention from blue candidates. If it has a 5% margin, that changes, and suddenly the next campaign considers spending time & money to try and move the needle.
Remember the old Roman adage: "you're not defeated until you admit defeat". If you don't vote: you've lost. If you vote, you might still lose that election but there's a better chance to win in the future.
Berthold Brecht:
Anyone who stays at home when the war begins and lets others fight for their cause must be careful: because whoever did not share the fight will share the defeat.
Always vote. Progressives lose elections because 30% of any population votes for the conservative at every single election, no matter what, like it's a religion. Progressives need a culture that says: ALWAYS VOTE. It doesn't fucking matter if it doesn't fucking matter. Vote anyway. Let your kids see you voting like it's actually important. Make it important.
One of the best comments I've seen here. Kudos
Yes because there are more options than just president, and increasing voter turnout is always advantageous to the left. There are more Democrats than Republicans in America, so 100% voter turnout means no more fascists in office.
I live in Nebraska and I feel the same way. I go out and vote in every election because that's my civic duty, if the majority of people in your area with our same feeling actually went out and vote it is possible to become a swing state.
That being said my personal opinion is if you don't vote you forfeit your right to complain about politics. You didn't voice your opinion when it was important, so you shouldn't voice it when it's not.
Edit: spelling
Same! I'm in a red state but I have voted in every election since I reached the age to vote (a looong time ago). Yeah, my state always goes red for POTUS but I still vote Dem for POTUS so we don't look like we're a total shithole state. We have a Dem governor, a Dem House rep in DC, and my personal State senator and rep are Dems, too--I helped put them there. Dems are still quite outnumbered in the State legislature, but there's been enough of them to keep the repubs from overriding the governor's veto of some of their fascist bullshit bills. Every bit helps.
Deep red Ohio here
Still voting.
Fite me, redcoats
It'll stay red if people don't vote
The more deeply and unanimously red your local lawmakers consider their electorate, the more confident they will be pushing right and far right legislation and building MAGA cultishness. It won't change who's elected, but it can change how your local lawmakers think about what their community wants.
Yes! It's the total votes statewide that determines the winner (POTUS and Senator), no matter which areas of the state they come from. Besides that, a showing of more blue votes in red areas makes a bigger statement to powers-that-be, campaign analysts, etc. than blue votes in blue areas. Represent!
And as everyone else is saying, vote blue for every office on the ballot. The state, county, and city levels are just as important as the national level if not more so. Vote in every election no matter what, even if no one you voted for wins, it matters how close the races are so Dems know where to concentrate their efforts.
Vote. Try to get others to do the same.
Maybe Democrats don't stand a chance this round, but put up a fight. And if Trump loses you might get a chance to vote again in four years - a higher turnout to Democrats in this round might make it seem less hopeless at the next crossroads. :)
For president?
Probably not.
But it might for down ballot races which are still important.
Like in 08 when Obama first ran. Dems made lots of gains in state governments because he drove turnout.
Elections aren't just about the President. That's arguably the least impactful person on the ballot. Look at your local reps running for state positions, find ones you like, they'll have much more impact on your daily life.
Plus, it’s a good opportunity to pay a little closer attention to local politics. My town is getting pretty hot the last few years, with some major controversies
Getting you to feel like your vote is meaningless is how they win.
Always vote. There’s always someone analyzing trends, and you don’t truly know where it’s heading until you get there.
I do somewhat understand since I moved to Massachusetts: I’ll get my preference regardless whether I vote. But it does matter, even if it’s just a trend: I was a bit disappointed Biden didn’t quite get 2/3 last time around: he won with only 65.6%. We can do better! My county only voted 71.5% for Biden and there were at least three counties better. We can do better!
At least as importantly, it does give me more freedom to vote third party, in the comfort of knowing my state’s electoral votes will all go toward the sane option. Historically we’ve had reasonably strong showings for third party candidates, but last time was only 2%
This is why the people who try to register as a different party to advocate for lesser evils are ultimately shooting themselves in the foot.
If the Democratic Party sees a region with 70% of voters registered as Republican they're just not going to waste their time on it. They have no way of knowing 30% of those chuckleheads would vote blue and make it an actual competition if they had the option.
Ohio's Electoral College votes are cast for the winner of the state, not per district [1]. Of course you should vote for Biden (or whoever the ultimate candidate against Trump will be)!
[1] - "As a winner-takes-all state, the candidate that wins Ohio gets all 18 Electoral College votes.", https://www.ideastream.org/community/2020-10-21/how-are-ohios-electoral-college-votes-decided
Thank you, this is the kind of info I was looking for. If county/district mattered. So all of Ohio is Talley'd up and all votes from the whole state are in the same pool?
Thats right. Your vote counts the same as one in Cincinnati or Cleveland or Athens etc. then the whole state goes one way or another. Thats why turnout is so important!
Also there might be down ballot races you vote for that move the needle. Everyone forgets about local elections but they actually matter way more to your life on a day to day basis.
In terms of the Electoral College votes, yes, it looks that way. But either way, I'd say to please vote. It matters.
All states except Maine and Nebraska tally votes cast statewide and allocate all electoral votes from that state to the winner. Specific concentrations of voters in those states aren't factored into the allocation.
Absolutely yes. Every vote for Democrats is a vote against Trump. He has such a weak ego, your one vote along with millions of other votes against him will drive him crazy. Death by 81,283,098 cuts.
Your vote will factor in to how the EC vote goes for Ohio regardless of what Reps get the vote in your district.
Locally, I suppose even if there is no chance for your district to swing blue, a large showing might have a positive effect getting local Repubs to chill on the fascism. Like maybe get a hint that Ohio residents don't want restrictions on their ballot initiatives.
If Ohio voted 15% blue last election and then votes 25% blue this election, that's significant information that tells people there may be momentum for change.
There may not be a chance of winning this election , but every vote tells people what people want.
If you don't vote, Ohio will always look like it will only ever vote red.
Absolutely. Voting in federal, state, and local elections makes big differences. I've lived in red and blue states, and my votes have personally swayed policy for red and blue states. Some of the stuff I voted for passed on margins as slim as 1,200 votes, in a city of hundreds of thousands of people (guess how many of them voted?)
As a direct result of me voting, my life dramatically improved because my cut bus lines were restored, the feds rebuilt parts of my city, and people were no longer getting arrested on bullshit charges.
Further civic action saved one local park from redevelopment.
So few people actually vote, even fewer with bad takes. So voting can have a profound impact on your life and other's lives. Some of my friends got the right to marry. Some others lost their ability to access healthcare and were forced to move states to access it again. It makes a difference.
This doesn't end with Americans either. You guys worldwide have had a number of extremely close elections, see the list below. Do your civic duty and vote! It can take an hour or less with a bit of research, and has a surprisingly big impact on your life.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_close_election_results
Great list!
Let me highlight the 1988 Massachusetts democratic primary:
Herbert L. Connolly lost to Robert B. Kennedy by one vote, and it was his own. Connolly arrived at his precinct a few minutes after the polls closed and wasn't able to vote. Kennedy won the following general.[74][75]
The popular vote tally is what matters on a state level. 48 states (Ohio included) use a state-wide popular vote and award all their electoral votes to the winner of a plurality (highest percentage even if no one gets more than 50%) in that vote.
Please always vote. Ohio isn't so deeply red that it's completely hopeless yet
Every vote for Biden in Steubenville is another vote that somebody in Cleveland doesn't have to counter, so yes, vote.
The electrical vote is state by state (with two states, Maine and Nebraska divying all but two of those votes one per congressional district), so your vote in a swing state matters.
If you are voting the opposite of the norm in your area, you are making a bigger impact than the reverse of the situation. Go by county and try to flip yours to blue. If it happens to flip, your vote counts 100%, otherwise you have at least tried and voted. Here is some links to check 2020 results by town or county.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/upshot/2020-election-map.html
Always vote, no matter what. If everyone who said it doesn't matter voted your red state might turn blue or at very least purple. Even if it still stays red it will be a sign that people are rejecting Republicans and could force change. Plus lots of races aren't just for president and are local things which can be won with less then 1000 votes in many places so vote every time always.
Yes! Downballot offices usually have a greater effect on your life than higher ones, in fact.
And I guarantee you that if every voter who thought their vote didn't count went out and voted, they damn well would count. The turnout last election was 46% of elligible voters. 46%! Half of us who could vote, didn't! 53% is enough to swing any state.
Yes it absolutely makes a difference. Also make sure you are voting in all elections, local elections are just as important as the national elections.
Ohio is purple too though. It can go both ways as generations shift.
How do red states become purple states become blue states?
Uuuuh byyy.... Republicans not voting anymore?
Usually because they died, given the age skew on the current parties.
Vote. You don't have to vote for Biden or Trump, you can write in a vote or choose a third party or independent candidate on the ballot, if your State allows it. Not for the reason of making practical change, because it won't in a two party system, but to show the analytics, media, the ruling power that you don't have to vote for the lesser of two evils. Anyone that says otherwise does not know what democracy means and supports a broken system through enabling. Local votes ate more important IMO, always vote for that. The more informed you are, the less likely you are to support a broken system.
I used to live in a red state and would get discouraged but I voted anyway. Don’t think about and go vote because it’s better than being apathetic and doing nothing like most of the country does.
While you might be right, it is a civic duty to vote. Your mindset is too dangerous, which is why the right-wing trolls try pushing it. Voting even why you know it won't make a difference is the most basic thing you can do to push back. Who knows what could happen if we get enough people out of that mindset. Simply voting, regardless of who for, is an event that every American should take pride in.
A vote for Biden is a vote against trump Where as a vote for no one is a vote that benefits trump because there’s no one voting against him
Yes. Voting is the only way your voice is heard. By not voting, the red majority grows and you effectively do not exist to the political system.
Voting is how you narrow the margins and increase the popular vote. Voting in your local elections is where you have a better say in how things that immediately affect you area. Voting in local and state referendums is also powerful, as it directly affects your local laws and many times can pass or fail by only tens of votes. It might feel hopeless but it is absolutely important that you vote in EVERY SINGLE ELECTION that you are eligible for.
Here in Australia, our voting system means you can't waste a vote. If whoever I vote for doesn't win, my vote gets shifted to the next on my list.
Every year I vote for the Animal Justice Party, Environment Australia, Progressive Unity etc. They never win, but my vote is still registered as having gone to them. Eventually my vote shifts along and either lands on the greens who win my electorate, or labour. But they'll still see that the Animal Justice Party DID get a lot of votes, and maybe the Greens or Labour will focus more on animal based policy.
If 49% of your American electorate votes blue, maybe your right wing winner will try to appeal to that sizeable demographic by not being so horribly right wing.
We need as many votes against the bad man as possible to help counter his lies about stolen elections. Yes, it matters that hard numbers can be referenced when backing up facts. I don’t like the guy I have to vote for but I’ll still vote for him even in my deeply blue state (Calif)
As long as you have a valid ID and registered voter.. yep <3
Might nudge Ohio blue a little. Unlikely to change Ohio's end result, since Vance is from Ohio, but better than not trying.
Find a little pride in doing your part to make the country better.
Sorry I'm not well enough versed in American politics to know who's blue or red.
Whether you should vote or not doesn't depend on the people around you. It is your right to have your say. The result is the cumulative effect of everyone in your area doing the same. Whether you think you're surrounded by millions of blues or millions of reds doesn't make any difference. Your perception may be incorrect, and your analysis, that there is literally zero chance that your vote will matter, is incorrect.
Nobody knows the results of an election until the votes are in and have been counted. It doesn't matter that your area has always been red, blue, green, turquoise, pink or whatever. Areas can change allegiance, and it is by individuals getting out and voting.
If you don't vote, you strengthen the position of those who vote the other way. It is not considered a protest vote because the system would prefer to consider this as voter apathy. If you want to register a protest vote and "none of the above" isn't an option, find the official way to spoil your ballot paper and do that, but whatever you do, get out and vote.
I'm also from Ohio. Your vote counts. Besides the tally, elections are about statistics. One of those statistics is trajectory. People who run campaigns take notice. One thing to understand about Ohio politics is that when voted on individually "blue" ideas pass. Abortion access, recreational marijuana, anti gerrymandering but candidates lose. This tells me it's possible for Dems to win in Ohio, they just suck at getting their message across
You should absolutely vote. It should be considered a responsibility by all citizens!
Vote for who you think is the best option. Ohio is a pretty safe Republican state for Trump. I will probably be voting for the Democrat, but you should read up on everyone who is on the ballot and make an informed decision.
Voting gives you the right to complain. If you don't vote, you lose that right.
I'm in a similar situation and will vote more according to my actual politcal preferences than vote blue no matter who. Edit: The left will never rise above this vote blue no matter who statement unless we start voting for the future that we wish to see.
Other than helping you sleep at night, probably not. That's enough reason to do it though.
Hello... hello... hello...
Welcome to the shit-lib Ecco chamber.
The two-party system is a fucking joke. Voting for Rethuglicans is fascist bootlicking. Voting for Democrats is just rainbow-colored fascism. Both sides just virtue signal to their base about identity politics, but change nothing fundamentally that will anger the true masters: the oligarchs who really run shit.
I bet you're fun at parties.
voting red or blue will not change anything
until people realize there are third parties to vote for nothing will happen
Voting third party changes nothing except help the Democrat or Republican you most identify with to lose.
Voting in the US needs to change first. FPTP replaced with ranked-choice, or approval, at least; the electoral college abolished; NPVIC; proportional representation in Congress.
But the big, first monster is first-past-the-post. No third party has come close to winning the Presidency since Abraham Lincoln. Please, think about that for one second. We haven't had a serious third party contender in one 164 years. And we won't, until we get a different election system in place. Until then, third party candidates are spoilers.
Ah yes all the votes for Nader. It did change things, but ask yourself how it changed things. The answer: it changed things for the worse. Big time.
And all those protest no votes against Hilary. Again, how did that change things? Again, it changed things for the worse. Fucking tenfold worse.
If you want things to move left, you do that by giving Dems victories.
It won't happen until a third party can offer a convincingly distinct platform. Right now, all our potential third party options are basically just piecemealed mix-n-matches between the two major parties.