• Euphorazine@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    The only thing I would add is that with the electoral system, it’s not the candidate with the most electoral votes that win, it’s the candidate who gets half+1 votes (270 or more currently)

    If candidate A wins 250 votes, candidate B wins 200 votes and candidate C wins 88 votes, candidate A does not win. If there is no winner, the house of representatives votes for president, each state getting one vote.

    Another reason why third party presidential candidates are never serious contenders.

    • nzeayn@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      can we just set up a bot that does nothing but reply with these two comments to every “why no 3rd parties bro” question. We’ll turn it on three months before every US election and let it travel around lemmy servers. then turn if off until this whole cycle repeats.

          • abbenm@lemmy.ml
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            2 months ago

            You said to not vote third party, so you can’t vote for rcv.

            Not only did they literally not say that… actually no, let’s just pause on this. This is so confused it’s actually kind of amazing. Explaining how first past the post works is not saying don’t vote third party. You could still like a third party the most independent of electoral concerns. And explaining the strategic reasoning for choosing one of the two major parties isn’t the same as saying you “should” vote for them in a moral sense.

            Voting to enact a ranked choice voting system isn’t the same as voting for a third part. You could want rank choice voting even if you favored one of the two major parties but don’t want them to lose narrow elections when they might be the winning coalition. You could hate the third party and still want rank choice voting. You can both support a third party and support rank choice voting and understand that they are two entirely separate things.

            And I suppose the cherry on top is you referred to them as “you” like it was a single person in a comment chain where it’s three comments by three different people.

            Truly a magnificent multi-layered piece of confusion, chefs kiss, five stars, two thumbs up, etc etc.

          • sensiblepuffin@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            Usually RCV is an initiative or referendum depending on how your state does it. In mine, it’s just a separate issue on the back that we have to vote for, alongside things like “should we institute a tax for schools” or “should we approve building a new park”. Entirely separate from voting for candidates for any position.

          • bamboo@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            2 months ago

            You don’t need to vote third party to get Ranked Choice Voting. There are ballot measures this election to introduce ranked choice voting, independent on who you vote for President. You can vote for Harris and RCV if you’re in one of these states:

            Oregon

            Oregon voters will vote on Measure 117 in November 2024 on whether they will use ranked choice voting general elections for statewide and federal offices (starting in 2028).

            The Oregon Legislature passed the reform in 2023, but any change to the state constitution requires referral to the voters before enacting.

            Colorado

            Proposition 131 will appear on Colorado’s November 2024 ballot. If passed, it would establish an “all-candidate primary” where the top four vote getters move on to a ranked-choice general election.

            Idaho

            Proposition 1 has been certified to appear on Idaho’s November 2024 ballot. If passed, it would establish an “all-candidate primary” where the top four vote getters move on to a ranked-choice general election.

            Nevada

            Nevada voters will vote in November 2024 on whether they will use open primaries and ranked choice voting general elections (starting in 2026).

            Voters already approved it in 2022, but it needs to pass in two consecutive ballot measures in order to amend the state constitution.

            Washington D.C.

            Initiative 83 will open up the District’s primary elections to allow voters not registered with a political party to participate (~71,000 people). General elections will use ranked-choice voting where voters can rank up to 5 candidates.

            https://www.rankedvote.co/guides/understanding-ranked-choice-voting/2024-rcv-on-the-ballot

            • basmati@lemmus.org
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              2 months ago

              Oh that’s cute, you think the legislatures and judicial branches will allow mass adoption.

              If states can override ballot measures regarding legal cannabis, and they have repeatedly, they can override this. Neither side of the duopoly has any interest in losing power.

              • abbenm@lemmy.ml
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                2 months ago

                If states can override ballot measures regarding legal cannabis, and they have repeatedly, they can override this.

                Has that happened? I’m not doubting you, but overall the trend has overwhelmingly been in the direction of adoption. It’s also just a bizarre example to choose since it seems to me like most of those initiatives have been successful and if anything have illustrated the connection between voting and noticeable change.

                Which, come to think of it, it’s probably why trolls don’t use it anymore as an example of an issue pretend to care about when they search for reasons to tell people to disengage from democracy.

                • goosehorse@lemmy.world
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                  2 months ago

                  Folks in Mississippi passed an initiative for a fairly lax medical law in 2020. Some Karen mayor of one of the suburbs around the capital city used judicial chicanery to get it thrown out at the State Supreme Court, along with the ability of the populace to vote on ballot measures going forward.

                  I doubt that OP was debating you in good faith, but it did happen at least once in the last few years. The Republicans certainly didn’t waste the opportunity to minimize the effects of democracy on their power.

              • bamboo@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                2 months ago

                Your point being that it’s futile to cast a vote for something that won’t come to fruition? Thanks for supporting the original point that voting for a third party candidate is a waste of your vote, and just helps Trump.

                  • abbenm@lemmy.ml
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                    2 months ago

                    Low effort shitposts like this that ignore the point of the person you are responding to, that is what makes the internet a bad place.

      • UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml
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        2 months ago

        Wait, why aren’t you fixing the voting system? Yall clearly understand it’s faults. Don’t you believe in democracy?

        “You dont get to vote how you want, and you will be reminded every election.”

        Clown country.

        • nzeayn@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          because the system is working as designed and it’s incentives keep a lot of people favoring it. but the alternative fast solutions everyone loves to wax philosphical about. well that movie always ends with this really weird wide angle shot of a field. theres this big mound of fresh dirt people are celebrating the victory around. but all our favorite anarchist charaters are missing and nobody can tell me why they got written out at the last minute.

        • authorinthedark@lemmy.sdf.org
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          2 months ago

          do you think that a half dozen lemmy users are capable of changing the voting system?

          there have been some initiatives passed in some states, but thats only half the election. And the people in power benefit from a first past the post voting system, so transitioning out is slow work. It is possible, and it is happening, but there’s not a magic button that says “swap to superior voting method” that a single socialist can press