Researching Voting Methods Checking Registration Tracking Wait Times And Absentee Ballots
Biden voters are more likely than Trump voters to say they took a variety of steps to ensure they would be able to cast a ballot in the days and weeks leading up to Election Day. Nearly half of voters say they checked their voter registration status prior to the election including 56% of Biden voters and 40% of Trump voters. And a majority of Biden voters also say they researched their options for how to vote in person or by mail this year, compared with 32% of Trump voters.
Among those who voted in person in the November election, 17% say they checked wait times at an in-person polling place before going to vote: 22% of Biden voters and 14% of Trump voters say they did this.
About half of absentee or mail-in ballot voters say they tracked their ballots status through a website or app: Nearly six-in-ten Biden voters say they did this, compared with 40% of Trump voters.
Black voters, Hispanic voters and Asian voters are somewhat more likely than White voters to say they checked their registration status, though these differences are closely related to levels of support for the two candidates within different racial and ethnic groups.
Younger voters and those with more years of formal education are also more likely to say they took several of these steps than older voters or those with fewer years of education, respectively.
The Cult Of Personality
What makes people join cults is a problem that has occupied many a psychologist and sociologist. Many answers have been proposed, none all-encompassing or persuasive, but yet here we are: People join cults.
How can they keep believing in false prophets who predict that on a date certain the world will come to an end? And to believe so fervently that they sell all of their belongings. Or, as in the case of the Jonestown massacre, even willingly die for their dear leader?
Remember Trumps infamous quote that he could kill somebody on Fifth Avenue in broad daylight and his fans will stick with him? He was probably right.
How Did You Justify Your Vote To People Who Said Women Shouldn’t Vote For Trump
The comments he made about women, he made them over 10 years ago. were wrong and offensive just how it would be offensive for women to express themselves like that about men.
You watch Sex and the City and they speak about men just the way Trump spoke about women in that tape. At the end of the day, its wrong and offensive, but he apologized. As a girl who was raised with a lot of men, Ive heard comments like that before. Im not saying its OK. Im just saying that doesnt give me a reason not to like him.
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‘papa How Can You Vote For Him’
“Papa, how can you vote for him?” my then thirteen-year-old son asked me one night in 2016. “He’s so crude.” The “him” of the question was then-candidate Donald John Trump. I answered:
Brendan, I know he swears and is crude, but so are a lot of the best men I’ve ever known. I’ve known guys who talk like sailors that would give you the shirt off their back. And I’ve known men who present themselves as holier than thou and would certainly never use bad words, but they’d stab you in the back and not think twice about it. Trump is crude, but those other men so worried about what he says have had their chance to run the country. A lot of those men in those debates and other pundits who express outrage at Trump’s coarseness have the blood of hundreds of thousands of Christians on their hands from their Middle East wars that unleashed hell on those poor people. That’s crude. And they’re worried about swearing and rough language? Have those Catholics who judge Trump but supported those disastrous policies apologized? He should be mad. He should be swearing. Drive around the country and look at what has been done to the working class in this country while those guys make speeches and promises, and nothing ever changes for the better.
You know, it turns out I was not alone.
It is commonplace for politicians and pundits to refer to every election as “the most important in history.” But this time, it’s true.
Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr.
If Postal Votes That Get Counted Several Days After The Election Change The Final Tally Of A State From Trump To Biden Or Vice
There’s no legal requirement to announce a winner on election night – this is done as a projection by major US media outlets.
The full count is never completed on the night – but enough votes are usually in to confirm a winner.
These are unofficial results which are certified only weeks later, when confirmed by state officials.
This year, the US media will likely be more cautious in calling a winner, as there are more postal votes and these take longer to count.
This could mean the leader on election night in some states could end up losing once all the votes – including postal ballots – are counted.
Your Questions Answered: What questions do you have about the US election?
How does vote counting work? When will we get the final results? The US election can be confusing, especially this year. The BBC is here to help make sense of it. Please send us your questions about election day and beyond.
In some cases, your question will be published, displaying your name, age and location as you provide it, unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published. Please ensure you have read our terms & conditions and privacy policy.
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Another Biden Gaffe On Friday
While Bidens you aint black controversy raged on Friday, unsurprisingly it wasnt his first gaffe of the day.
In another interview Friday, Biden said, Im prepared to say that I have a record over 40 years, and that Im going to beat Joe Biden.
Im prepared to say that I have a record over 40 years, and that Im going to beat Joe Biden
He is right though. Hes helping defeat himself every time he speaks.
Every time he opens his might, Joe Biden seems determined to beat Joe Biden!
Alyssa: Im Not Going To Vote For Somebody Because Of Their Gender Or Race
Trump voter Alyssa, a mother of two boys who is currently not employed, calls herself a feminist on most things, but she is fiercely opposed to voting for someone based on gender alone. Instead she backed Trump, who shares her own beliefs including not raising taxes. Her home state of Ohio a mix of rust-belt, big-city Appalachia, farmland and suburbs more white and less educated than the national mean voted for Trump.
At some things I would be a feminist. But it doesnt mean I vote for someone because she has a vagina. Ive always voted Republican and always support the party.
They pushed a female candidate through to break the glass ceiling of a perceived gender equality bias
At the end of the day did not affect my support for him. What he says and what he does dont matter in those senses because Im looking for somebody that has the same beliefs as I do in running a country. At the end of the day were all sinners and we all say things like this. It isnt uncommon. We act like the president of United States should be some holy person.
Im not going to vote for somebody because of their gender or race. There is nothing other than whether they can run the country or not.
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Pretty Much Everyone In The World Is Fed Up With This Electoral College Nonsense So How Hard Is It To Just Make Us Elections A Majority Vote And Dump The College
The US electoral system is laid out in the constitution, so changing it would require a constitutional amendment.
This would have to be approved by two-thirds of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, or the same proportion of state legislatures. This would then need to be ratified by three-quarters of US states.
This is very unlikely to be successful, although there have been attempts to change the system in the past.
There is an ongoing effort by some states to award their electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote, no matter who wins there. This is a way off, but would effectively nullify the electoral college.
Military And Overseas Voters
Who Can and Cant Vote Absentee
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Military members and families stationed outside their legal voting residence can vote absentee.
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Overseas U.S. citizens who used to live in the U.S. can vote absentee.
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U.S. citizens born abroad who have never resided in the U.S. may not be able to vote absentee. Check the rules of the state where the persons parent or legal guardian last resided.
Register and Request an Absentee Ballot in One Step
If you’re a military or overseas U.S. citizen, you can register to vote and request an absentee ballot in one step. Complete the Federal Post Card Application online. Or .
You must know your voting residence for this.
If you’re an overseas citizen, your voting residence is the address in the state you last resided in the U.S.
You can use this address even if:
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You no longer own property in that state.
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Youre not sure whether youre going to return to that state.
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Your previous address is no longer a recognized residential address.
If you’re a military member, your voting residence should be in the state listed on your Leave and Earnings Statement. It is not necessarily your home of record.
If youre a military spouse, you can:
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Use the same residence as the service member, even if you never lived or visited there
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Keep your current, established residence. That’s the address that you consider your permanent home and once lived at.
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Take the appropriate steps to establish a new residence
Submit Your Application as Soon as Possible
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Why Did So Many Americans Vote For Trump
To the dismay of Democrats, the presidents strategy of ignoring the pandemic mostly worked for Republicans.
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Contributing Opinion Writer
President Trumps disastrous mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic probably cost him re-election. Yet it seems mind-boggling that he still won more votes than any incumbent president in American history despite his dereliction of responsibility at a time of a once-in-a-century health crisis and economic devastation.
Why are President-elect Joe Bidens margins sothin in the states that clinched his victory? And why did the presidents down-ticket enablers flourish in the turbulent, plague-torn conditions they helped bring about?
Democrats, struggling to make sense of it all, are locked in yet another round of mutual recrimination: They were either too progressive for swing voters too socialist or aggressive with ambitious policies like the Green New Deal or not progressive enough to inspire potential Democratic voters to show up or cross over.
But they should understand that there was really no way to avoid disappointment. Three factors the logic of partisan polarization, which inaccurate polling obscured the strength of the juiced pre-Covid-19 economy and the success of Mr. Trumps denialist, open-everything-up nonresponse to the pandemic mostly explain why Democrats didnt fare better.
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In Their Own Words: Why Some Voters Faced Difficulties Casting Ballots
While most voters who cast ballots in the November election say voting was very or somewhat easy for them personally , about 6% of voters say they encountered difficulties when casting their ballot.
For about half of these voters , logistical issues like long lines or safety concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic made voting difficult. One-in-five pointed to long voting lines, and many cited unusually long wait times at polling places. One 58-year-old woman voter said, I had to stand in the cold and rain for approximately an hour and a half. Never had to stand in line for more than 10-15 minutes inside before.
For 16% of these voters, issues with submitting absentee or mail ballots made voting difficult. While some pointed to confusion about rules and requirements surrounding vote by mail, others mentioned delays in receiving or tracking their mail ballots in time. A 26-year-old man said, I requested a mail in ballot, didnt receive it, contacted my county and they said to wait 10 more business days. I contacted them again, then they finally sent a new one to me the week before the election. I made the choice to drop it off rather than mail it in because it was so close to Election Day.
Some voters also noted that safety concerns about voting during the pandemic led to hurdles while making voting plans. One woman noted, People in my family tested positive for COVID-19 on October 26, so instead of voting in person, we had to request a mail in ballot at the last minute.
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Can You Believe In Science And Still Vote For Trump
By Dov Michaeli, MD, PhD | Published 7/5/2020 10
A few years ago, I was treated to shocking news. One of my own relatives voted for Donald Trump! To protect his identity, I will call him Z. Whats so shocking about it, you might ask? Its because I know that he believes in science. I wondered how on earth can you vote for Trump if you believe in science.
I thought I knew this young man. I have been in his life since his infancy. He has a great disposition and a good sense of humor. He is always optimistic, low-key, and level-headed.
He is also a great husband and father. He believes in education and made sacrifices so his children could attend college. Further, he is an executive in his company where he has to make judgments based on hard facts. In short, hes a normal guy just like you and me.
And, as Ive already said, he believes in science. So how could he vote for a president whose relationship with facts and the truth is so tenuous, to put it mildly?
Even more puzzling is that he still supported him even after Trump denounced climate change as a Chinese hoax? At the time, he lived in a state that was hit hard by a terribly angry Mother Nature, for heavens sake!
