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The vast majority of electoral voting in the US works basically as intended. Most polling places don’t have long lines except perhaps right when they open becau

by ls612 7y ago

The vast majority of electoral voting in the US works basically as intended. Most polling places don’t have long lines except perhaps right when they open because people lined up ahead of time. Most states have some sort of paper ballot that is machine counted to save time (which IS a legitimate concern in a general election with 130mm votes or so cast). Before yesterday every state has for many election cycles run primaries or caucuses without this sort of snafu. I’m assuming you aren’t American based on your comment. You only read about the snafus because “everything went well yesterday in our city’s/state’s election” isn’t news for us. It’s normal.

coredog64 7y ago
I would also add in the complexity of US elections. Depending on the year you have multiple federal, state, and local positions. Add to that ballot initiatives and it’s not difficult to have a ballot that is both sides of an A2 sheet of paper. Even with all that, I’ve never had to wait more than 30 minutes. Also, while Election Day isn’t a federal holiday, ~40 states have a legal requirement that employers give employees time off to vote. (Not in the OP’s initial list, but something people generally bring up without knowing the facts on the ground)
lwf 7y ago
There were also "app problems" and late results in the 2016 Iowa Caucuses. Linked from the article: https://www.wired.com/2016/01/the-low-tech-high-stakes-iowa-caucus-is-getting-disrupted/ https://www.wired.com/2016/01/the-low-tech-high-stakes-iowa-... https://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/how-iowa-democrats-couldnt-handle-a-two-candidate-race-218934 https://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/how-iowa-democrats-co...
socialdemocrat 7y ago
I assume it goes fine in most states. That is not the point. The point is that you simply don't get these stories from other developed countries. While in the US there are stories about election irregularities almost every election. I saw a documentary about Cory Booker running for Mayor in New Jersey. That was epic in how screwed up it was. I was quite shocked that elections could be so corrupt in a modern democracy. > The vast majority of electoral voting in the US works basically as intended. Most polling places don’t have long lines except perhaps right when they open because people lined up ahead of time. Areas with minorities seems to quite frequently have it. Voter suppression is done quite widely in the US judging by reports, statistics and observations. And lets not forget machine politics. Listen to Richard Ojeda of West Virginia tell how corrupt the whole political process was there. I mean he got physically attacked because he was going up against the establishment. Of course it does not mean every place in the US is like that. But the frequency of extreme cases points to larger underlying problems. The problem IMHO is that Americans are so used to this and think it is like that everywhere so they don't see the problem. I have many American friends at home and many tell the same stories about how so many things from home got normalized that they did not realize how screwed up it was until they lived outside the US for an extended period. Unless you lived in different countries you cannot view your own country through an objective lens.

by ls612 7y ago

coredog64 7y ago

I would also add in the complexity of US elections. Depending on the year you have multiple federal, state, and local positions. Add to that ballot initiatives and it’s not difficult to have a ballot that is both sides of an A2 sheet of paper. Even with all that, I’ve never had to wait more than 30 minutes. Also, while Election Day isn’t a federal holiday, ~40 states have a legal requirement that employers give employees time off to vote. (Not in the OP’s initial list, but something people generally bring up without knowing the facts on the ground)

lwf 7y ago

There were also "app problems" and late results in the 2016 Iowa Caucuses. Linked from the article: https://www.wired.com/2016/01/the-low-tech-high-stakes-iowa-caucus-is-getting-disrupted/ https://www.wired.com/2016/01/the-low-tech-high-stakes-iowa-... https://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/how-iowa-democrats-couldnt-handle-a-two-candidate-race-218934 https://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/how-iowa-democrats-co...

socialdemocrat 7y ago

I assume it goes fine in most states. That is not the point. The point is that you simply don't get these stories from other developed countries. While in the US there are stories about election irregularities almost every election. I saw a documentary about Cory Booker running for Mayor in New Jersey. That was epic in how screwed up it was. I was quite shocked that elections could be so corrupt in a modern democracy. > The vast majority of electoral voting in the US works basically as intended. Most polling places don’t have long lines except perhaps right when they open because people lined up ahead of time. Areas with minorities seems to quite frequently have it. Voter suppression is done quite widely in the US judging by reports, statistics and observations. And lets not forget machine politics. Listen to Richard Ojeda of West Virginia tell how corrupt the whole political process was there. I mean he got physically attacked because he was going up against the establishment. Of course it does not mean every place in the US is like that. But the frequency of extreme cases points to larger underlying problems. The problem IMHO is that Americans are so used to this and think it is like that everywhere so they don't see the problem. I have many American friends at home and many tell the same stories about how so many things from home got normalized that they did not realize how screwed up it was until they lived outside the US for an extended period. Unless you lived in different countries you cannot view your own country through an objective lens.