Boycott US
Overview:
The community dedicated to boycotting the US until they stop fascism, restore full democracy and start following international law.
Americans have a moral obligation to resist Donald Trump and project 2025 at every turn.
America is a flawed democracy currently being ruled by oligarchs. Stop the backslide! Dont let America become the next Hungary.
America needs to challenge the court rulings of citizens united v. fec and shelby county v. holder, protect the media, implement independent district drawing, and the single transferable vote so they don't end up having people stay home in life-changing elections because they cannot vote for their favourite candidate.
Join 50501.chat to fight back!
Related communities:
Boycott:
!buycanadian@lemmy.ca
Activism:
!antitrumpalliance@lemmy.world
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European here, i think that is how it works in most democratic countries but not how it works in the usa. You have to register to vote there and afaik you don't register at the government but at the party you want to vote for. But i could be wrong. I want to be wrong.
You register with the election commission (the government) but in order to vote in party primaries, you have to register as their party. You're free to register as an independent.
You either register with the Post Office(USPS) or with your city's/county's/state's government. For California you can see the registration form and options here(just click register and say yes and you'll see the form with options): https://registertovote.ca.gov/
You register to vote and, depending on state/county, you choose what party you belong to(Republican, Democrat, No Party, Green Party, etc.). You may need to register with a specific political party because of open vs. closed primaries where you MUST be a registered Republican to vote in the Republican primary and/or register Democrat to vote in the Democrat primary, etc.
California has a good website/page with more details: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/political-parties/no-party-preference/
Again, different states have different ways of doing things.
Registration streamlines voting in that you don't need to bring ID, proof of eligibility, and residency to the polling place. You just show up and they check your signature.
Party declaration determines what party's primary you can vote it. It's to prevent people from casting spoiler votes to help a weak opposition candidate win their primary. Not all states do this: some ask which ballot you want at the polling place.
But...they still have to check that it's you who is showing up, so you still need an ID with photo or not?
You don't need ID -- they just ask you your name/address, check they have you registered, and check your signature against the one you gave when you registered to vote. If you're not registered you do need ID and proof of residence.
The current system gives you time to gather the required documents and recourse if the local government rejects it. It limits the ability of the people at the polling to turn you away.
It starts to make more sense when you consider all most people have are state issued IDs, combined with our political history of disenfranchisement -- particularly in the Jim Crow era.
Why are state issued IDs a problem?
I don't see a problem with getting a notification per mail some weeks before an election, which I then bring to the voting boot together with my ID where they check it with their list.
Imagine you're black living in some small town in Alabama in the 60s.
You go to vote and present your ID. The guy running the polling place takes it, looks at it, and hands it off to another "good old boy" who takes it to a back room -- presumably to destroy it. The first guy turns to you and says "You need to present your ID to vote." Indignant, you turn and see the Sheriff ... who you know is also a high ranking member of the local KKK chapter.
You have no recourse. Even if you can prove you possess a valid ID you can't prove in court that you brought it with you that day, and multiple "witnesses" will say you didn't.
That is a real thing that frequently happened. The current system takes that weapon away from the corrupt local governments and institutions. The most important thing it gives someone is time to seek recourse before voting day arrives: particularly a courts. And if the lower courts are corrupt the person being disenfranchised can appeal to a higher one.
A court can determine you're eligible and order a local government to let you vote ... and anyone that violates that order is going to have a very bad time. Sheriff Dipshit knows what he can get away with, and disobeying a federal court's order isn't one of them.
Understood