• Squizzy@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I live in Ireland and we have voting day where all polls are open for like 16 hours with very easy access and work has to let you go to vote. It works quite well, we have a good system.

    Ironically I think mail in voting would fuck our politics because we have let so many people call themselves Irish that global votes would change the whole landscape. I was abroad for the last election, suck not getting to vote but I’d rather it this way.

    • GingerPale@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Unfortunately, the US is so big that I don’t think single day voting would ever work. The entire population of Ireland is smaller than Philadelphia, Pennsylvania alone. Plus, we have our military flung far and wide across the globe and they should have a vote in the which dipshit politicians fling them around the next round.

      • Squizzy@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        The population is irrelevant, processes scale. Besides the current undemocratic setup of US elections was designed to deal with a large and spread out populace. Maybe use the electoral college. But 112 million people watched the Superbowl and 158 million people voted in both most recent outings.

        There is absolutely a possibility to have enough polling stations open for 24 in enough places that there is a reasonable expectation that everyone can make it to vote if they were willing.

        I’m not strictly against mail in votes I think it is a generally good system but I have an American neighbour that has voted through the embassy for the elections that came up and has not been in America in decades.

    • Ben Hur Horse Race@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      OK, but I’m in Ireland for over a decade, would you prefer I didn’t get to vote (for the democratic candidate in a swing state)?

      • Squizzy@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Who you vote for is irrelevant, but yeah I don’t think you should get to vote if you’re not living in the consequences. What is to stop you voting for austerity under which you won’t struggle but can return when things are better? Voting to cut education or mandating something you don’t have to deal with, I think it is a bit self important of someone to vote for something like that.

        Now obviously you could move home within the window between elections, and any other number of possibilities I know this isn’t perfect but I think it is best.

        • Ben Hur Horse Race@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          well… just to say, I’d never vote for austerity, or to cut education. cutting education in the US is partially what got us into this mess

          • Squizzy@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Absolutely, I think we are probably somewhat aligned politically but you can’t consider the person when you make election law only the public. Whatever allowances made for you in the hopes that you vote for a better world, with the knowledge that you would, allows for bad actors to utilise the same means impose their views.

            So if you can vote remotely for an election under which you will not live, it is all well and good to vote for stronger public programmes and education and healthcare but the remote votes for authoritative lunatics will get the same weight.

            • Ben Hur Horse Race@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              I hear you. For me I don’t mind, and I’m happy to be able to vote even though I don’t live there. Way more left leaning people live out of the US than do right leaning people. They often don’t leave their hometowns, cause, you know, cities are scary