2018 Midterm Election Thread

[Judge Jude]

https://journalistsresource.org/stud...rnout-outcomes

that's a Harvard report on off-cycle elections

"Given such citizen preferences, why are most local elections still held off-cycle? Over the past decade, state legislatures have considered hundreds of bills to consolidate elections, yet almost all have failed to pass — in large part because groups that benefit from off-cycle timing fight such changes. For example, I found that teachers’ unions and school board associations often turn up to testify against bills that would move school elections on-cycle.

Somewhat surprisingly, Democrats generally vote to preserve off-cycle timing, while Republicans more often vote to move school board elections into alignment with national or state contests."

"Public officials installed in low-turnout, off-cycle elections are unusually dependent on support from organized interest groups — including their efforts to get out the vote. Candidates who win and hold onto office in such contexts tend to promote policies that benefit their most organized constituents, the ones who helped them win the last election and will be needed again in the next contest."

[Bernie Brewer]

https://journalistsresource.org/stud...rnout-outcomes

that's a Harvard report on off-cycle elections

"Given such citizen preferences, why are most local elections still held off-cycle? Over the past decade, state legislatures have considered hundreds of bills to consolidate elections, yet almost all have failed to pass — in large part because groups that benefit from off-cycle timing fight such changes. For example, I found that teachers’ unions and school board associations often turn up to testify against bills that would move school elections on-cycle.

Somewhat surprisingly, Democrats generally vote to preserve off-cycle timing, while Republicans more often vote to move school board elections into alignment with national or state contests."

"Public officials installed in low-turnout, off-cycle elections are unusually dependent on support from organized interest groups — including their efforts to get out the vote. Candidates who win and hold onto office in such contexts tend to promote policies that benefit their most organized constituents, the ones who helped them win the last election and will be needed again in the next contest."

It appears that its the same study but yours was written by the USC Professor. This is the article from 538 dated November 3, 2015 written by a Yale Asst. Professor of Political Science.

In the ongoing fight between Democrats and Republicans over election procedures like voter ID and early voting, the Democrats are supposedly the champions of higher turnout and reducing barriers to participation. But when it comes to scheduling off-cycle elections like those taking place today, the Democratic Party is the champion of voter suppression.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features...ress-the-vote/

[Bernie Brewer]

Per CNN Article dated July 20, 2018

Democrats need to fix their own voter suppression problem

Every wing of the Democratic Party is rightfully outraged at voter suppression and disenfranchisement. Onerous voter ID laws, voting roll purges, felon disenfranchisement and more exist, or are springing up in one "red" state after another, with only one real goal -- keeping poor and working people, young people, and disproportionately people of color from voting.

In the midst of the 2016 presidential primary campaign, the DNC and both the Clinton and Sanders campaigns put aside their differences to jointly sue the Republican administration of Arizona over its shocking "mismanagement" of the election there that effectively denied the vote to legions of people. Thank goodness those things don't happen in "blue" states. Right?

Shamefully, they do.

Nowhere is this truer than in the great and solidly blue state of New York. It is no accident that, as confirmed by Politifact, "New York consistently ranks as one of the worst voting turnout states in the nation." In the recent New York primary (which was only for federal offices -- more on that in a minute), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez scored her surprise victory in the state's 14th Congressional District with voter turnout in that district of an abysmal 12%. Compare that with the City of Chicago and Cook County at roughly 30%; California at over 37%; Montana, 41%; and Idaho at 30%, with the county showing the lowest turnout clocking in at 22% -- almost double the turnout of NY-14. What's the matter with New York?

Voter suppression has a long and ugly history in America and Democrats of all stripes need to fight it. It is hard to credibly combat Republicans' despicable voter suppression efforts when millions are effectively denied the ballot in the Empire State. It's time to get our own house in order so we have the moral authority to protect the voting rights of people everywhere

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/19/opini...ver/index.html

[nots]

So, it looks like both parties are to blame. Thanks for the links.

[baldgriff]

So, it looks like both parties are to blame. Thanks for the links.

Nice to see Im not crazy.....

[Bernie Brewer]

Nice to see Im not crazy.....

I'm not sure we've actually proved that!

[nots]

I'm not sure we've actually proved that!

Lol, yeah slow down BG, we aren’t there yet!

[baldgriff]

Lol, yeah slow down BG, we aren’t there yet!

Ok - well at least as it pertains to this particular subject I seem to be on solid footings blaming both sides of the aisle for their inability to fix this particular issue.

Thanks for doing the heavy lifting.

[Sour Masher]

You all have provided compelling evidence to me that the Dems are in the wrong on promoting off-cycle elections. I do not think this issue is as insidious or wide-reaching as the sort of voter suppression the GOP trades in, but I know it is good to address any and all issues that detract from all people actively participating in our democracy, and call it out on both sides, when we see it. So, thanks for opening my eyes on an issue of was ignorant of.

In a broader sense, I'll say that I think most left-leaning folks here are fully aware that the Democratic Party is far from perfect, and not all Dems are saints. I think where conflict arises here is in the frustration felt by those on the left that those on the right want to deflect or suggest that all problems bear equal culpability by both parties, which is very seldom the case. But rather then get into a game of "well, you guys do it worse", it would most often be more productive to all agree that we should all call out rather than defend any and all bad actors and practices. We should not be excusing poor behavior from our team. It isn't about us vs them on issues like this, it is right vs wrong.

[baldgriff]

Every citizen should have the opportunity to vote and be provided a means to demonstrate that they are who they are when they show up to the polling place in person.

This shouldnt be difficult!

[Sour Masher]

Every citizen should have the opportunity to vote and be provided a means to demonstrate that they are who they are when they show up to the polling place in person.

This shouldnt be difficult!

I agree with both parts of your sentence, but the second part, as has been discussed again and again, seems unnecessary. I have yet to see any evidence at all that voter fraud is an actual issue in this country. Unless there is evidence that it is, why would we create problems for many voters--especially poor or older ones--with enacting demands for voter IDs? If this were being put forth as a solution to a real problem rather than an obvious attempt at voter suppression, I'd be all for it. In a perfect world, everyone would have a valid form of ID, but many don't, so why hinder their ability to vote in the absence of evidence for the need to do so? The solution seems to create more issues than the initial problem in this case.

[hacko]

In this Day and age we do everything on line I’m sure we can should be able to do that with voting also. Plus we should make it a national holiday .

[Sour Masher]

In this Day and age we do everything on line I’m sure we can should be able to do that with voting also. Plus we should make it a national holiday .

I agree. We should either make voting easier online or ensure everyone can get off of work for enough time to go vote in person. Other countries fine businesses that don't allow employees to leave work for awhile to go vote. We give time off for way more frivolous stuff here. We can do it for voting. We could also move it to the weekend.

[Ken]

I agree with both parts of your sentence, but the second part, as has been discussed again and again, seems unnecessary. I have yet to see any evidence at all that voter fraud is an actual issue in this country. Unless there is evidence that it is, why would we create problems for many voters--especially poor or older ones--with enacting demands for voter IDs? If this were being put forth as a solution to a real problem rather than an obvious attempt at voter suppression, I'd be all for it. In a perfect world, everyone would have a valid form of ID, but many don't, so why hinder their ability to vote in the absence of evidence for the need to do so? The solution seems to create more issues than the initial problem in this case.

I tend to lean that way too, I certainly don't think it is the problem many make it out to be.

My question is how do we know it is or isn't a problem? How can anyone say definitively either way if we don't have good data?

Unfortunately we may have to include some kind of voter ID just in order to show that we don't have a problem.

[Ken]

In this Day and age we do everything on line I’m sure we can should be able to do that with voting also. Plus we should make it a national holiday .

I wonder if that's more of an issue with poor/elderly than a voter ID would be? We like to think everyone has access to on line resources but in reality that's not truly 100%.