2020 Presidential Election

[Bluedog]

I have a primary tomorrow and don't plan to vote for the first time in my life...many polling stations are closed and I'm already juggling getting work done with kids at home...kinda bummed about it, but health is more important to me.

[Acymetric]

I understand, but they are still primaries and are much easier to postpone than a general election.

I'm not sure I see how, and obviously you can't postpone the primaries further than the general.

[Phredd3]

I'm not sure I see how, and obviously you can't postpone the primaries further than the general.

No, but if necessary, everyone in the primaries can be advanced to the general. If necessary. The good news is that we still have close to eight months before that becomes reality. Perhaps four months is enough. Perhaps the virus does attenuate in summer, and July primaries are much less risky. Or perhaps not. Either way, it seems obvious to me that the run-up is easier to delay, given the time frame.

Will that strategy actually work? I have no idea. But if we are still this far in a crisis in November, we better ready mechanisms to get the voting done anyway, because I don't think a prediction of riots at a general election postponement is all that far off the mark.

[Acymetric]

No, but if necessary, everyone in the primaries can be advanced to the general. If necessary.

I don't think that is nearly as workable as you think it would be. I'm not really sure why you think that would be workable at all.

[Phredd3]

I don't think that is nearly as workable as you think it would be. I'm not really sure why you think that would be workable at all.

It's mostly the eight months I think is workable. It will cause one heck of a fuss to move the general election at all. Plus, you only have a few months leeway there at most, and those months include two major holidays. You may not think the primaries are flexible either, although you haven't said why. Fine. But it seems almost axiomatic that the general election is even less flexible than the primaries are. I'm not sure why that's even an issue.

This entire exchange started because I advocated trying to work on making the general elections flexible enough so that we wouldn't have to move them at all. We seem to be going down a bit of a rabbit-hole here and I'm not sure why, so I'm pretty much done with this tangential thought-experiment.

[sagegrouse]

Seems to me mail in votes are easier to verify than voting machines.

They are also protected by postal laws against fraud, as well as the usual election fraud laws.

[bundabergdevil]

Right on cue: Primary Polling Places are Full of Older People...and The Coronavirus

Godspeed to our state election officials. And our health care workers and a whole lot of other folks. But in this thread, mostly our election officials. Tough row to hoe, particularly with so many folks sowing doubt about the integrity of their processes. I'm sure there will be lots of missteps trying to figure this out but I wouldn't want to be in their shoes.

[bundabergdevil]

Right on cue: Primary Polling Places are Full of Older People...and The Coronavirus

Godspeed to our state election officials. And our health care workers and a whole lot of other folks. But in this thread, mostly our election officials. Tough row to hoe, particularly with so many folks sowing doubt about the integrity of their processes. I'm sure there will be lots of missteps trying to figure this out but I wouldn't want to be in their shoes.

And, just like that: No in person voting in Ohio announced.

[Acymetric]

And, just like that: No in person voting in Ohio announced.

Definitely the right move, but I hope they are putting things in place to make mail-in voting readily accessible to people who hadn't planned on doing it. Probably involves extending deadlines for submission at least.

[PackMan97]

And, just like that: No in person voting in Ohio announced.

I must admit, this time last week I had no idea who DeWine was...now I wished he were running for President. Dude is straight up crushing it on Ohio's pandemic response. He's proactive and getting in front of it.

[rthomas]

Biden overtakes Trump on betting markets as coronavirus pandemic undermines president

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biden...172305509.html

[bundabergdevil]

Biden overtakes Trump on betting markets as coronavirus pandemic undermines president

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biden...172305509.html

Biden also being reported as winner in Washington state this evening.

[bundabergdevil]

Andre Yang maybe should have stuck around. His universal basic income idea - albeit in a targeted, crisis-specific manner - has picked up interest from some unlikely politicians.

[JasonEvans]

Andre Yang maybe should have stuck around. His universal basic income idea - albeit in a targeted, crisis-specific manner - has picked up interest from some unlikely politicians.

I've seen other outlets frame the proposal this way -- like it is some version of Yang's UBI proposal. But I don't really think the suggestion that the government provide an emergency stimulus to individual citizens in an unprecedented time of uncertainty is nearly the same thing as what Yang was proposing as an ongoing program in our nation.

[bundabergdevil]

I've seen other outlets frame the proposal this way -- like it is some version of Yang's UBI proposal. But I don't really think the suggestion that the government provide an emergency stimulus to individual citizens in an unprecedented time of uncertainty is nearly the same thing as what Yang was proposing as an ongoing program in our nation.

Sure, that's why I called it "targeted, crisis-specific".

[JasonEvans]

Sure, that's why I called it "targeted, crisis-specific".

Oh yeah, you get it. I was mostly talking about the media members who are framing this as "look, Yang's out-there idea was actually really smart!"

[budwom]

Definitely the right move, but I hope they are putting things in place to make mail-in voting readily accessible to people who hadn't planned on doing it. Probably involves extending deadlines for submission at least.

yes, color me a bit skeptical right now...there are other forces at work here, but i'm not going to stray across the PP Line of Doom.

[JasonEvans]

As most folks know, Ohio has postponed today's primary but the other three states are doing their thang!

538 projects Biden with a better than 99% chance of winning each of Florida, Illinois, and Arizona. Of course, in the Democratic primary margins matter so 538 thinks each state will break down like this:

Florida - Biden 67, Sanders 28
Illinois - Biden 66, Sanders 30
Arizona - Biden 59, Sanders 34

-Jason "I think there could be a mild surprise tonight. Sanders die-hard, younger voters who are much less afraid of being out and about could give him a boost over Biden's older voters" Evans

[Phredd3]

Is it just me, or does Gabbard look more and more ridiculous the longer she stays in the race without being in the race? There's a point past which you just look foolish. I kinda think that every time I look at an official 538 poll that still has her icon. Maybe that's just a function of 538.

[budwom]

Is it just me, or does Gabbard look more and more ridiculous the longer she stays in the race without being in the race? There's a point past which you just look foolish. I kinda think that every time I look at an official 538 poll that still has her icon. Maybe that's just a function of 538.

I honestly keep forgetting that she's even IN the race.