Does voting for Biden change anything if I live in a deep red area of my state? (Ohio)

Submitted ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨Cairden@lemmy.world⁩ to ⁨[deleted]⁩

There is literally 0 chance the area I live in will be blue. Does me going out and voting actually do anything besides add to the popular vote tally?

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tacosanonymous@lemm.ee ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Remember that the president isn’t the only thing on the ballot.

Don’t give up on fighting fascism from your school board up to your state reps. If you organize/join existing groups, you can make your voice heard.

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whyrat@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Your vote is sending a signal to future elections. If Ohio has a 20-point red margin, it’s unlikely to get any attention from blue candidates. If it has a 5% margin, that changes, and suddenly the next campaign considers spending time & money to try and move the needle.

Remember the old Roman adage: “you’re not defeated until you admit defeat”. If you don’t vote: you’ve lost. If you vote, you might still lose that election but there’s a better chance to win in the future.

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- Lupus@feddit.org ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Berthold Brecht:
  
  Anyone who stays at home when the war begins and lets others fight for their cause must be careful: because whoever did not share the fight will share the defeat.
  
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jerkface@lemmy.ca ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Always vote. Progressives lose elections because 30% of a population votes for the conservative at every single, no matter what, like it’s a religion. Progressives need a culture that says: ALWAYS VOTE. It doesn’t fucking matter if it doesn’t fucking matter. Vote anyway. Let your kids see you voting like it’s actually important. Make it important.

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- timbuck2themoon@sh.itjust.works ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  One of the best comments I’ve seen here. Kudos
  
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Ibaudia@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Yes because there are more options than just president, and increasing voter turnout is always advantageous to the left. There are more Democrats than Republicans in America, so 100% voter turnout means no more fascists in office.

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Snailpope@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I live in Nebraska and I feel the same way. I got out and vote in every election because that’s my civic duty, if the majority of people in your area with our same feeling actually went out and vote it is possible to become a swing state.

That being said my personal opinion is if you don’t vote you forfeit your right to complain about politics. You didn’t voice your opinion when it was important, so you shouldn’t voice it when it’s not.

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- leadore@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Same! I’m in a red state but I have voted in every election since I reached the age to vote (a looong time ago). Yeah, my state always goes red for POTUS but I still vote Dem for POTUS so we don’t look like we’re a total shithole state. We have a Dem governor, a Dem House rep in DC, and my personal State senator and rep are Dems, too–I helped put them there. Dems are still quite outnumbered in the State legislature, but there’s been enough of them to keep the repubs from overriding the governor’s veto of some of their fascist bullshit bills. Every bit helps.
  
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leadore@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Yes! It’s the total votes statewide that determines the winner (POTUS and Senator), no matter which areas of the state they come from. Besides that, a showing of more blue votes in red areas makes a bigger statement to powers-that-be, campaign analysts, etc. than blue votes in blue areas. Represent!

And as everyone else is saying, vote blue for every office on the ballot. The state, county, and city levels are just as important as the national level if not more so. Vote in every election no matter what, even if no one you voted for wins, it matters how close the races are so Dems know where to concentrate their efforts.

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Transporter_Room_3@startrek.website ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Deep red Ohio here

Still voting.

Fite me, redcoats

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MrQuallzin@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
It’ll stay red if people don’t vote

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Please_Do_Not@lemm.ee ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
The more deeply and unanimously red your local lawmakers consider their electorate, the more confident they will be pushing right and far right legislation and building MAGA cultishness. It won’t change who’s elected, but it can change how your local lawmakers think about what their community wants.

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FireTower@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Elections aren’t just about the President. That’s arguably the least impactful person on the ballot. Look at your local reps running for state positions, find ones you like, they’ll have much more impact on your daily life.

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- AA5B@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Plus, it’s a good opportunity to pay a little closer attention to local politics. My town is getting pretty hot the last few years, with some major controversies
  
  siting for a new high school, with hundreds of millions in state and federal funding at stake, and a huge impact on the community for the next half century. They’re racing to open it in time for the coming school year, but the site is still controversial
  
  summer closure to vehicles of the shops and restaurant area was a huge hit during COViD period, but now some people want to “go back to normal”
  
  the town we bought contaminated land for Pennies but trying to figure out what to do with it means figuring out how to clean it up
  
  we have a great sports facility with a large number of astroturfed fields but “the carpet is scuffed and worn”. Can we afford to get it re-carpeted? Is there an advantage to going back to grass?
  
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AA5B@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Always vote. There’s always someone analyzing trends, and you don’t truly know where it’s heading until you get there.

I do somewhat understand since I moved to Massachusetts: I’ll get my preference regardless whether I vote. But it does matter, even if it’s just a trend: I was a bit disappointed Biden didn’t quite get 2/3 last time around: he only got 65.6%. We can do better!

At least as importantly, it does give me more freedom to vote third party, in the comfort of knowing my state’s electoral votes will all go toward the sane option

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- DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  This is why the people who try to register as a different party to advocate for lesser evils are ultimately shooting themselves in the foot.
  
  If the Democratic Party sees a region with 70% of voters registered as Republican they’re just not going to waste their time on it. They have no way of knowing 30% of those chuckleheads would vote blue and make it an actual competition if they had the option.
  
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ulkesh@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Ohio’s Electoral College votes are cast for the winner of the state, not per district [1]. Of course you should vote for Biden!

[1] - “As a winner-takes-all state, the candidate that wins Ohio gets all 18 Electoral College votes.”, https://www.ideastream.org/community/2020-10-21/how-are-ohios-electoral-college-votes-decided

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- Cairden@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Thank you, this is the kind of info I was looking for. If county/district mattered. So all of Ohio is Talley’d up and all votes from the whole state are in the same pool?
  
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  - funkforager@sh.itjust.works ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Thats right. Your vote counts the same as one in Cincinnati or Cleveland or Athens etc. then the whole state goes one way or another. Thats why turnout is so important!
    
    Also there might be down ballot races you vote for that move the needle. Everyone forgets about local elections but they actually matter way more to your life on a day to day basis.
    
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  - ulkesh@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    In terms of the Electoral College votes, yes, it looks that way. But either way, I’d say to please vote. It matters.
    
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  - Zedstrian@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    All states except Maine and Nebraska tally votes cast statewide and allocate all electoral votes from that state to the winner. Specific concentrations of voters in those states aren’t factored into the allocation.
    
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givesomefucks@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
For president?

Probably not.

But it might for down ballot races which are still important.

Like in 08 when Obama first ran. Dems made lots of gains in state governments because he drove turnout.

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barsquid@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Your vote will factor in to how the EC vote goes for Ohio regardless of what Reps get the vote in your district.

Locally, I suppose even if there is no chance for your district to swing blue, a large showing might have a positive effect getting local Repubs to chill on the fascism. Like maybe get a hint that Ohio residents don’t want restrictions on their ballot initiatives.

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Album@lemmy.ca ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Getting you to feel like your vote is meaningless is how they win.

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cabbage@piefed.social ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Vote. Try to get others to do the same.

Maybe Democrats don't stand a chance this round, but put up a fight. And if Trump loses you might get a chance to vote again in four years - a higher turnout to Democrats in this round might make it seem less hopeless at the next crossroads. :)

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Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
If Ohio voted 15% blue last election and then votes 25% blue this election, that’s significant information that tells people there may be momentum for change.

There may not be a chance of winning this election , but every vote tells people what people want.

If you don’t vote, Ohio will always look like it will only ever vote red.

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Wahots@pawb.social ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Absolutely. Voting in federal, state, and local elections makes big differences. I’ve lived in red and blue states, and my votes have personally swayed policy for red and blue states. Some of the stuff I voted for passed on margins as slim as 1,200 votes, in a city of hundreds of thousands of people (guess how many of them voted?)

As a direct result of me voting, my life dramatically improved because my cut bus lines were restored, the feds rebuilt parts of my city, and people were no longer getting arrested on bullshit charges.

Further civic action saved one local park from redevelopment.

So few people actually vote, even fewer with bad takes. So voting can have a profound impact on your life and other’s lives. Some of my friends got the right to marry. Some others lost their ability to access healthcare and were forced to move states to access it again. It makes a difference.

This doesn’t end with Americans either. You guys worldwide have had a number of extremely close elections, see the list below. Do your civic duty and vote! It can take an hour or less with a bit of research, and has a surprisingly big impact on your life.

…wikipedia.org/…/List_of_close_election_results

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- AA5B@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Great list!
  
  Let me highlight the 1988 Massachusetts democratic primary:
  
  Herbert L. Connolly lost to Robert B. Kennedy by one vote, and it was his own. Connolly arrived at his precinct a few minutes after the polls closed and wasn’t able to vote. Kennedy won the following general.[74][75]
  
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bamboo@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Absolutely yes. Every vote for Democrats is a vote against Trump. He has such a weak ego, your one vote along with millions of other votes against him will drive him crazy. Death by 81,283,098 cuts.

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GeorgeLightning@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
The popular vote tally is what matters on a state level. 48 states (Ohio included) use a state-wide popular vote and award all their electoral votes to the winner of a plurality (highest percentage even if no one gets more than 50%) in that vote.

Please always vote. Ohio isn’t so deeply red that it’s completely hopeless yet

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Audacious@sh.itjust.works ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
If you are voting the opposite of the norm in your area, you are making a bigger impact than the reverse of the situation. Go by county and try to flip yours to blue. If it happens to flip, your vote counts 100%, otherwise you have at least tried and voted. Here is some links to check 2020 results by town or county.

www.nytimes.com/…/2020-election-map.html

brilliantmaps.com/2020-county-election-map/

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halferect@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Always vote, no matter what. If everyone who said it doesn’t matter voted your red state might turn blue or at very least purple. Even if it still stays red it will be a sign that people are rejecting Republicans and could force change. Plus lots of races aren’t just for president and are local things which can be won with less then 1000 votes in many places so vote every time always.

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meeeeetch@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Every vote for Biden in Steubenville is another vote that somebody in Cleveland doesn’t have to counter, so yes, vote.

The electrical vote is state by state (with two states, Maine and Nebraska divying all but two of those votes one per congressional district), so your vote in a swing state matters.

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Sensitivezombie@lemmy.zip ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Vote. You don’t have to vote for Biden or Trump, you can write in a vote or choose a third party or independent candidate on the ballot, if your State allows it. Not for the reason of making practical change, because it won’t in a two party system, but to show the analytics, media, the ruling power that you don’t have to vote for the lesser of two evils. Anyone that says otherwise does not know what democracy means and supports a broken system through enabling. Local votes ate more important IMO, always vote for that. The more informed you are, the less likely you are to support a broken system.

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stoly@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Ohio is purple too though. It can go both ways as generations shift.

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Nemo@midwest.social ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Yes! Downballot offices usually have a greater effect on your life than higher ones, in fact.

And I guarantee you that if every voter who thought their vote didn’t count went out and voted, they damn well would count. The turnout last election was 46% of elligible voters. 46%! Half of us who could vote, didn’t! 53% is enough to swing any state.

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Myxomatosis@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I used to live in a red state and would get discouraged but I voted anyway. Don’t think about and go vote because it’s better than being apathetic and doing nothing like most of the country does.

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nobody158@r.nf ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Yes it absolutely makes a difference. Also make sure you are voting in all elections, local elections are just as important as the national elections.

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someguy3@lemmy.ca ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
How do red states become purple states become blue states?

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- Azzu@lemm.ee ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Uuuuh byyy… Republicans not voting anymore?
  
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  - Nemo@midwest.social ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Usually because they died, given the age skew on the current parties.
    
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School_Lunch@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
While you might be right, it is a civic duty to vote. That mindset is too dangerous, which is why the right-wing trolls try pushing it. Voting even why you know it won’t make a difference is the most basic thing you can do to push back. Who knows what could happen if we get enough people out of that mindset. Simply voting, regardless of who for, is an event that every American should take pride in.

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