The Democrats won back the House, gained subpoena power, and can now serve as an actual check on 45. This is very very good.
So even if it wasn’t the “blue wave” a lot of people were hoping for, I want you to remember that the GOP no longer will hold as much power as they did. Lots of women were voted into office, LGBT+ candidates were voted into office, more POC were voted into office, two more Muslim women were voted into office, Florida voted to restore voting rights to over one million felons who have completed their terms of sentence, and Massachusetts voted to protect transgender rights. I know there was more but this is what stood out to me.
And right after I finished writing that I learned the GOP supermajority in NC is over and our Governor’s veto powers can now be sustained. And the Dems now hold a 5-2 majority on the state supreme court which means something might actually get done about our horrific gerrymandering and I totally just started crying. I think my anxiety just dropped about sixty pegs.
Despite the gerrymandering and very blatant voter suppression (i see you, Kemp), we did take steps in the right direction today. So take some deep breaths, take the next few days to yourself and get re-centered, and then keep going. Lean on your friends, treat yourself to something nice, come back with a vengeance. We’re in for a long fight.
I knew that changing Texas blue was going to be difficult, but God, I really believed Beto could do it. This isn’t to say I’m unhopeful of what’s to come though. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for this man!!! Things he did: THAT
I know we’re all feeling pretty defeated right now, but you all need to give yourselves a pat on the back and recognize what a hard fucking fight this was. This is TEXAS, THE FUCKING RED SEA, having such a close split is almost unheard of, like Beto said IM SO FUCKING PROUD OF YOU GUYS
“Texas is red” is republican propaganda designed to keep democrats demoralized enough to not vote.
Cruz won by 3%
A lot can happen in the next few years.
A lot of older conservative voters will die off.
Next time, we can make Texas Blue again.
Hey so friendly reminder about voting and elections that I haven’t seen going around yet but is SUPER IMPORTANT.
Watch what you wear and say while you’re waiting in line for the voting booth/at the polls. It is against federal law to do anything that might be considered campaigning once you’re there, and since we know that voter suppression is the name of the game this election, there will be people looking for ANY reason to remove you from the polling place. And they will nitpick. You have a shirt with a artistic picture of donkey on it? You’re visibly supporting the Democrats, you’re disqualified from voting. Want to wear a Black Lives Matter shirt? Not there you don’t. They’ll call it intimidation and kick you out. Pins, buttons, stickers, none of it. Wear the most bland, plain clothes you can imagine.
And then keep your mouth shut. Even the slightest hint of discussion about which candidate you’re voting for can get used against you. Don’t assume the people around you are safe to discuss it with. You might be overheard. There WILL people watching for these things, hoping to get rid of anyone they can. Voter suppression isn’t just about making registration impossible. It happens at the polling stations too. Be smart, be bland, be quiet, and make sure your vote gets in.
Also- and I have seen this mentioned but it bears repeating- DO NOT TAKE A PICTURE OF YOUR BALLOT. EVER. It’ll also disqualify your vote. Take a selfie when you’re out of their with your fun little sticker.
This is for your protection as much as your oppression: this means the opposition party can’t use those tactics against you either – and if anyone tries, REPORT THEM.
I often don’t get political on this blog. That being said, if you are in the U.S. and registered to vote, please do so on November 6th. Please. Please vote. Lives are on the line and many have already been lost due to the political climate in the U.S., both inside and outside of our borders. Vote to change it for the better. Your voice matters. Please. Vote.
There are many reasons to vote besides electing officials. You might also, say, still technically have slavery in your state constitution that needs to be abolished.
MMMMMHM. Wanna know what’s worse? This is the second time in the last few years Colorado has voted on this because last time IT DIDN’T FUCKING PASS.
If you want to get really technical on it, this is a “the language just never technically got removed” sort of issue. But it is obviously still a huge fucking issue.
Really damn ashamed of my state on this one, honestly.
It’s not just a technical language issue. This would affect prison labor- prison is where legal slave labor happens in the U.S. There’s a lot of corporate interests- private prisons, for one- who don’t want this amendment to pass, because it would cut into their ability to profit from the labor of prisoners. I’m no longer a Colorado voter since I moved to Montana, but if you live in Colorado, vote yes on amendment A!
Speaking of criminal justice reform, if you’re in Florida, the current ballot measures this year include Amendment 4, which would, with a Yes vote in the supermajority, give former felons the automatic right to vote back as soon as they’ve served their time (well, with the exception of people convicted previously of murder or sex crimes; those would still have to go through the governor’s office, but!!).
At current, you don’t get that. You just don’t.
You “serve your time” – and then for at LEAST 7 years you don’t even get to APPLY to ask for your right to vote back…and even then, you have to go through the governor’s office, and at the moment, there’s a ten YEAR backlog of those, and then THOSE again, still have to go before the Governor, who, in the case of Rick Scott, has been an asshole and denied pretty much all of them anyway. (Literally, with a cartoonishly villain-like “I deny the restoration of civil rights”. wtf even is this State).
Anyway, what this means?
Basically if you get convicted of a SINGLE FELONY – even if, it’s, say, a nonviolent drug charge from when you were like 18 – you basically in Florida lose your entire right to vote in any election pretty much permanently.
Yes, even if you served your time. Even if you’ve been rehabilitated and put your life back together and become a “productive citizen” and valued part of your community. Even with no further criminal behavior! You lose your right to vote pretty much permanently.
Oh, and black people and Latinos are much more likely to get treated harshly, and convicted, in our justice system, not just in the USA generally but specifically in Florida: the region is super biased all up and down regarding who gets charged with what and how likely they are to get convicted, so this existing standard disproportionately disenfranchises POC and poor folk. Passing Amendment 4 to our State Constitution would give over a MILLION people who’ve served their time (most of them people of color) back their right to vote.
Even if you think it won’t make a difference to vote for actual candidates, Amendment 4 in Florida and Amendment A in Colorado are just a sampling of potential reform on the ballots that you CAN help enact…
…or, as in the case of other measures on Florida’s ballot that bundled unrelated things or try to sneak in “supermajority” language and seize control over our State colleges etc? Things you can help BLOCK. PS a surprising number of Senate, House and Governorship races this year in various locations throughout the USA are in a DEAD HEAT, like, statistical ties, less than 1% apart in the polls, so close it’s not even margin of error level. A single vote really COULD make a difference in those races, especially if it goes to runoffs or recounts!
VOTE. It matters this year. Trust me.
(sidebar: if you need a neutral source of info to study the issues in your location, look ballotpedia for your region, it’s EXTREMELY helpful!)
thing that I have seen repeatedly just now: people who are like “well, there’s no point in voting because Trump didn’t get the most votes and he still won and that shows the system is rigged” – the slightly more aware posters will also invoke the 2000 election – and while it’s a legitimateproblem that the Electoral College works in a way that increasingly gives Republicans an unfair advantage, it’s also really dumb to invoke that DURING THE MIDTERMS. Because THERE ISN’T AN ELECTORAL COLLEGE FOR ANY OTHER OFFICE. The person with the most votes WINS. GET OFF YOUR DIDN’T-PAY-ATTENTION-IN-CIVICS-CLASS ASS AND VOTE.
CaptainBubblebath 