This will be short and sweet because my nerves are bad, but I did want to check in with you all before everything gets super hectic tonight.
Today is election day. It’s the day we’ve been prepping for, so I wanted to give you a little something to read while you are standing in line since you may or may not have taken advantage of early voting— no tea, no shade. Some of us will ALWAYS be on CP time.
However, I did want to let you know: if you are turned away at the polls today you are NOT ALLOWED TO TURN AWAY empty handed. Let me repeat, the ancestors will haunt you for the next 2 years (they’ll probably stop when you get another chance to vote locally) if you don’t walk away with SOMETHING after standing in that voting line.
If for any reason the people at the poles say that you cannot vote, if you are turned away at the polls, respond this way, “Give me a provisional ballot with a receipt as required by law.” Feel free to add “please” in there if its Granny making sure things are running right!
Don’t get popped at the polls for being rude!
A few more things…
If you're in line when the polls close, stay in line.
If you make a mistake, you can ask for a new ballot. If the machines are down, ask for a paper ballot.
The ACLU's Election Protection Hotline is 1-866-OUR-VOTE call them if there’s smoke.
Don’t take a picture of your ballot.
Run It Up Then!
Tonight, when you’re watching the polls and flipping in between CNN, MSNBC, and an episode of The Parkers, remember that the election is not over until all of the ballots are counted. Even though they are discarding ballots like crazy, yours will always count because you cast it! Congrats!
FYI: If your ballot was rejected anywhere, your county elections office should have contacted you to “cure” or correct your ballot. If you think this could be you, contact your county registrar to get more information and find about your options. You can also call 866-OUR-VOTE for more information!
Let’s talk about counting these chickens.
First, let’s break down meaning of majority vs plurality during elections.
Ballotpedia has the easiest definition to differentiate the two:
Single-winner system methods
Vote-tallying methods for single-winner election systems include, but are not limited to, the following:
Plurality voting system: In plurality systems, the candidate who wins the largest share of the vote wins the election. The candidate need not win an outright majority to be elected. These systems are sometimes referred to as first-past-the-post or winner-take-all.[1][3]
Majority voting system: In majority systems, a candidate must win at least 50 percent of the vote in order to win the election. In the event that no candidate wins an outright majority, a runoff election is held between the top two vote-getters. For this reason, majority systems are sometimes referred to as two-round systems.[1][3]
Here’s more information of plurality/majority systems if you are interested.
When it comes to voting for President, we should key in on plurality. But pretty much every other seat in the government that can be elected by the people, is filled with a majority vote.
Here is a brief overview of the electoral college, how it works, and what you’ll really be looking at tonight as results start rolling in via the NY Times.
Candidates reach the plurality threshold of 270 via the electoral college. The elector college is made up of a certain amount of electors from each state to make a total of 538 electors. Now, the electors do have a meeting with their state to determine who to vote for and you’ll notice in the New York Times article that it is in their best interest for electors to go with their states decision.
Unlike the 2016 election with electors votes for people who weren’t even on the ballot, arguably putting a dent in the Clinton vote, rouge electors will be help accountable.
Whether electors should be able to change their positions has been heavily debated, so much so that the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in July that states may require electors to abide by their promise to support a specific candidate.
Also, I want to call your attention to what could happen if the electoral college is called into question, like it is rumored to be if Trump doesn’t see things going his way.
An election-related case could find its way to the Supreme Court, which would lend greater importance to the judicial makeup of the court, Professor Wehle said.
“It only takes five people with life tenure to actually amend this Constitution through a judicial opinion,” she said.
So if you wondered why we were all trippin about Amy being appointed as the newest conservative judge to sit her unqualified laurel on the bench of the HIGHEST court…this is why. She has major pull.
But let’s hope we don’t need to go this route.
Please vote if you haven’t already.
Out Here Really Doing The Work
Lebron James and Bloomberg got together to pay off all of the fines that were blocking reformed citizens (the term “felon” is so blahhh) in Florida from voting. 13,000 reformed citizens are now eligible to vote, and we know Florida is always a problem so this is a BIG deal!
Black women are running for office and here are 20 races you should check out.
Lyft is getting you to the polls for free! There is a free one way ride to voting locations and drop boxes today via the pink ride share company. Use code FOF2020VOTEATL if you are in Atlanta.
