Joy and Austin 24

[SilverBeach]

5 hours ago, fluffernutter said:

About the bridesmaid thing, My daughter is getting married next year and she got these gorgeous notes that said something like "Will you be my bridesmaid?" and presented it to the people she wanted in her party. It was cute I guess. I am just more pragmatic and find it all just... a bit much. Kinda like gender reveals. 

I show my age with this kind of thing, I find it a bit much also.

3 hours ago, Carm_88 said:

I swear getting my ID out of my wallet takes more time then voting itself.

We don't have to show IDs, but we are required to sign using the exact name we are registered under. No lines or waiting out here in the suburbs. Actual electronic voting is fairly quick, the long-ass list of judges takes the most time, as does the review. I voted long beforre electronic ballots were a thing, it is such a fundamental necessity. I refuse to put an x through myself by not voting.

[fundieundies]

Voting in the US is actually ridiculous - I'm Canadian and I registered to vote the minute before I voted in provincial elections this past summer. I brought in two forms of ID and a bill that confirmed my address. On the other hand my sister is American, the first time she was eligible to vote (in 2016) several government employees told her so many lies about how she wasn't able to register since she wouldn't be turning 18 till 2 days before the election or because she'd moved recently. 

Back to Joy - the thing that pisses me off the most about the Duggars is that they're the prime example of single-issue voters. They're conveniently glossing over the cheating, fraud, racism and lying that their candidates are guilty of because they swear to protect the unborn. That absolutely pisses me off, as if nuclear war and utter chaos are worth the advancing of their pro-life agenda.

[mango_fandango]

This may be already on here but...

OMG I CANNOT DEAL WITH THIS BABY’S FACE. 

[Meggo]

5 hours ago, singsingsing said:

I live in southwestern Ontario and I’ve never heard of this! Interesting...

I always like to vote on Election Day. Not sure why, it’s kind of silly but I just like being a part of the fun that day. I weirdly love elections. Sucks when they don’t turn out well, though. 

I am bummed I didn't get my "I voted" sticker and I think it would be fun to go over and be with all the people voting but.. oh well. 

I'm surprised you haven't heard of it - is it just my county I wonder? Like I don't think it was my TOWN... hmmm but I definitely heard something about voting via phone. 
Unless this is like "let's fool the yank like we did when NO ONE told her there wasn't Saturday mail ... for the first two years I lived here." and then they were all like "Why would there be mail on Saturday - that's crazy!"

[Carm_88]

12 minutes ago, Meggo said:

I am bummed I didn't get my "I voted" sticker and I think it would be fun to go over and be with all the people voting but.. oh well.

Do we have I Voted stickers in Canada?

[Glasgowghirl]

I have voted in every Scottish and UK election, since I turned 18 plus both the Brexit and independence referendums. I hate how Brexit is playing out, I voted remain, I accept the result but the way the Prime Minister is dealing with Brexit is leading us into disaster, Theresa May is useless as Prime Minister, I hated everything Margaret Thatcher stood for but she is the type of leader needed for Brexit, she was roofless and no push over. Brexit could lead to Scottish independence, which I do support but dont want another referendum right now, and is reignighting Irish border issues 20 years after the good Friday agreement. 

In saying that US politics makes me think our system is not that bad. I can't imagine only having two main parties to choose from. 

[Nikedagain?]

Took 3 minutes to vote to #smashthepatriarchy last week in NC!

[Mama Mia]

I voted by mail, and have to say I am very glad one of my kids is a non-voter - because he is turning into a right wing dick. Love him to death, of course, but this is killing me.

[BlessingsVonFundiePants]

14 hours ago, Knight of Ni said:

If voting is compulsory I assume there aren’t any issues with being able to get to the polls. Or voting places being closed. Are people excused from work? 

Australia always votes on weekends so most people are off work. All public schools and most churches are polling stations. You can postal vote or early vote, and they send electoral officials to hospitals and nursing homes so shift workers and patients can vote. And since voting is legally required I believe employers can be fined if they prevent their employees from voting. 

[PurpleCats]

... am I the only one that noticed she looks like she busted her lip? 

[VBOY9977]

1 hour ago, PurpleCats said:

... am I the only one that noticed she looks like she busted her lip? 

I think plenty of people noticed but thought it wasn’t worth bringing it up

[victoriasponge]

9 hours ago, Glasgowghirl said:

In saying that US politics makes me think our system is not that bad. I can't imagine only having two main parties to choose from. 

You can actually blame us for the US system. (Well, by 'us' I mean rich English men folk from the olden days, but I'm sure you get my drift)

If you look at a map of FPTP voting it matches very nicely to a certain other map (plus the US who used to be our colony but had tea chucked by the time of that map)

And while the two major parties in UK politics have shifted more than US politics (who have only had Democrat and Republican presidents since Abe), there's not been many elections here in the UK where more than two parties stood a chance. The original divide was between the Whigs and the Tories (you can guess where the Conservative Party came from) and then between Conservative and Whig, and then Conservative and Liberal (predecessor to the Lib Dems, but much more popular) and then, finally, Conservative and Labour. That's it. Aside from a couple of breakaways like Peelites (who were old-school Tory anyway, name from PM Peel), there's been a 'right wing' and a 'left wing' party in every election and the PM name goes to one of them.

FPTP doesn't really allow for more than two parties to stand a real chance at anything more than a local level. It's entirely unfair, and we are the bastards that gave it to the world (you can thank me with a peerage, please).

(Sorry, I've dragged this thread entirely into a tangent. I just want to acknowledge that history is muddled and that I accept my forefathers' part in giving the world Trump - not that they could vote, it was the 18th century after all)

[CarrotCake]

I am always suprised by the registering, how does that work? And why?

Here everyone who is eligable to vote just receives their ballot in the mail. You bring the ballot and your ID to any voting station in your city (and if you request you can also go to another city). Or you give your ballot with a copy of ID to someone else and let them vote for you.

The gouvernment knows already who can vote, why register?

[StraightOuttaArkansas]

Oh wow, sorry this might be a long one, but I have so much to say here:

re: voting. I am still (and will be for the rest of my life I guess) registered to vote in AR. I moved abroad at 18 in a non-election year so I have never voted in person and honestly it sounds like a complete nightmare. I have always voted overseas-absentee and never had a problem, until this year. The state of AR is really doing everything it can think of to suppress votes. I received my ballot just fine and filled it out. I checked the instructions carefully because during the primaries this year out voter ID laws changed and I received not one, not two, but THREE different letters about what I had to send in as ID two of them after I had sent my ballot. Again I would like to point out it has been nearly 14 years since I have lived in the US and other than the 5 months after my 18th, I have never lived as an adult there. The new instructions specifically listed the types of ID you can use. US Passport was listed, but then at the bottom of the list it said "The identification document must show your name and address consistent with your voter registration". There were 7 options listed, I only have one of them (passport) and was required to turn in my drivers license years and years ago when I got the one of the country I was living in. All the five forms I have never had and would never be able to get now. The instructions at the top clearly say they are the "overseas-absentee" instructions, so I feel this was on purpose. I called the voter office/county clerk to try and get it straightened out and was told "Yeah but no one I know moves overseas permanently so you should still have something for this address"...uhm what? This guy transferred me and when I finally landed at the person responsible for absentee, she had no idea what the voter ID laws actually were and what I should do in the situation, because if the paper said that then, I need to provide something. WTF?? In the end I called the ACLU turns out AR was sued for exactly this during the last election and I forwarded a copy of the paper to them. I have never had such a difficult time voting in my life and I cannot imagine what if must be like at the actual polls trying to argue with ill-informed or intentionally incorrect people just to vote.

Fun fact: I have two kids. Little Outta 1 was born in the US and lived there for a year. He technically has an address and can register to vote. He only has US citizenship. Little Outta 2 was born in the UK, but has two citizenships (is this a word?). He never has and hopefully never will live in the US. Since my "home state" is AR this impacts where he would have to register. The law there is: Non-residents with citizenship cannot vote. Oh did I mention you are REQUIRED to pass on US citizenship? Yes. Little Outta 2 had no choice in becoming American, is required to file tax returns and register for the draft but unless AR law is changed, he will not be allowed to vote, even in federal elections. Taxation without representation...wasn't there a war about this? (/sarcasm) Oh and just a fun thing on top, Little Outta 1, if he never gets a second citizenship, does not have meet the requirements to pass on US citizenship and if he has a child with a person in the same position, their child will be stateless and have no claim to US citizenship even if they wanted the child to have it. But I couldn't choose if I want second kid to have it or not. *sigh*

re: Brexit. We are living in NI right now and all I can say that while I adore this place in its own strange way, I will be happy to get out of here before Brexit goes into full force (we will still be getting a few months of it). The DUP (ok they are on purpose) and the Brexiteers are underestimating the impact the indecision of upholding the Good Friday agreement is already having and the dangers if it is not upheld. The sectarian violence is becoming a thing again. I recently found out that we live on a street deemed "under control" by one of the paramilitary groups (loyalists/Unionists). I was shocked by that information, because a year ago, you would have never known anything like that existed in this area if you weren't part of it. I am worried about how much worse it might get before it gets better again. The 12th of July this year was crazy compared to last year. I don't want to be around for next years. I ❤️ Northern Ireland though, not that someone gets the wrong impression.

Sorry this was so long.

[nvmbr02]

@StraightOuttaArkansas  That is so crazy and I am sorry you have to deal with the voting issue. 

 

My husband and I moved our family to Guam, a U.S. Territory for 3 years. We have been here for just under 2 1/2 years now. We are residence of Guam since we could not legally keep residence in our home state. Because Guam is a U.S Territory not a state and because we are residents of it, we are not eligible to vote in federal elections, only local Guam elections. Guam does not have a voting member of Congress, we send one representative to Congress who pretty much there for decoration since they can debate but can not vote on anything. Honestly, it really, really sucks. My entire adult life I have voted in every election I am eligible to, including small local special elections. But we could not vote in the 2016 Presidential elections nor the midterms, only participate in a straw poll which is pretty much meaningless. The U.S. really needs to update its voting laws.

[StraightOuttaArkansas]

@nvmbr02 I am sorry that you are having to deal with that too! *hugs* Yes the US does need to get with the times. Also the particular issues about how voting for people in territories like Guam or Puerto Rico or (I think it was) the American Samoa is really under publicized. If not for John Oliver covering it, I would not have known the issue existed and read more about it. It is (well should be) criminal that you guys are not allowed to vote

[DMouse007]

16 hours ago, seraaa said:

lmao I do like an election night broadcast.

It does not look like we're getting an election before Brexit, but honestly who can tell these days

Exactly.  The Maybot ruled out an early election repeatedly up until calling one.  She's will do exactly the same again - deny there will be an election/People's Vote right up until she calls one.  The big problem is that she just has to keep buggering around and we crash out by default, no vote or election needed.  It all depends on whether Parliament grow a pair.

[SapphireSlytherin]

6 hours ago, PurpleCats said:

... am I the only one that noticed she looks like she busted her lip? 

I figured it was a fever blister.

 

***

@StraightOuttaArkansas - I very much wish I could apply multiple "reactions" to your post. I'm settling for "love" though, because it covers myriad things you said - representing either my agreement/appreciation for what you said, or empathy for a shitty situation. Also:  don't even get me started on the DUP

 

@victoriasponge - thank you for that FPTP graphic. Interesting.

[Meggo]

15 hours ago, Carm_88 said:

Do we have I Voted stickers in Canada?

I don’t think so- never seen them. But I am an American living over here so I don’t vote in Canadian elections anyway.

 

but I do enjoy the limits you guys place on campaigning!!

3 hours ago, nvmbr02 said:

@StraightOuttaArkansas  That is so crazy and I am sorry you have to deal with the voting issue. 

 

My husband and I moved our family to Guam, a U.S. Territory for 3 years. We have been here for just under 2 1/2 years now. We are residence of Guam since we could not legally keep residence in our home state. Because Guam is a U.S Territory not a state and because we are residents of it, we are not eligible to vote in federal elections, only local Guam elections. Guam does not have a voting member of Congress, we send one representative to Congress who pretty much there for decoration since they can debate but can not vote on anything. Honestly, it really, really sucks. My entire adult life I have voted in every election I am eligible to, including small local special elections. But we could not vote in the 2016 Presidential elections nor the midterms, only participate in a straw poll which is pretty much meaningless. The U.S. really needs to update its voting laws.

But shouldn’t you be able to vote absentee? As an overseas voter? I am a permanent resident in Canada but my US voting is done based on the last US address I had.

not saying you haven’t looked into it- of course. It’s just baffling.

[bal maiden]

15 hours ago, Glasgowghirl said:

I have voted in every Scottish and UK election, since I turned 18 plus both the Brexit and independence referendums. I hate how Brexit is playing out, I voted remain, I accept the result but the way the Prime Minister is dealing with Brexit is leading us into disaster, Theresa May is useless as Prime Minister, I hated everything Margaret Thatcher stood for but she is the type of leader needed for Brexit, she was roofless and no push over.

I can assure you that we really, really don't need Maggie Thatcher right now. Not least because she was the instigator of this neoliberal shit creek up which we will soon find ourselves, without the handy paddle of EU trade laws. Oh, and she was a raging racist. 

[nst]

16 hours ago, Carm_88 said:

Do we have I Voted stickers in Canada?

i got one when i voted in the vancouver mayoral election  

 

[seraaa]

1 hour ago, bal maiden said:

I can assure you that we really, really don't need Maggie Thatcher right now. Not least because she was the instigator of this neoliberal shit creek up which we will soon find ourselves, without the handy paddle of EU trade laws. Oh, and she was a raging racist. 

Her style was intransigence in the face of all opposition, which worked until it didn't any more and her own party decided to get ride of her. And the triggering policy event? Disagreements over Europe.

Plus ca change

[Mama Mia]

6 hours ago, CarrotCake said:

I am always suprised by the registering, how does that work? And why?

Here everyone who is eligable to vote just receives their ballot in the mail. You bring the ballot and your ID to any voting station in your city (and if you request you can also go to another city). Or you give your ballot with a copy of ID to someone else and let them vote for you.

The gouvernment knows already who can vote, why register?

I don’t think the government really has any system in place to know who is eligible to vote, or where they live, to send the ballot. I’m not sure how that works there? 

Also, in the U.S. the vast majority of election law is state based. There are really only two base federal requirements - you must be at least 18 on Election Day, and you must be a U.S. citizen. Some states leave it at that. Others have restrictions on people who have committed felony crimes voting - with a variety of time prohibitions— from currently incarcerated through a lifetime ban. There are also often restrictions on people who have been deemed incompetent ( i.e. have a conservator to manage their affairs. ) . What counts as proof of citizenship varies by state. Whether you need an IF, and what counts varies. Polling methods vary by state AND county. It’s really a mess. Even what counts as an address ( or need for an address ) varies. 

 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

5 hours ago, StraightOuttaArkansas said:

It is (well should be) criminal that you guys are not allowed to vote

If that's the case then it should be criminal for territories not to pay federal income tax.  

The people we elect decide how money is getting spent - tax dollars and what is done with them in a major issue for many, many people.  Having people vote on how money is spent and how much is taken in taxes who aren't contributing financially would be a problem.

(I am aware there are some government workers and other exceptions where residents of territories have work or certain holdings in the US who do pay US income tax, but I was talking about the majority.

There is definite room for improvement in the entire territory situation, but it goes far beyond voting.  

[AprilQuilt]

5 hours ago, SapphireSlytherin said:

I figured it was a fever blister.

ooh, is this American for 'cold sore'? That's what I'd have called it. The things I learn on FJ.