• MataVatnik@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Is it just me or is this statement blatantly racist? Black people are too stupid and so we must limit the way they vote? Where did I hear that before? The democratic party knows they’ll lose power if they implemented, but to stoop that low…

      • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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        1 year ago

        From the article:

        The lawsuit notes that in elections for at-large seats on the DC city council — where voters can currently choose two candidates — voters in Wards 7 and 8 are less likely to cast a second vote, a phenomenon known as “undervoting.”

        “Many of those voters report their confusion about selecting more than one candidate for what appears to be the same office,” said Wilson in the lawsuit, arguing that implementing ranked-choice voting “would introduce an additional layer of confusion to the electorate.”

        They aren’t saying black people can’t figure it out, they’re reporting that voters in predominantly black areas haven’t. It’s not a statement of belief, it’s a statement of fact. Now, the solution should be to provide resources to educate them on how the new system works, not to abandon it. That would take effort though, and wouldn’t work to maintain the status quo.

        • MataVatnik@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          This seems like a problem that would be very easily remedied by volunteers working the polls. Regardless of statement of fact, its a disingenuous argument by those citing this excuse.

          • Daft_ish@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            If only there was another country or something that already used ranked choice voting that could help implementation.

            Also, undervoting will always be a thing. Most people will never have the resources to know what every candidate is about given its almost impossible now with usually only two candidates for each race. As long as everyone cast a vote it’s still better then the trash we have now.

            • MataVatnik@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              There are already nonprofits that summarize what each candidate stands for. At least in my area, it would be a matter of having a leaflet or guiding a people to a qt code.

          • TommySalami@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Is it really feasible, or fair, to relegate this population’s education on a new voting system to the good will of volunteers on voting day? I’m gonna go with no.

            A change like this should come with a huge education campaign attached. The entire constituency should have an actual opportunity to understand the new system well before voting day. Otherwise, intentionally or not, you are suppressing the vote of under-educated populations.

            I think ranked-choice should be ushered in ASAP, but pretending concerns like this are unwarranted or disingenuous comes across as short-sighted to me. The problem is valid, even if it’s presented in bad faith (which, frankly, I don’t believe it is in bad faith).

            • MataVatnik@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              All a poll worker has to do is tell the voter to rank his preffered candidates from one to x, I’ve had more complicated questions than that while voting. You don’t have to give people a political science lecture.

              • TommySalami@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Ballots are never so simple, and if you’ve ever played a part in designing something to be “common-sense” you’ll understand there’s no such thing at a certain point.

                My concern is for those that will not receive the proper information, and for the undue burden on volunteers that already commit a lot of effort. Leaving this to be solved at to moment of voting feels like asking for issues. I think we should be more proactive than that.

            • Honytawk@lemmy.zip
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              1 year ago

              Is it really feasible, or fair, to relegate this population’s education on a new voting system to the good will of volunteers on voting day? I’m gonna go with no.

              Who else should educate them on the topic? Politicians?

              And if there is no one, then that would mean you guys won’t be able to move away from the current undemocratic fucked up system. Which is even more stupid.

              • TommySalami@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Volunteers, groups that already expend effort to educate populations on voting, fucking pamphlets. There are plenty of ways to spread information somewhat reliably. I’m not even saying to avoid implementing rank-choice. I think it would be a net benefit, but I also think concerns over education on the new system are valid. Implementing something like this improperly opens the door to the entire concept being poisoned for the rest of the public, and we should be talking about how a lack of knowledge regarding the new system can inadvertently suppress voters.

            • SmoothIsFast@citizensgaming.com
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              1 year ago

              Fuck off its done else where in the world without issue and maybe we could finally vote for people who value education and individuality so less educated voters could get support, they cherry picked a quote to make a racist statement and keep their power. Fuck off with your racist and corporate apologist attitude, honestly.

              • TommySalami@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                I’m not against rank-choice, I prefer it. I’m just not so short-sighted as to miss how dumping such a change on a population without proper education accompanying it can backfire and poison the idea for some time. Nor am I so reactionary as to call a legitimate concern racist, merely because it involves a minority group. I’m not saying this a failure of the population, I’m saying the population has been failed and we need to compensate for this if this is going to be implemented properly.

      • Ajen@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        It’s the “noble savage”/“white savior” trope again. People really think they’re fighting racism by implying minorities can’t make their own decision.

        In not criticizing allies, to be clear. I’m criticizing people who aren’t comfortable having personal relationships with minorities, and abuse progressivism to make themselves feel like they aren’t part of the problem.

      • Pipoca@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        The dude who said it is himself black.

        Either he’s a self-hating black person, thinks it’s too complex for anyone, or more likely he’s being disingenuous because he thinks this is bad for the party.