BruceVC

Biden would have been a much worse candidate, he was not mentally capable of ever being the US president for another 4 years Trump won for the obvious reasons, the real and perceived failures on issues that most Americans attribute to the Dems because its the incumbent party Thats just the way the politics and elections work in any Democracy where you have free and fair elections and sometimes the incumbent party gets blamed unfairly and sometimes its legitimate In this election the inflation issue was not primarily the Dems fault because the whole world went through inflation after the virus lockdowns ended and this takes time to stabilize But the illegal migration and border failures falls on the Dems and thats unavoidable even if solution is not easy to fix, I am interested to see what Trump will do and how much impact it will make And then one thing that is clear is that the Dems fearmongering strategy against Trump is ineffective and unconvincing. Most Americans just dont believe the whole " how can anyone vote for Trump, he will destroy America " Because the counter argument to that is " things seemed better under Trump, Im not convinced he will destroy the US "

If Trump had been killed he would have become a martyr and the GOP possibly gaining more support from the " Deep State " crowd And that wouldnt have changed the core issues that Americans voted on? And imagine Vance as president, thats worse than Trump IMO

But I dont think it should ever be an effective strategy to use race or gender as a reason to vote for someone That doesn't resonate with most people anymore, the policies and current issues in any Democracy is what really matters to voters. There are lots of examples of excellent female PM\presidents or leaders throughout the world so its not like there arent examples of this Part of the Dems strategy or the perception of Harris success was " she is a black female " and that alone would be enough Thats how it was covered in our media by many commentators

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/11/06/black-latino-voters-boost-donald-trump-election-victory/76084362007/ Here is some interesting data , Hispanic support for Trump helped him achieve his massive gains and win " A realignment among Latino voters – and a smaller shift among Black voters in key swing states− helped catapult Donald Trump to his election victory over Kamala Harris as the Republican nominee expanded his support by peeling off voters from two core Democratic constituencies." " Although Trump didn’t win a majority of either group, he won support from about 13% of Black voters nationally and 45% of Latino voters, according to CNN exit polls. In the 2020 election, Trump won just 8% of Black voters and 32% of Latinos."

But do you not think the EU needs to its own well resourced and funded military that is effective and independent of the US in most areas where reasonable? And Germany would be a part of that as the strongest economy?

I can guarantee you we wont hear anyone say "this election was stolen "

That will be interesting if true because then the question will be " why didnt the same number of people vote " if this election was as important compared to other elections?

Yes but just to be clear, the list they have on you is that the voters role? What I want to understand is where do they get that information from that they check the security questions. Im trying to compare it to South African elections to be clear on the differences in how you vote

And you dont have to produce any type of ID verification to confirm those things? So they assume what you tell them is true based on the voters role information?

What do you mean by that? People arrived to vote and the voting outcomes were determined by the choices they made If Harris had won the same swing states that Biden won in 2020 then the Dems would have won this 2024 election?

Lets assume Trump has won because its more than likely Democracy is the winner either way. For me the most important reality of any Democracy is can you see leadership change through the ballot box and US elections demonstrate this time and time again This is not the same as the implementation or success of policies because thats a mixed bag Imagine living in Russia, China or any other autocracy where you dont have free and fair elections and you stuck with the same leadership for years or decades This election like all US election has been decided on voting issues and more importantly what voting issues matter the most to voters because there were at least 5-6 key issues but they dont all have the same significance to US voters And the 2 issues that IMO mattered the most was the border\illegal migration and the economy: inflation The latter is not really the Dems fault because we went through global inflation influenced primarily by the Corona lockdowns and how that ended. But you can definitely blame the Dems for the former. Its hard to make a convincing argument that Dems have done well on the border\illegal migration But the point Im making is most US voters vote on the issues that directly impact and concern them and the incumbent party will take the knock for this I dont think Americans are stupid to vote like this, I would argue its the expected voting outcome in most Democracies The interesting part now will be how effective Trump will be in addressing these core issues, border\illegal migration and the economy: inflation And that remains to be seem

Why are you so concerned with me asking specific questions? Is it a big problem for you If people dont want to respond they dont have to, its not a big deal. No need to get butthurt

Sure Malc , Im not going to research the answers to these questions in each state when we have people living in the US who know exactly how it works Call me lazy but its just practical considering the differences in states

Its too early to say who will win but its looking like Trump will win unless Harris can maintain the Blue Wall I will comment further once the outcome is confirmed But I wanted to clarify something about the purposes and usage of ID documents in the USA and the opinions of US members would matter because this may differ from state to state Do you not need a official ID document to open a bank account, get a drivers license, get any kind of credit or similar account or a passport? And when you fly domestically dont you need an ID for verification? vrs

I dont think there is mass voter fraud in the US and I believe elections are free and fair It just surprised me that you would have elections in any state or country without ID, or another form of identification, checks But its more common than I assumed.

Well South Africa hasnt had issues of rampant voter fraud either but we have a system of ID requirement to vote You dont have a system like this because of historical cases of voter fraud, its just a way of confirming you are the person on the voters role Anyway its clear to me its not as common as I assumed. Interesting to know

And the slip of paper with the number is that a print out linked to the voters role? And I assume it doesnt have a photo so you could also theoretically be someone else than the actual person?

As usual it could take several days, especially if its close and swing states take there time Do you need to produce ID verification to vote in Germany?

Its not an unusual voting requirement to have ID checks on the day of voting, I always assumed this was normal and I am sure if you ask anyone on this thread who votes outside the US they are required to produce ID. But I might be wrong and maybe its not expected in other countries? I see there are several states that dont require ID checks https://thehill.com/homenews/4969868-states-require-aid-vote-in-person/ The remaining states and Washington, D.C., do not require any documentation to vote at the polls: California Hawaii Illinois Maine Maryland Massachusetts Minnesota Nevada New Jersey New Mexico New York Pennsylvania Vermont Its not about principle. ID verification is used to check you are who you say you are on the voters roll Its one way to ensure you dont have a type of voting fraud

Thanks and this is relevant and makes sense But now on the day of voting, I am registered to vote and I arrive to vote. My name is on the voters role but I dont need to produce ID as confirmation of that person? Whats stopping me saying " Im Hurlshot and voting Trump" I realize this would not apply to many people but it just seems like such an unusual way of not ensuring basic voting credibility?

Thats fine but that doesn't answer my question Does California use a voters role and if you arrive on the day to vote do you just need to say " Im person X " and then they just confirm your name on the voters role and you can vote? And if thats true how do you get into the voters role? Do you not need ID for that

I honestly dont understand how you can vote without ID as confirmation of who you are In South Africa we have a voters role and you first need to register on that and then on the day you vote you need to produce a form of acceptable ID which they check against the voters role. And then you get a permanent mark, for a few days, on your thumb and then you vote. It has some criticism but its a good system and ensures legitimacy around our voting system but it does require identification on the day you cast your vote How would this work in California specifically? Do they have a voters role and then do you just arrive and say " Im person X " and you can vote The article mentions " State election law already contains robust voter ID requirements with strong protections to prevent voter fraud" What Im asking is " what robust voter ID requirements " if you dont need to produce an ID on the day you vote Im sure Im misunderstanding it which is why Im looking for clarity?

https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/california-governor-signs-law-to-ban-local-voter-id-requirements/ I initially assumed this was fake news but its real and I dont understand why California would pass a law specifically making it illegal around voter id requirements? This is the story and justification below " California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill into law on Thursday that bars local governments from enacting laws to require residents to show a valid form of identification in order to vote. " The right to freely cast your vote is the foundation of our democracy and Huntington Beach’s voter ID policy flies in the face of this principle,” Bonta said in a statement at the time the lawsuit was filed. “State election law already contains robust voter ID requirements with strong protections to prevent voter fraud, while ensuring that every eligible voter can cast their ballot without hardship. Imposing unnecessary obstacles to voter participation disproportionately burdens low-income voters, voters of color, young or elderly voters, and people with disabilities.” But what stops someone pretending to be someone they not and how do you vote? I assume you need to be registered which requires your ID and proof of citizenship and then you arrive on the day to vote. But how do you then confirm you are the person. Does California use a voters role? @Hurlshort I assume you understand this logic?

Frozen pizzas in SA are always terrible, they never come out like they look in the photos and they dont taste anything like fresh pizza

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4956319-trump-says-hell-let-rfk-jr-go-wild-on-health-and-food-in-potential-second-term/ This is a few days old "Former President Trump said Sunday that he would let Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “go wild” in dealing with issues related to food, medicine and health in a potential second administration. I’m going to let him go wild on health. I’m going to let him go wild on the food. I’m going to let him go wild on the medicines,” Trump told supporters at Madison Square Garden. " @Lexx This is a good example of how Trump could really harm and erode a US institution like health. Put an anti-vaxxer in charge Its so absurd you must laugh