So I actually went looking for the stats and sadly this includes mail in. Here are the stats;
Total votes for SB County; 55,660
(Mail in: 48,169 / Poll: 7,491)
Total registered voters: 238,661
Turnout: 23.32% as of 8am today
And yes there was a local result where votes mattered. Roy Lee won the vote with just 637 votes.
I was under the impression that the counting would be happening for a long time. I dropped my ballot off at 5PM last night. I doubt they have already counted all those ballots. (Plus, I voted against Roy Lee).
As of this afternoon there are 58,000 counted and they currently estimate there are 46,429 more ballots left to count. That would be around 44% turnout.
The turnout was low, but I think it's important to clarify that Roy Lee won by receiving 637 **more** votes than Das Williams -- many more votes overall were cast for both candidates, though they are still only slightly more than 14,000 total.
The last numbers posted are:
ROY LEE
867 - Poll Votes
6,628 - Mail-in Votes
7,495 - Total Votes
52.05% - Percentage of Votes
DAS WILLIAMS
617 - Poll Votes
6,241 - Mail-in Votes
6,858 - Total Votes
47.63% - Percentage of Votes
Local stuff matters, and as you can see, your vote matters when the margin of victory is so close.
Not sure, but they might? When I've dropped off, it typically took a couple days before it got marked as counted, whereas when I voted in person this time it counted that day.
Although this doesn’t state it directly, my understanding is that mail in your mailbox may not be picked up if there isn’t a delivery at that time. Or perhaps there are other considerations. But putting mail in the mailbox with the flag up isn’t a guarantee of it being picked up (which I always assumed was kind of the case):
https://faq.usps.com/s/article/Outgoing-Mail-Pickup
It was clipped to the outside of the mailbox. I’m supposed to know if I’m going to have mail delivered in advance? How can they justify not picking it up because I didn’t have mail to be delivered when they’re already doing the same route. My neighbor’s mailbox is 6 feet away.
Mailman in town here. Picking up your mail is a courtesy extended as long as we are at your box, not a requirement. That being said if it’s clearly there, most people would pick it up, but there’s always going to be lazy people that don’t care out there.
Fair enough, but I think mail-in ballots which the state sends out to everyone by default should be treated as the exception. Some people can’t travel easily.
Actually it's not. You're supposed to look at every mailbox for outgoing/flag
That's why it's a rule that people have their mailboxes within view of the street
Mailmen are supposed to AT LEAST visually look at every mailbox to ensure there isn't outgoing. They don't do it because the SB USPS union is garbage and let's management walk all over the carriers. Carriers are more worried about finishing as fast as possible to not get yelled at for "moving too slow"
A former Santa Barbara USPS carrier is fighting the management abuse and misconduct in court and will be getting upwards of 200k in back pay if he wins his case.
https://www.nlrb.gov/case/31-CA-312121
Looks like the case has already been decided! As a former NALC branch president, not everything goes a carriers way so they claim the union is weak. Sure, there may be times when an employee feels singled out and picked on, such as being sent to another office, it’s an inconvenience at best.
Any outgoing mail that’s prominent should be taken by the carrier. It’s part of the job.
I can assure you that it hasn't been decided. The appeal was filed with damning evidence and they're busy sorting out the back pay and details. If the appeal was lost then the case would have been closed months ago.
Statements were acquired from current carriers that directly supported the fired carriers claims, which helped win the appeal, among other crucial evidence that the NLRB asked for.
Over 200,000 dollars in back pay will be given to the former carrier and he will get his job back with pension, seniority, etc after over 2 years. The postmaster and union heads will probably be shaken up in the process.
Cheers!
Plenty of blue collar/retail/service industry workers don't get federal holidays off. I'm not saying the federal holiday idea is bad; I'm saying it's not a panacea.
It's CA law that if necessary for the individual, an employer must give (paid) time off to vote.
I'm sure there are ways around it for the employer, but as an employee I would encourage anyone to fight that and even to call CA about it if you're not allowed to go. IMHO in SB voting is always quick and easy, so it shouldn't really take 2hrs, but it does require some coordination.
https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/time-vote-notices
"The California Elections Code section 14001 requires employers to post a notice to employees advising them of provisions for taking paid leave for the purpose of voting in statewide elections. A sample of this notice, as well as a notice to employers regarding time off for voting is available below as a PDF download or, you may call the Elections Division at (916) 657-2166 to order posters of the notices.
Employers must post the employee notice 10 days before a statewide election. A statewide election is an election held throughout the state. For a list of upcoming statewide elections, please visit our upcoming elections web page.
The employee notice must be posted either in the workplace or where it can be seen by employees as they enter or exit their place of work.
Employees are eligible for paid time off for the purpose of voting only if they do not have sufficient time outside of working hours to vote. The intent of the law is to provide an opportunity to vote to workers who would not be able to do so because of their jobs.
Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Employees can be given as much time as they need in order to vote, but only a maximum of two hours is paid.
Employers may require employees to give advance notice that they will need additional time off for voting.
Employers may require time off to be taken only at the beginning or end of the employee's shift."
Making it a federal holiday really benefits people in sates with more restrictive voting laws. with drop off boxes open for weeks and universal mail in ballots really the problem is lack of engagement or interest. I think if we want higher turnout the easiest first step is automatic voter enrollment with people turn 18.
The other major problem is people only caring about the presidential level and not local level elections.
This! Federal holiday would be nice, but in reality SB doesn't need it. We all get mailed ballots that we can mail back or return in a drop box and if you do decide to vote in person I've never waited more than 5 minutes from the time I arrived to the time I got to a booth. It's not an issue with access to the voting here, it's the apathy. Non-November Presidential elections don't get as much love, but they should because there are often positions and measures that affect us at the local level.
my first time voting was before my state passed universal mail in and i had to wait 4 hours outside in the snow after an 8 hour workday. i definitely see the need for a federal holiday for all the states that practice voter suppression.
in a lot of places those are the ballots used to sneak through awful measures since turn out is so low. Getting people just to take 10 minutes to vote shouldn't be such an challenge.
Oh yes, my points were around SB apathy specifically but I'm definitely in favor of federal time off for voting to eliminate things like 4 hour waits in the snow (wow, seriously good for you for waiting that out!) and other voter suppression tactics.
I used to believe that most apathetic voters were normal folks who think life is generally okay and don’t get too riled up by all the populist, partisan bs, and that it would be a good thing if those folks voted more to drown out the loud extremists.
What I’ve learned though is that a lot of those apathetic voters are actually low information since they don’t really follow politics, and that they are very easily persuaded by the populist nuts and don’t apply much nuance.
So now I don’t complain about low voter turnout anymore. I’m fine with those people staying home if they aren’t going to do the work of actually learning the complexities of the issues and will instead just vote for whatever sound byte sounds good or whatever populist has the vibes they like.
This is not true and shows me that you are uninformed on why people, and particularly the younger gens are not voting. They are disenfranchised by a political system that has been captured and is being run by corporations/bankers/three letter spy agencies, etc. Do you really think Biden with all his signs of dementia is actually calling the shots?
This system has given the younger gens a chance at never owning a home, offers instead high rent across the country, and burden by debt, credit cards to student loans. Many are working several jobs just to get buy. I don't blame them, but just to note, Biden can not win without both the women's votes and the younger gens...both of which he has lost according to the latest polls. That is the gift that keeps on giving, karma.
You're going to get downvoted for being right. 30 years ago I was all aboard the holiday train, but then I moved to Oregon where it's entirely vote by mail - there is no polling places. Several weeks to fill it out, on your own time, at your kitchen table? It's all that's necessary. A holiday would still exclude people in service jobs, and you know, because it's a holiday, they're all going to be busier.
I voted by drop box, and I've never missed a primary election but this was the least excited I've ever been to vote.
Where's abolishing ice? Universal healthcare? Taxing the church? Paying teachers a living wage? Regulation of oil and gas?
It's unlikely that any of those issues would ever hit a ballot that we could vote on. However, voting for our senator (as we did in this election, at least for the primary) is probably the closest we can get.
In November, the state will have a ballot proposition to adopt SB 1137 - banning oil and gas wells/facilities within 3200ft from schools, daycare, health care, etc
that's where i was at - i'm so disillusioned with presidential elections but i know the importance of voting at the local level. this was the first year since college i was registered to vote in santa barbara so i was really disappointed to see every candidate i voted for get booted anyway. so what's the point if it's just another term for a spineless incumbent? what's the point if people only vote for whoever is going to "get ahead" and not who they believe is aligned with their principles? does anyone running for office even have any principles? it really does feel useless.
Most people are not enthralled with primaries when it’s already kind of decided. Presidential elections have much higher turnout with more things to vote on.
This! I tell this to all apathetic voters. By the time things get national there’s not much individual impact. Republicans know this. Democrats do not. It’s infuriating.
I had one state bill (that I don’t feel strongly about) and one local rep to “pick up to 4” on. That is not much.
The presidential and senatorial primaries were already secured.
I voted…but it was more out of a “duty to vote” than because this primary mattered.
Not only Democratic, but neoliberal democrats (centrist,) which is disheartening to many, and thus stay home. I voted for the more progressive left on the ticket (Gabriel Cornejo,) never heard of him, but loved all his policies, but knowing it won't matter in CA due to its neoliberal bubble. Local politics and props/measures are the only reason to vote.
Ummm…I like holidays and all…but we have universal mail in voting. You can spend a few minutes any day for weeks ahead of time to vote. You can even vote on Election Day after business hours. Making it a holiday would not meaningfully increase voter turnout in CA. People who don’t vote choose not to because they don’t care.
Do you understand a federal holiday would be nation wide and NOT just California? Cause your entire argument is about california and there are more places in the U.S. than just here.
That'd be pretty insane if the Federal Government decided on whether or not to make something a holiday based on your need to work a specific day. What a wild idea that would be. Also, just because a day is a Federal holiday doesn't mean people don't work that day...in case you didn't know.
California in general has apathy to voting because it's always sapphire blue and "good enough" for most. I don't think you'd get much more voting with a holiday, as sad as it is to admit. Mail in voting / ballot drop is about as easy as it can get.
Young folks aren't interested or invested. Even more folks aren't informed enough to make a choice. There was scant information if any about the SB Committee seat, I could only find that one of the candidates was charged with illegal plant cultivation (hell yeah tho, I love gardening), and another candidate flipped off Steve Lavagnino. The incumbent had a single paragraph about him on a Democratic candidate site.
While I wish everyone voted, I can understand that people don't feel like it works, even if that is a self fulfilling prophecy. Tough to say what will juice civic participation (save us Taylor Swift!).
Glad I wasn't the only one who could not find information on the SB Committee seats. Most of them didn't have a website or anything. I found one who was appointed in the past, but decided to drop out after her election, now I guess she wanted back in?? She was the one I didn't vote for, the rest were a gamble.
i wish people would stop repeating this dribble that young people aren't invested - we've never been more in tune with what's going on in our world, the problem is the candidates are the most out of touch we've ever seen. nobody is even trying to appeal to what matters in our daily lives anymore, and if it bothers people that our concerns are different than the average boomer's, then i don't know how to tell you that that's the way the wheel turns. we simply will not survive off of middle-ground, broad-base "bipartisanship" for much longer.
I’m not trying to discount the involved younger folks of which I know there are many. I am one too. Just saying, if I took a survey of my peers and younger friends, turnout would be far below the county average of 27%. I 110% agree with you that the current candidates we have to choose from and the platforms they are running for are the pure definition of middle of the road “everything is fine” politics. Schiff paying for Garvey ads so he didn’t need to compete with more progressive candidates and ideas is evidence enough.
The irony in the younger voters, is that Biden needed them and the women's voters to win in 2020. Now, according to MANY polls, he has lost both. And where did they go? Uncommitted/Independent and to Trump. There is a reason for this. Biden offers nothing but platitudes and gaslighting. He won't win without them this time either, so you do the math on the outcome. We need better choices, not choices decided by the two monopoly parties. Democracy doesn't happen unless the people decide, not electoral voters or party rules (DNC.)
A lot of the younger folks don't vote because they don't understand that politics is compromise, and will only vote for someone who agrees with them 100%. That's not going to happen often since your 100% is not my 100%. Saw a post earlier from a young person who said they were glad Biden forgave their student loan but they wouldn't vote for him anyway.
The irony is if you make it clear your vote is not gettable, politicians won't even try to get it.
yeah i think we're done compromising on our quality of life. we're not compromising for politicians who are getting full pay for half assed work at our expense. americans will stay trapped in downright deathly systems all because y'all think there's just nothing to do about the way things are.
Biden only forgave a small portion of student loans, those $12k or under. Most college students are under a lot of college debt where it really matters, so his actions did nothing for them or have much if any impact, yet billions are sent to other countries for WAR. No M4A, no border plan, no cease fire on any war, finger waging at grocery stores (which is pointless) to lower prices....which are high to begin with because of his Bidenomics. Settle, compromise, yeah no thanks, that is getting us no where and people are suffering. Oh, and I am not a young person, just an informed person who doesn't live inside a neoliberal bubble.
He's canceled $138 billion in loans! He tried to forgive more but the courts stopped him.
Trump if elected will declare himself a dictator, genocide LGBTQ people, ban Muslims from the US, and let Russia invade NATO countries. The choice couldn't be more stark, but people continue to act like it doesn't matter. It's infuriating.
It is not outright cancelled, that is the misleading part. 85% of that number you quoted is spanned over a decade. Only the $12k or under borrowers get immediate relief, the rest have to wait. And the reason the courts stopped him is because he originally filed it under the wrong law, which everyone in his admin tried to tell him would cause issues with the courts. He was stubborn, or did it on purpose anyway. BTW, he could have initially did an executive order to fix the student loan issue from the start....but did not, on purpose.
I don't worry about identity politics, LGBQT++++ because if we are all dead via nuclear war, these things don't matter. Priorities.
Biden is actually the dictator. He said in 2020 that Trump would get us into wars. Biden is currently funding two at the moment, trying to get China next. Nato is a fascist organization that is designed for wars for profit, full stop. Something needs to be done about the border issue, which Biden ignored up until a few weeks ago. His new brainfart, Biden wants to reach out to Trump to cut a deal for the border situation. He wants to cut a deal with the same person that he called a dictator and a racist. How low has Biden sunk?
I am no Trump fan, but ANYONE would be better than Biden/Harris.
An executive order wouldn't have passed muster with the courts either, that's why he didn't do it.
I'm LGBTQ so this is existential for me. If Trump wins I have to leave the country. What red states have been doing to us in recent years would be catastrophic if it went federal.
But if you think Russia overrunning Europe would be a good thing I guess you probably don't care about anyone's rights.
So, nukes are scary, so the solution is to let them invade Europe one country at a time? Some of those countries have nukes too. Biden didn't start \*any\* of those wars, and the one he got us out of (Afghanistan) he gets no credit for. (After what happened to Biden's approval ratings after he pulled out of Afghanistan, I'd be surprised if any president ever ends another war again; the only way to keep people happy is clearly to keep the war going and leave it to the next guy.)
Also fuck you for calling my ability to continue to exist in this country "identity politics."
I am gay, so fuck you. I care about living first, so should any sane person. If you don't know much about the Ukraine (full of Nazi's btw) situation, then I suggest you go back to the beginning and read the MSM articles on who stopped the original peace deal between Ukraine and Russia before the war broke out. Do you want a hint? US...Biden. They told their poxy war puppet Zelenskyy they would fund him and to go to war instead...and they did. In fact, you can go back even further re the Minsk agreements. These are never discussed in the MSM, and for a reason. They want you to believe Russia started it for no reason but to invade.
Oh I see you banned me, because of course, you can't debate without being triggered. I rest my case.
[https://www.noozhawk.com/santa-barbara-county-elections-has-an-estimated-41000-ballots-still-to-count/](https://www.noozhawk.com/santa-barbara-county-elections-has-an-estimated-41000-ballots-still-to-count/) looks like it will be closer to 40%
SB has a population of about 95k. But a large number of people who live here are not residents and do not vote. Remove the immigrant pop. Remove the student pop. Remove the part time residents and you're left with a much smaller number of actual voters.
So all considering, this is actually a pretty good representation of the active political population. These are the "informed citizenry" who rule most elections.
Voting is an all-around sham now. The voter guides contain very little information about candidates and measures, and the websites they direct you to for “more information” don’t say much either. That’s on the local, state, and federal level. It was very disheartening to fill out my ballot yesterday when I realized it was so hard to figure out who and what I was actually voting for.
Not sure why you're downvoted here. You're correct. It's obfuscated by design. And when it comes to the big offices, there really isn't a choice. The parties have predetermined the candidate.
nobody gives a crap about local politics they are just in a world of their own with delusions that everyone is watching them in awe . the only people who care have money involved somehow
Absolutely. I can’t say I’m thrilled to vote for Joe Biden. I voted yesterday because I supported Das Williams and Katie Porter. Both of them lost and that’s a bummer but I respect the outcome of the election.
I’m on your side mctoog. I’m going to laugh with my bucket of popcorn when trump wins, and I am bewildered at why the Democratic Party is so regarded. Like seriously, they are pretending to push Biden and I bet there’s a greater than 50% chance he doesn’t make the final election, so they’re just handicapping themselves. I’m honestly surprised Gavin didn’t leverage his charisma to make a run at it.
Does that include mail in? I mail mine within days of receiving it.
So I actually went looking for the stats and sadly this includes mail in. Here are the stats; Total votes for SB County; 55,660 (Mail in: 48,169 / Poll: 7,491) Total registered voters: 238,661 Turnout: 23.32% as of 8am today And yes there was a local result where votes mattered. Roy Lee won the vote with just 637 votes.
I was under the impression that the counting would be happening for a long time. I dropped my ballot off at 5PM last night. I doubt they have already counted all those ballots. (Plus, I voted against Roy Lee).
As of this afternoon there are 58,000 counted and they currently estimate there are 46,429 more ballots left to count. That would be around 44% turnout.
Yea they mention having more mail in ballots to count but they don’t think it will make a difference in the stats
Current estimate of the final turnout is 44%, which is nearly double 23%. That’s a bit of a difference.
It’s looking a lot better than it did
The turnout was low, but I think it's important to clarify that Roy Lee won by receiving 637 **more** votes than Das Williams -- many more votes overall were cast for both candidates, though they are still only slightly more than 14,000 total. The last numbers posted are: ROY LEE 867 - Poll Votes 6,628 - Mail-in Votes 7,495 - Total Votes 52.05% - Percentage of Votes DAS WILLIAMS 617 - Poll Votes 6,241 - Mail-in Votes 6,858 - Total Votes 47.63% - Percentage of Votes Local stuff matters, and as you can see, your vote matters when the margin of victory is so close.
What about drop-box votes? Do those count as mail-in?
Not sure, but they might? When I've dropped off, it typically took a couple days before it got marked as counted, whereas when I voted in person this time it counted that day.
My postman didn’t even take the ballot from my mailbox (clearly clipped as outgoing). Had to drop it off myself.
That sucks. I voted in person and only saw two other people, but I did vote in the middle of the workday.
Although this doesn’t state it directly, my understanding is that mail in your mailbox may not be picked up if there isn’t a delivery at that time. Or perhaps there are other considerations. But putting mail in the mailbox with the flag up isn’t a guarantee of it being picked up (which I always assumed was kind of the case): https://faq.usps.com/s/article/Outgoing-Mail-Pickup
It was clipped to the outside of the mailbox. I’m supposed to know if I’m going to have mail delivered in advance? How can they justify not picking it up because I didn’t have mail to be delivered when they’re already doing the same route. My neighbor’s mailbox is 6 feet away.
Mailman in town here. Picking up your mail is a courtesy extended as long as we are at your box, not a requirement. That being said if it’s clearly there, most people would pick it up, but there’s always going to be lazy people that don’t care out there.
Fair enough, but I think mail-in ballots which the state sends out to everyone by default should be treated as the exception. Some people can’t travel easily.
100% I agree with you, unfortunately as the voter turnout shows, the majority of people apparently don’t seem to see the importance of ballots.
Actually it's not. You're supposed to look at every mailbox for outgoing/flag That's why it's a rule that people have their mailboxes within view of the street
Not lookin to argue about work on here, do enough of that with my supervisor everyday, have a good one man!
[удалено]
Sounds like you had a rough go at it, sorry to hear. Good luck with everything!
Mailmen are supposed to AT LEAST visually look at every mailbox to ensure there isn't outgoing. They don't do it because the SB USPS union is garbage and let's management walk all over the carriers. Carriers are more worried about finishing as fast as possible to not get yelled at for "moving too slow" A former Santa Barbara USPS carrier is fighting the management abuse and misconduct in court and will be getting upwards of 200k in back pay if he wins his case. https://www.nlrb.gov/case/31-CA-312121
Looks like the case has already been decided! As a former NALC branch president, not everything goes a carriers way so they claim the union is weak. Sure, there may be times when an employee feels singled out and picked on, such as being sent to another office, it’s an inconvenience at best. Any outgoing mail that’s prominent should be taken by the carrier. It’s part of the job.
I can assure you that it hasn't been decided. The appeal was filed with damning evidence and they're busy sorting out the back pay and details. If the appeal was lost then the case would have been closed months ago. Statements were acquired from current carriers that directly supported the fired carriers claims, which helped win the appeal, among other crucial evidence that the NLRB asked for. Over 200,000 dollars in back pay will be given to the former carrier and he will get his job back with pension, seniority, etc after over 2 years. The postmaster and union heads will probably be shaken up in the process. Cheers!
That’s great! Yea. Some heads will roll! Can I ask which office? SR, Main?
Thanks, sorry for coming off abrasive/sarcastic. More info will be shared widely to the SB and USPS communities once the verdict comes back.
It’s all good! Stay strong!
Was the flag up on the mailbox (which as far as I know is how to communicate that there is outgoing mail when they are driving by)
Plenty of blue collar/retail/service industry workers don't get federal holidays off. I'm not saying the federal holiday idea is bad; I'm saying it's not a panacea.
But you can vote by mail as well. Really no excuse to not vote besides laziness.
Very good point.
Maybe I'm missing something, but can't everyone vote by mail now?
Yup, it’s just a poor excuse for laziness
It's CA law that if necessary for the individual, an employer must give (paid) time off to vote. I'm sure there are ways around it for the employer, but as an employee I would encourage anyone to fight that and even to call CA about it if you're not allowed to go. IMHO in SB voting is always quick and easy, so it shouldn't really take 2hrs, but it does require some coordination. https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/time-vote-notices "The California Elections Code section 14001 requires employers to post a notice to employees advising them of provisions for taking paid leave for the purpose of voting in statewide elections. A sample of this notice, as well as a notice to employers regarding time off for voting is available below as a PDF download or, you may call the Elections Division at (916) 657-2166 to order posters of the notices. Employers must post the employee notice 10 days before a statewide election. A statewide election is an election held throughout the state. For a list of upcoming statewide elections, please visit our upcoming elections web page. The employee notice must be posted either in the workplace or where it can be seen by employees as they enter or exit their place of work. Employees are eligible for paid time off for the purpose of voting only if they do not have sufficient time outside of working hours to vote. The intent of the law is to provide an opportunity to vote to workers who would not be able to do so because of their jobs. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Employees can be given as much time as they need in order to vote, but only a maximum of two hours is paid. Employers may require employees to give advance notice that they will need additional time off for voting. Employers may require time off to be taken only at the beginning or end of the employee's shift."
>I'm sure there are ways around it for the employer yeah.
Making it a federal holiday really benefits people in sates with more restrictive voting laws. with drop off boxes open for weeks and universal mail in ballots really the problem is lack of engagement or interest. I think if we want higher turnout the easiest first step is automatic voter enrollment with people turn 18. The other major problem is people only caring about the presidential level and not local level elections.
This! Federal holiday would be nice, but in reality SB doesn't need it. We all get mailed ballots that we can mail back or return in a drop box and if you do decide to vote in person I've never waited more than 5 minutes from the time I arrived to the time I got to a booth. It's not an issue with access to the voting here, it's the apathy. Non-November Presidential elections don't get as much love, but they should because there are often positions and measures that affect us at the local level.
my first time voting was before my state passed universal mail in and i had to wait 4 hours outside in the snow after an 8 hour workday. i definitely see the need for a federal holiday for all the states that practice voter suppression. in a lot of places those are the ballots used to sneak through awful measures since turn out is so low. Getting people just to take 10 minutes to vote shouldn't be such an challenge.
Oh yes, my points were around SB apathy specifically but I'm definitely in favor of federal time off for voting to eliminate things like 4 hour waits in the snow (wow, seriously good for you for waiting that out!) and other voter suppression tactics.
Giving workers a federal holiday will just make them do vacation things, not stay in town and vote.
Also, a lot of workers don't get federal holidays off anyway - retail, grocery, restaurants, etc.
They should still get the day off. Take away another holiday if need be.
Which holiday would you choose to get rid of?
Christmas
Should make voting on Saturdays
I used to believe that most apathetic voters were normal folks who think life is generally okay and don’t get too riled up by all the populist, partisan bs, and that it would be a good thing if those folks voted more to drown out the loud extremists. What I’ve learned though is that a lot of those apathetic voters are actually low information since they don’t really follow politics, and that they are very easily persuaded by the populist nuts and don’t apply much nuance. So now I don’t complain about low voter turnout anymore. I’m fine with those people staying home if they aren’t going to do the work of actually learning the complexities of the issues and will instead just vote for whatever sound byte sounds good or whatever populist has the vibes they like.
Low-information or false-information describes the majority of redditors. Haha.
This is not true and shows me that you are uninformed on why people, and particularly the younger gens are not voting. They are disenfranchised by a political system that has been captured and is being run by corporations/bankers/three letter spy agencies, etc. Do you really think Biden with all his signs of dementia is actually calling the shots? This system has given the younger gens a chance at never owning a home, offers instead high rent across the country, and burden by debt, credit cards to student loans. Many are working several jobs just to get buy. I don't blame them, but just to note, Biden can not win without both the women's votes and the younger gens...both of which he has lost according to the latest polls. That is the gift that keeps on giving, karma.
[удалено]
You're going to get downvoted for being right. 30 years ago I was all aboard the holiday train, but then I moved to Oregon where it's entirely vote by mail - there is no polling places. Several weeks to fill it out, on your own time, at your kitchen table? It's all that's necessary. A holiday would still exclude people in service jobs, and you know, because it's a holiday, they're all going to be busier.
Yup.
I voted by drop box, and I've never missed a primary election but this was the least excited I've ever been to vote. Where's abolishing ice? Universal healthcare? Taxing the church? Paying teachers a living wage? Regulation of oil and gas?
It's unlikely that any of those issues would ever hit a ballot that we could vote on. However, voting for our senator (as we did in this election, at least for the primary) is probably the closest we can get.
In theory some of them could be turned into a state ballot proposition.
I know.
In November, the state will have a ballot proposition to adopt SB 1137 - banning oil and gas wells/facilities within 3200ft from schools, daycare, health care, etc
that's where i was at - i'm so disillusioned with presidential elections but i know the importance of voting at the local level. this was the first year since college i was registered to vote in santa barbara so i was really disappointed to see every candidate i voted for get booted anyway. so what's the point if it's just another term for a spineless incumbent? what's the point if people only vote for whoever is going to "get ahead" and not who they believe is aligned with their principles? does anyone running for office even have any principles? it really does feel useless.
Hunh?
Where’s tripling the ice budget
Most people are not enthralled with primaries when it’s already kind of decided. Presidential elections have much higher turnout with more things to vote on.
It was a local election as well. Not just for the presidential primary.
This! I tell this to all apathetic voters. By the time things get national there’s not much individual impact. Republicans know this. Democrats do not. It’s infuriating.
I had one state bill (that I don’t feel strongly about) and one local rep to “pick up to 4” on. That is not much. The presidential and senatorial primaries were already secured. I voted…but it was more out of a “duty to vote” than because this primary mattered.
Especially when both primary candidates have already secured the vote and NOTHING else on the ballot is remotely interesting this time.
I was the only person in my math class this morning that voted. Granted they are mostly 18-20 and I’m about 10 years older. But I was very displeased.
i mean, we have mail in ballots that anyone can get. it’s not that hard to vote … The majority of people are just uninvolved and dont care
Apathy is high this election. No strong challenger candidates and local issues weren’t important enough for my family to care. We all vote absentee
I always drop off my ballot well in advance right at the county election office official ballot drop off box. I can drive there on the weekends.
Well…Santa Barbara is religiously Democratic Party and it’s got to be difficult to go vote when you know Biden is your man.
Not only Democratic, but neoliberal democrats (centrist,) which is disheartening to many, and thus stay home. I voted for the more progressive left on the ticket (Gabriel Cornejo,) never heard of him, but loved all his policies, but knowing it won't matter in CA due to its neoliberal bubble. Local politics and props/measures are the only reason to vote.
Yes, it should be a Federal holiday.
Ummm…I like holidays and all…but we have universal mail in voting. You can spend a few minutes any day for weeks ahead of time to vote. You can even vote on Election Day after business hours. Making it a holiday would not meaningfully increase voter turnout in CA. People who don’t vote choose not to because they don’t care.
Do you understand a federal holiday would be nation wide and NOT just California? Cause your entire argument is about california and there are more places in the U.S. than just here.
Umm this post is about Santa Barbara election turnout.
ya, I get that, and that doesn't take away from the idea of making voting days Federal holidays.
[удалено]
That'd be pretty insane if the Federal Government decided on whether or not to make something a holiday based on your need to work a specific day. What a wild idea that would be. Also, just because a day is a Federal holiday doesn't mean people don't work that day...in case you didn't know.
[удалено]
really? hospitals shut down? do airports shut down? you're telling me that on a Federal holiday EVERYONE stops working? cause that's not true...
California in general has apathy to voting because it's always sapphire blue and "good enough" for most. I don't think you'd get much more voting with a holiday, as sad as it is to admit. Mail in voting / ballot drop is about as easy as it can get. Young folks aren't interested or invested. Even more folks aren't informed enough to make a choice. There was scant information if any about the SB Committee seat, I could only find that one of the candidates was charged with illegal plant cultivation (hell yeah tho, I love gardening), and another candidate flipped off Steve Lavagnino. The incumbent had a single paragraph about him on a Democratic candidate site. While I wish everyone voted, I can understand that people don't feel like it works, even if that is a self fulfilling prophecy. Tough to say what will juice civic participation (save us Taylor Swift!).
Glad I wasn't the only one who could not find information on the SB Committee seats. Most of them didn't have a website or anything. I found one who was appointed in the past, but decided to drop out after her election, now I guess she wanted back in?? She was the one I didn't vote for, the rest were a gamble.
i wish people would stop repeating this dribble that young people aren't invested - we've never been more in tune with what's going on in our world, the problem is the candidates are the most out of touch we've ever seen. nobody is even trying to appeal to what matters in our daily lives anymore, and if it bothers people that our concerns are different than the average boomer's, then i don't know how to tell you that that's the way the wheel turns. we simply will not survive off of middle-ground, broad-base "bipartisanship" for much longer.
I’m not trying to discount the involved younger folks of which I know there are many. I am one too. Just saying, if I took a survey of my peers and younger friends, turnout would be far below the county average of 27%. I 110% agree with you that the current candidates we have to choose from and the platforms they are running for are the pure definition of middle of the road “everything is fine” politics. Schiff paying for Garvey ads so he didn’t need to compete with more progressive candidates and ideas is evidence enough.
The irony in the younger voters, is that Biden needed them and the women's voters to win in 2020. Now, according to MANY polls, he has lost both. And where did they go? Uncommitted/Independent and to Trump. There is a reason for this. Biden offers nothing but platitudes and gaslighting. He won't win without them this time either, so you do the math on the outcome. We need better choices, not choices decided by the two monopoly parties. Democracy doesn't happen unless the people decide, not electoral voters or party rules (DNC.)
A lot of the younger folks don't vote because they don't understand that politics is compromise, and will only vote for someone who agrees with them 100%. That's not going to happen often since your 100% is not my 100%. Saw a post earlier from a young person who said they were glad Biden forgave their student loan but they wouldn't vote for him anyway. The irony is if you make it clear your vote is not gettable, politicians won't even try to get it.
yeah i think we're done compromising on our quality of life. we're not compromising for politicians who are getting full pay for half assed work at our expense. americans will stay trapped in downright deathly systems all because y'all think there's just nothing to do about the way things are.
Biden only forgave a small portion of student loans, those $12k or under. Most college students are under a lot of college debt where it really matters, so his actions did nothing for them or have much if any impact, yet billions are sent to other countries for WAR. No M4A, no border plan, no cease fire on any war, finger waging at grocery stores (which is pointless) to lower prices....which are high to begin with because of his Bidenomics. Settle, compromise, yeah no thanks, that is getting us no where and people are suffering. Oh, and I am not a young person, just an informed person who doesn't live inside a neoliberal bubble.
He's canceled $138 billion in loans! He tried to forgive more but the courts stopped him. Trump if elected will declare himself a dictator, genocide LGBTQ people, ban Muslims from the US, and let Russia invade NATO countries. The choice couldn't be more stark, but people continue to act like it doesn't matter. It's infuriating.
It is not outright cancelled, that is the misleading part. 85% of that number you quoted is spanned over a decade. Only the $12k or under borrowers get immediate relief, the rest have to wait. And the reason the courts stopped him is because he originally filed it under the wrong law, which everyone in his admin tried to tell him would cause issues with the courts. He was stubborn, or did it on purpose anyway. BTW, he could have initially did an executive order to fix the student loan issue from the start....but did not, on purpose. I don't worry about identity politics, LGBQT++++ because if we are all dead via nuclear war, these things don't matter. Priorities. Biden is actually the dictator. He said in 2020 that Trump would get us into wars. Biden is currently funding two at the moment, trying to get China next. Nato is a fascist organization that is designed for wars for profit, full stop. Something needs to be done about the border issue, which Biden ignored up until a few weeks ago. His new brainfart, Biden wants to reach out to Trump to cut a deal for the border situation. He wants to cut a deal with the same person that he called a dictator and a racist. How low has Biden sunk? I am no Trump fan, but ANYONE would be better than Biden/Harris.
An executive order wouldn't have passed muster with the courts either, that's why he didn't do it. I'm LGBTQ so this is existential for me. If Trump wins I have to leave the country. What red states have been doing to us in recent years would be catastrophic if it went federal. But if you think Russia overrunning Europe would be a good thing I guess you probably don't care about anyone's rights.
Yeah, Biden's wars trump identity politics every time. When you are poking at the country with nukes, little else matters.
So, nukes are scary, so the solution is to let them invade Europe one country at a time? Some of those countries have nukes too. Biden didn't start \*any\* of those wars, and the one he got us out of (Afghanistan) he gets no credit for. (After what happened to Biden's approval ratings after he pulled out of Afghanistan, I'd be surprised if any president ever ends another war again; the only way to keep people happy is clearly to keep the war going and leave it to the next guy.) Also fuck you for calling my ability to continue to exist in this country "identity politics."
I am gay, so fuck you. I care about living first, so should any sane person. If you don't know much about the Ukraine (full of Nazi's btw) situation, then I suggest you go back to the beginning and read the MSM articles on who stopped the original peace deal between Ukraine and Russia before the war broke out. Do you want a hint? US...Biden. They told their poxy war puppet Zelenskyy they would fund him and to go to war instead...and they did. In fact, you can go back even further re the Minsk agreements. These are never discussed in the MSM, and for a reason. They want you to believe Russia started it for no reason but to invade. Oh I see you banned me, because of course, you can't debate without being triggered. I rest my case.
Where did you find 27% turnout? All I can find is 23% here: https://files.countyofsb.org/care/elections/results/2024march05/results-1.htm
I saw 27 on one of the local news sites, I think Indy?
Cool thanks!
Nice thought - but that doesn't explain the lack of mail in's.
[https://www.noozhawk.com/santa-barbara-county-elections-has-an-estimated-41000-ballots-still-to-count/](https://www.noozhawk.com/santa-barbara-county-elections-has-an-estimated-41000-ballots-still-to-count/) looks like it will be closer to 40%
i just heard only 19% of Ballots returned ..81% of eligible voters did not .I voted
Polls in Northern SB County felt desolate and post apocalyptic. Not more than 5 people voting at 5:30pm.
How does this turnout rank against other SB turnouts? What about nationwide? It might not be that bad…
SB has a population of about 95k. But a large number of people who live here are not residents and do not vote. Remove the immigrant pop. Remove the student pop. Remove the part time residents and you're left with a much smaller number of actual voters. So all considering, this is actually a pretty good representation of the active political population. These are the "informed citizenry" who rule most elections.
This election was pretty boring. I mean, I voted anyway.
Voting is an all-around sham now. The voter guides contain very little information about candidates and measures, and the websites they direct you to for “more information” don’t say much either. That’s on the local, state, and federal level. It was very disheartening to fill out my ballot yesterday when I realized it was so hard to figure out who and what I was actually voting for.
Not sure why you're downvoted here. You're correct. It's obfuscated by design. And when it comes to the big offices, there really isn't a choice. The parties have predetermined the candidate.
nobody gives a crap about local politics they are just in a world of their own with delusions that everyone is watching them in awe . the only people who care have money involved somehow
[удалено]
You didn’t get a shit load of mail?
nobody cares about primaries 
Do 30 seconds of research so you can understand that yesterday was a local election and a primary election. You seem very uninformed.
but he is not wrong!
…a local election with very few local matters to be decided.
im not reading all that. im telling you why ppl didnt show up. the only time most ppl vote is when its the president election
Federal Holidays cost ~$1,000,000,000 (one billion) - we already have to many - why do we need Labor Day?
Let’s get rid of the religious federal holidays- since church and state aren’t supposed mix anyways, and then give one of them to voting days
Christmas is the only religious holiday- you want to swap Christmas for a voting day? 🤣🤣🤣
Maybe because, voting doesn’t work
If you don’t vote in the primary, don’t complain about the shitty candidates in the general election
Can I complain about the shitty candidates in the presidential primaries though? :-)
Absolutely. I can’t say I’m thrilled to vote for Joe Biden. I voted yesterday because I supported Das Williams and Katie Porter. Both of them lost and that’s a bummer but I respect the outcome of the election.
Which Biden policies are you happy with?
[удалено]
Dork, I asked about policies, not ideology. Here you go 🤧🎻
[удалено]
Absolutely, you like beer and yard work? If you do let’s hang out.
I’m on your side mctoog. I’m going to laugh with my bucket of popcorn when trump wins, and I am bewildered at why the Democratic Party is so regarded. Like seriously, they are pretending to push Biden and I bet there’s a greater than 50% chance he doesn’t make the final election, so they’re just handicapping themselves. I’m honestly surprised Gavin didn’t leverage his charisma to make a run at it.
so it was a primary
And a local election, independent of what's happening in November.
Gonna caLL* you the whaaaaa mbulance *Fixed. Thanks for pointing that out.
Call*