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Hey, international friends. There are a few things I want you to know if you are watching our American presidential election this week. Things are a bit of a mess here, so if we end up with 4 more years of the Tangerine Dictator, know that it isn't because we all like him.
1. We are a democratic republic, not a straight up democracy. We have an electoral college that casts the final vote. The one with the most votes from the general population doesn't automatically win, as we saw in 2016 when Hillary Clinton won the popular vote over Trump.
2. The electoral college is complicated. States have a big say in how electoral college electors are selected. They can be appointed or voted in. Citizens vote & the EC elector is then supposed to cast their ballot in alignment w/the popular vote results in their jurisdiction.
3. Most of the time the popular vote across the nation aligns with who is elected as president by the electoral college. Last time, this didn't happen. There is also the risk of the "faithless elector" who can go against the popular vote and vote for whomever they want.
4. Some states have put into play rules to bind the electoral vote to the popular vote. Others have not. This is why it was a big deal that Trump had sent his goons to try to influence electors. He was attempting to sway their EC vote to align with him and not the people's will.
5. We are worried about voter suppression. We have seen all kinds of shady activities here like GOP states making it difficult to obtain an absentee ballot despite the pandemic & counties removing all but one ballot dropbox. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/10/13/us/texas-election-ballot-drop-box-ruling/index.html
6. There have also been some shady stuff going on with our national mail service. Postmaster deJoy, Trump's appointee, has gutted the USPS. deJoy removed over 700 sorting machines this summer. We worry our mailed ballots won't get to our clerks on time. https://www.businessinsider.com/usps-remove-twice-as-many-mail-sorting-machines-this-year-2020-9
7. We are also worried about our police. Many support Trump and have shown to use undue force against Trump protesters. Many sheriffs are openly defying their govenor's orders; our cops don't always follow the rule of law. It happened in my state.
Case in point: "Though the sheriffs have agreed to follow social distancing practices, as well as hand washing and wearing masks in public, they say their loyalty is with the Constitution, not with the governor." https://m.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2020/04/16/these-four-michigan-sheriffs-oppose-gov-whitmer-pledge-to-not-strictly-enforce-executive-order
8. Don't get me started on how many unarmed Black citizens have been killed by cops. The odds of these murders being prosecuted are slim to none. We are nervous about the coming days for very good reasons. Many are stressed AF over here. https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/10/05/stark-racial-bias-revealed-in-police-killings-of-older-mentally-ill-unarmed-black-men/
9. There might be some chaos in the coming days. He might declare victory tomorrow despite not all ballots having been counted. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mlive.com/politics/2020/11/whitmer-warns-trump-could-declare-premature-election-victory-before-final-vote-count.html%3foutputType=amp
10. Trump has alluded to extending his power and other dictator-esque actions. More recently he refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power should he lose the election. We are very worried about this. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/election-us-2020-54274115
11. We aren't sure if or how the courts may have to get involved if things go bad. If they do, the odds are not in our favor. Trump has appointed about 1/4 of active federal judges at this time.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/one-in-every-four-circuit-court-judges-is-now-a-trump-appointee/2019/12/21/d6fa1e98-2336-11ea-bed5-880264cc91a9_story.html1
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/one-in-every-four-circuit-court-judges-is-now-a-trump-appointee/2019/12/21/d6fa1e98-2336-11ea-bed5-880264cc91a9_story.html1
12. The top of our judicial system is the Supreme Court which currently is composed of 9 justices. Trump and his party put 3 of the 9 justices on the bench, securing a conservative super majority. They rammed the last one through in a very devisive vote. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/26/us/politics/senate-confirms-barrett.html
13. We also have a self-declared militia problem. These groups of cammosexuals are small but scary. They are big fans of guns and have even plotted to kidnap and execute Democrat elected officials. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/10/11/us/michigan-whitmer-plot/index.html
14. The president has praised these militias. When asked to condemn their actions and plans to show up, armed, to rallies and poling stations, our president refused to do so. The militias show up to intimidate protesters/voters and pose a security risk. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/09/us-militias-trump-election-day-covid-guns
15. The rise of the Trump Caravan is another issue that is being dealt with. It started as parades of sycophantic support but have crossed into being armed mobile units used to display power, intimidate people, and most recently threaten Biden & Harris. https://www.google.com/amp/s/slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/11/trump-cheers-caravan-trucks-swarmed-biden-bus-texas.amp
So...if your American friends are freaking out this week, you now know why. Most of us have never seen this level of violence and chaos surrounding one of our elections before. Please know that, no matter what happens, many here do not support this tyrant.
I cannot say that he doesn't represent us. If we have learned anything from Trump's election, it is that, as a nation, we have a lot of racism, sexism, bigotry, and xenophobia that needs addressing. Just know that he only represents a part of our nation. The absolute worst part.
We are fighting like hell to bring our country back from the brink of destruction and fascism. Please know that the overwhelming majority of us still love our international allies and friends. I hope the world can forgive us this monster and extend friendship again.
There is a lot of misinformation out there about what is happening here. Trump & his fans are suckers for fake news and sensationalism. Please be careful of what you see online this week. A lot of info will be coming at you fast and will not always from good sources.
Please keep us in your thoughts and forgive us our rage tweets. Due to the high number of absentee ballots, we may not know the election results for several days. We will be emotional messes. I hope, in the end, we are shedding tears of joy, not of fear of disappointment.
