This is why every vote matters. YOUR vote matters. Please vote!
Actually that’s exactly how it works. Here, lemme break down the numbers. I’ll be using the 2020 presidential election voter turnout.
In 2020, the total U.S. population was about 332,450,000.
Of that number, about 240,000,000 were eligible to vote.
Of eligible voters, only about 66.1% actually voted. And that’s a high turnout, historically speaking.
Of the 158,427,986 eligible voters who actually voted,
81,283,501 voted for Biden. That’s 24.5% of the overall U.S. population.
74,223,975 voted for Trump. That’s 22% of the overall U.S. population.
(I’m guessing the graphic used updated number from 2024 for population size.)
But yes, that’s exactly how it all works. Not everyone in the U.S. is eligible to vote (sometimes due to voter suppression, but also due to being too young).
Of those who ARE eligible to vote, as many didn’t vote as voted for either Biden or Trump.
Who wins is determined by who fucking shows up to vote.
Democracy works exactly as well as how much you participate in it.
Trump voters are only 22% of the general population.
They’re only 31% of eligible voters.
They’ll be easy to defeat.
IF PEOPLE ACTUALLY FUCKING VOTE.
Which is why it’s important to pair posts like this with actual resources on, for example:
See, the thing a lot of people don’t get is, the US system is designed to SUPPRESS AND DENY votes. Fun fact for those who went to school elsewhere: none of the stuff I linked is actually required learning in our schools. Followup fact: the reason I mention financial assistance for ID cards is, our free ID (social security card) is not valid for voting in half of states; expensive photo IDs are required.
For the Americans, you must understand: Most places with elections take the exact opposite approach. Do you know how fucked up it is that in the US you can’t even get a whole day off work, despite voter queues often being several hours long due to lack of polling places? How absolutely pigshit bonkers it is that people have to PAY to vote (via ID fees)?
The international folks are appalled because that’s fucked up! 18% picking your president is unhinged! It actually truly does represent a broken system!
In other words this is a real, systemic issue that can take years to overcome IF you even have the ability to do it at all.
If you’re lucky enough not to face any of the hurdles, stay informed on the subject so you can help the rest of us out.
Voter suppression is not caused by personal moral failing.
