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Joe Nation

(961 posts)
Fri Nov 9, 2018, 04:05 PM Nov 2018

Really Beginning to Get Suspicious of All These "Close" Elections

When you are dealing with hundreds of thousands to millions of votes, what are the odds that both candidates get roughly the same number of votes again and again? I understand that the real odds are determined by how many people vote and that close elections are inevitable occasionally, but it just seems like statistically we shouldn't have as many close elections as we always seem to have.

Can anybody explain to me the statistics behind why we would see so many knotted up election outcomes election after election? It just seems like the vote counts have to be manipulated to keep getting these close calls once the number of votes reaches millions and millions. Have we just accepted the fact that we have a lot of close election outcomes or are there statistics that prove that close elections are an anomaly after so many votes have been cast?

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California_Republic

(1,826 posts)
11. Saw a joke tweet the other day
Fri Nov 9, 2018, 04:31 PM
Nov 2018

the joke was that if Florida voted between ice cream and a kick in the head the vote would be 49% to 49%

bearsfootball516

(6,369 posts)
3. It's not overly complicated, the United States is a fairly evenly divided country.
Fri Nov 9, 2018, 04:10 PM
Nov 2018

It's generally center-left in ideology, but voter suppression and apathy mean that people who hold Democratic beliefs don't always vote as much as their Republican counterparts. The result is a country that often votes close to 50/50.

Jeffersons Ghost

(15,235 posts)
4. We can fix this problem! Let's buy Chinese-made voting machines sold by a stripper!
Fri Nov 9, 2018, 04:18 PM
Nov 2018

First Stripper, Melania Trump is ready to import voting machines made in China, during a trade war Trump started with the Eastern manufacturing giant. Add this aspect to existing Diebold, voting machines and Gerrymandering and elections will never be close again, as Republican Nazis begin opening concentration camps for Democrats and minorities, while they put women back in their place (Hell).

 

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)
5. The science of political campaigning practically ensures it
Fri Nov 9, 2018, 04:18 PM
Nov 2018

If both sides of an election are aiming to (a) differentiate themselves, and (b) get a majority of the vote, then you would expect, if they are doing their jobs in a "perfect game" for the vote to come down to close to 50/50.

Qutzupalotl

(14,230 posts)
12. I wonder if it's genetic.
Fri Nov 9, 2018, 05:13 PM
Nov 2018

People lacking an empathy gene gravitate towards Republicans. People with empathy vote Democratic. Worth looking into.

davsand

(13,420 posts)
14. A solution to EVERY election question is a paper ballot.
Fri Nov 9, 2018, 05:35 PM
Nov 2018

No electronic counts, a verifiable paper trail. Make election day a national holiday and prepare to wait for election results for a few days. I am convinced that these national elections are being manipulated in the counting process.

Sure, I'll be happy to wear my tin foil hat if you want me to, but I have one question: Do you remember more than one or two national elections that were "tied" prior to the widespread use of electronic voting? I sure don't. I don't think they are now, either. I think they are manipulated.

I've heard people (including my husband!) say that fixing an election secretly requires too many people to keep a secret. I understand that. I also understand that I have yet to see a system that a determined hacker couldn't penetrate given enough time and some privacy. These machines are not new. Somebody knows how to hack them. I truly believe it.





Laura

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