Florida Elections
post by Double · 2022-08-13T20:10:01.023Z · LW · GW · 8 commentsContents
8 comments
I know people here are afraid of politics, but if my options are to vote with or without consulting a large group of people who think clearly, I'd rather choose the former.
I'm starting to research my positions for the Florida elections. I'm registered to vote in the Democratic Party's primary, but I encourage conversations about the Republican primary's (or independent) candidates as well.
What do y'all think in general about the Florida election?
What do you suggest I (and other Florida voters) read/research?
What information is the most important/ is a dealbreaker?
I'd prefer for the conversation to focus on the issues on the Florida ballot, so if you want to talk about issues on other states' ballots, please create a new post instead of using this one.
Edit: I’ve been receiving downvotes for a reason I don’t know. I’m simply trying to start a conversation about an important topic! If you downvote please explain your reason why! LessWrongers usually have good reasons, so please share them. Right now it just looks like LessWrong disapproves of being informed voters.
8 comments
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comment by JBlack · 2022-08-14T05:36:33.364Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
I generally think nothing at all about the Florida election. I didn't know there was a Florida election imminent. I am not permitted to vote in a Florida election if there is one. Most people in the world are not permitted to vote in a Florida election. Even within the US most people are not permitted to vote in a Florida election.
As for votes, the recommendation in this site's FAQ says
We encourage people to vote such that upvote means “I want to see more of this” and downvote means “I want to see less of this.”
Do I want to see more posts in an international forum talking about local elections that apply to only about 1/400th of the population? No. Where there are such posts, do I want to see fewer of them? Yes.
Replies from: Doublecomment by ponkaloupe · 2022-08-13T21:10:42.615Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
since this post isn't getting much traction i'll propose a different angle. most of us here are very aware of coordination problems, and those of us living in democracies are explicitly given regular opportunities to participate in a system of which one of its claims is to overcome certain coordination problems (e.g. legislate some thing which works only if universally adopted, and then force everyone to adhere to that legislation).
this particular system of democracy has its successes and its flaws, but viewing it as a tool, what's the best way to make use of it? for example, should one simply vote for their self-interests? should one eschew voting because the time required results in negative EV? should one publicly discuss alternatives and then use their vote as a lever to direct more attention to these alternatives (think: voting for "obviously bad" nihilistic policies/representatives)?
Replies from: Double↑ comment by Double · 2022-08-13T23:36:15.486Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Those are interesting questions! Perhaps you should make your own post instead of using mine to get more of an audience.
Expressing disapproval of both candidates by e.g. voting for Harambe makes sense, but I think that voting for bad policies is a bad move because “obvious” things aren’t obvious to many people, and voting for bad candidates (as opposed to joke candidates) makes their policies more mainstream and likely to be adopted by candidates with chances to win.
Why do you think my post is being shot down?
Replies from: ponkaloupe, None↑ comment by ponkaloupe · 2022-08-14T02:50:18.945Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Why do you think my post is being shot down?
my first instinct is general “politics is the mindkiller” weariness, but i wonder if it’s more an issue of scope. it’s framed to be relevant only to Floridians, and relevant answers would have to be very broad with little depth (“vote A, B, … and Z”) or deep but tangential and not a direct answer (“i like candidate Q because of their proposed policy R which is good because S but has some uncertainties around T…”).
it also feels like you’re offloading too much to the reader. it’s easily mistaken as a “do my homework for me” request, even. i have no idea what’s on the ballot, and i guess if i were in Florida i’m supposed to fish out the ballot and study up on it first? just hope i happen to be near my desk or i’ll have to google around for an online version.
if you want, you might get more discussion by taking one policy on the ballot, decoupling it from the specific geography, and then identifying a few intriguing ramifications/uncertainties as starting points for a (more focused) discussion. food for thought, as i’m in no position to speak for all LWers.
Replies from: None, Double