Democrats keep winning big elections this year, from the Virginia governor’s race to, just this week, the special election for the Senate seat in Alabama. The reason for so many of these Democratic victories is quite simple: black women. Black women have been coming out to vote like crazy. We could argue – and pollsters are arguing right now – about WHY African-American women are coming out to vote in droves for Democratic candidates, but I think that question sort of dismisses the historical reality: black women have always voted in really high percentages, even when their votes are being actively suppressed, even when they don’t particularly like the candidates they’re voting for.
Black women vote out of self-interest – the lesser of two evils is an okay choice to make, especially if the more evil choice is violent white supremacy and even more oppression and marginalization. It wouldn’t be so notable if the majority of white women didn’t consistently vote against their own interests all the damn time. A majority of white women voted for Donald Trump. A majority of white women voted for Roy Moore. A majority of white women will consistently vote against their own reproductive freedom, the health and safety of their children, equal pay, their own ability to work without being harassed, their own ability to exist without being abused and a lot more. And a minority of white women will make it all about being “pure” and having “ideals.” Women like Susan Sarandon. This is what she posted yesterday, after Doug Jones won the Senate seat in Alabama.
Thank you African Americans in Alabama who organized and fought their way to the polls despite so much voter suppression. Thank you Selma once again. Respect. pic.twitter.com/aU3C1rG70A
— Susan Sarandon (@SusanSarandon) December 13, 2017
Says the woman who threw away her vote on a third party candidate, leaving African-Americans to pick up the slack in an attempt to keep a sexual predator and white supremacist the hell away from the White House. If you have a few minutes, read through the comments on that tweet – people were not having any of it. I wonder how she explained the African-American turnout for Hillary Clinton? Did she “thank” those millions of voters for turning out to stop an unhinged predator? Or nah?
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Oh, @&#* off, Susan.
Perfectly put. I seriously hate her.
Yes, she needs to have a seat. Far, far away.
Thank you, everyone. I thought it was just me who’d had enough of this woman. She really needs to put a sock in it.
I was subscribed to the Our Revolution newsletter for quite sometime because while I’ve cooled off on my feelings about Bernie, I still support their overall message and I don’t mind Nina Turner. This week I got a newsletter through Now Revolution from Susan Sarandon and immediately unsubscribed. letting them know exactly why.
She’s f*cking toxic at this point and extremely damaging to the Left as a whole. Divisive, ignorant, privileged–all of that. Ugh.
You hit that nail square on the head Kitten. Couldn’t have said it better.
Yes, she is. Bernie did his job. Get the progressive ideas out there. Now sit down. Susan is free to speak, and she is a great actress and has done many good things. But this year I don’t want to hear much from her. I don’t cancel her, but we are on a break. I have no tolerance for her right now.
yeah, this. she’s so clueless.
We are ALL undoing the MESS created by susan sarandon, all nit wit racist thugs, xenophobics & the russian cyberwar.
There was not a lot of traffic on the Omarosa thread yeasterday, so I’m going to repost this for those who missed it.
December 14, 2017 at 9:48 am
Yesterday there was a lot of to the point discussion of how Black Women saved Alabama and the USA from the RacistHomophobeMisogynistXenophobePedophile Horse Abuser Moore. They deserve our thanks and more. Here are some concrete, tangible things that we can do:
http://www.thecut.com/2017/12/black-women-turnout-roy-moore-doug-jones.html?utm_campaign=thecut&utm_source=fb&utm_medium=s1
Thanks, Jerusha! I belong to a local progressive mailing list, and I got an email yesterday about a post that originated on Facebook: as a Resistance Action of the Week, every week between now and the November 2018 election, donate $5 to a progressive candidate you may not know about, somewhere in America. She is linking a “candidate of the week” and is asking to be sent additional progressive candidates.
I think this is a great idea and will be doing this!
That’s great! Posters here donated to Doug Jones, now we need to donate to Iron ‘Stache and others who need our support. If you have a link to that information, please share.
I’m sure Black women everywhere are dropping all heavy lifting they do to to take a moment to appreciate Susan’s largess.
Thank you, Susan, for sharing. Don’t forget to pat yourself on the back for being so aware.
Man, Reductress got it spot on!
http://reductress.com/post/white-women-thank-themselves-for-thanking-black-women-today/
No thanks, Susan!
Heh. Spot on.
Thank you and thank Nikita Thomas for this: “Maybe those white women should start putting their energy into finding out why so many of their own people voted for a pedophile.”
I came to comment & I couldn’t have put it better, happyoften. She & Jill Stein are insufferably smug & clueless
Yep. I don’t understand these women because I am not tight with that group. Even my southern relatives were Ewwww about Moore, so I have no answers right now. They baffle me.
What a troll.
This woman is nuts/fake activist. After all she did produce a spawn that endlessly writes about posh motherhood and first world deep deep problems such as “the best first birthday presents” for a child. (Yes, I hate read her daughter’s blog and cackle in my office when I am procrastinating thankyouverymuch).
Her daughter’s Instagram is the shit of nightmares.
Had to hold back the vomit when I saw that nonsense.
Ooooooohhhh I *have* to check that. She is truly, spectacularly revolting.
Based on your post, I just had to check out her “lifestyle” blog and what a barf-fest. Thank you for the recommendation. Now I know how to properly greet guests when they arrive at my over-sized home in Connecticut.
Stupid, white, rich b*tch is all think when I hear her name and face. She yells revolution then runs off to her penthouse to talk crap on twitter whilst sipping champagne.
I can always tell when someone doesn’t have a real black friend in their life because she should have had her baby hairs snatched for trying to thank us. Girl sit your dumb ass down before I do it for you. I don’t have the energy for these damn idiots. Getting my pressure all up
Yes!!!
Hahaha. You are right. She needs a weekend retreat with Maxine Waters and bell hooks. Special guests include Angela Davis, Michelle Obama, April Reign and Joy Reid.
Nope, she needs a month.
Words fail me. Am filled with hatrrd and rage. Cannot bear her smug face another minute.
I so feel that.
Honestly, f*ck white feminists and f*ck Susan Sarandon!
I have been sitting here staring at your comment for a very long time. I do not know what to say to the first part of your sentence other than it saddened me greatly. I know there is much work to do, and so much more to learn, but if we don’t start by working on it together, how do we grow?
@Carey, maybe you should take your great sadness and use it to mobilize white feminists who don’t “work together” with black women and other WOC when they are abused, subjugated, maligned, harassed, or discriminated against, and feel completely unsupported by the general (white) feminist movement (until it’s time to thank black women for saving the day in places like Alabama).
It seems like that is where the problem is — it’s not with people expressing feeling excluded from the mainstream movement…it’s with the people (white feminists) doing the excluding.
When yall meet us halfway maybe we wouldnt BE so mad.
Its not about your feelings. Gather your fellow white women to DO better. Because tuesday many were so quick to elect a child predator. When that happens MAYBE we will think about “working together”. But so far white feminism doesn’t include us
Carey, it’s up to you to go get your people.
Make an effort to understand what this poster means when she says white feminists. White feminists does not refer to feminists who are white, but to a specific kind of feminism practiced by some white women that is steeped in white privilege and white supremacy and ignores all intersecionality. I absolutely agree with her. F—k white feminists. If you are “greatly saddened” it’s because you didnt understand the terminology. There are actually a lot of posts on this site that talk about it, under the Taylor Swift tag and Susan Sarandon tag, as Springs most readily to mind. Read those. And if you persist in the “I’m so sad you said that whites are bad, that hurt my feelings, we are all in this together” then please know you will likely be lumped in by many here with the All Lives Matter fools.
If you’re not a hit dog, no need to holler.
Well said, carey. Speaking for me & my white feminist friends & activists, not all white feminists are like Susan Sarandon in any way beyond skin color, and we can’t help that. Plenty of us can’t stand her smug, clueless white privilege.
What you call exclusionary is what I call racist, no matter who’s doing it, and whether it’s conscious or unconscious. To dismiss the rest of us & say “f*ck white feminists” is every bit as exclusionary & destructive as what you’re criticizing.
If “White feminists does not refer to feminists who are white,” then say exactly what is meant. That phrase is as contradictory & confusing as referring to “some white women” & then following it up with “F–k white feminists.” Words matter.
@Spring, if you genuinely think it’s the same, you’re part of the problem.
Um NOPE.
….and HOW do you know NOT know what “white feminism” is at this point?
Do you value and uphold intersectionality? If not, then you are a white feminist and you are in the movement for yourself and fellow whites only.
We HAVE to be better than this, my fellow white women. STOP with the white fragility and LISTEN to the frustration and pain that WOC are feeling on a daily basis.
Stop getting butthurt because you feel excluded and start SHOWING up for causes that disproportionately affect POC especially black women. If you are not here to listen and to help ALL women then we do not want you as part of the movement full f*cking stop.
Part of listening to minorities includes accepting that their anger comes from an understandable and legitimate place. It means being sometimes being uncomfortable or having to swallow being the villain of the story occasionally. We can’t form an intersectional women’s movement if we aren’t willing to look at the devastating impact of racism on this culture, and that includes the feminist movement.
The thing is…at some point when you want to bring to people to your side of the argument, to your team, to win something in the end that is for the greater good, you need to stop with what the people you are trying to reach will consider “divisive” language.
Even if you are in the right, and it’s frustrating to have to pander – when you want to win, really win, you have to know how to play the game.
How does it help when the person you are trying to reach stops reading the great point you probably have when you start your statement off with an insult. Because most people, no matter what side of whatever issue, will stop reading and dismiss you.
You’ll probably dismiss me for this, but ask anyone who runs a campaign, a business, anything where you want to influence others – you have to swallow your pride to ultimately come out on top.
The problem with this argument is that it continues pushing the responsibility of respectability onto non-whites, when what they’re asking for is basic human rights and dignity. If we honestly believe in the cause for racial justice, white people – and in this case, white women especially – should be sensitive and empathetic to the kind of outrage it generates when you aren’t accorded that basic respect as a human being. We’re the ones that should be willing to swallow a little pride and let them have their anger in these safe spaces, if only because what you and I are asking of them in the general public sphere is horrendously unfair.
They have to have the right to be angry about this. We have to let them be hurt and outraged and frustrated about the unfairness of carrying this burden. If we want non-whites to be able to swallow their anger and degradation when faced with opponents in the general public, we can’t strip them of the right to vent about it around allies because it makes us uncomfortable. THAT is the absolute definition of white privilege. A feminist safe space has to include spaces for ALL women and their pain.
Beyond that, I’d argue white people lost the right to tone policing right around the time of MLK’s death. He gave us a vision of an America united peacefully under the banner of racial unity. And what happened? A white guy shot him in the face.
You still need to get someone to actually listen to you and understand.
I’m not saying it’s right, but it is the way it is. It’s the phrase, catch more flies with honey.
The people you are trying to reach aren’t going to be empathetic and swallow their pride, that’s the point. If you want to reach them, then you have to refrain from the insults or at least perceived insults to them. It’s just the truth. And you also have to accept there will be people you will just never reach. Speak to the people you can.
Mine and other WOC’s well-being IS for the greater good. We will not wait & fight for white women to get theirs and then hope they’ll take us with them. That has backfired before. Not to mention, that many white women have been complicit in mistreating POC for a long time. I’m championing WOC & intersectionality allies. Those who get it? Great! The rest can f*ck off.
@babar. Feminism is weaker without the support of WOC. WOC don’t need to persuade white women; white women stand to gain the most from feminism (which is part of the problem) and are the ones who need WOC. And we can’t ignore white privilege.
And they don’t get to set the terms of how the discussion will be had to the point that they demand relentless politeness and helpfulness, No tone-policing or condescension or frailty. They need to come to the table without thinking their experiences and needs are the default or that their feelings should be placed ahead of the feelings of WOC.
That’s the whole point I’m making. If you can’t even get anyone to the table in the first place, then what’s the difference?
It’s not our responsibility to get anyone to the table. You get yourself there and worry about the dishonesty and lack of loyalty at YOUR table.
My last post about this because this is going nowhere fast! 🙂
The women who need to be reached already don’t want to come to your table. So they aren’t going to get themselves there. They are happy at their table.
If we want them to come to the table and have a discussion, then they need to be persuaded. Of course it sucks if that has to be the way to get someone to the table, but once they are there, then real conversations can start.
If you don’t want to, then don’t. I certainly won’t tell you what to do. But then we need to just accept everybody sitting at their own tables and nothing changing.
But it is not the responsibility of women of color to appeal to or plead with that section of the population, babar. It’s OUR responsibility as white women to educate other white women.
SMDH PLEASE women of color have enough shit to worry about without having to cater to ignorant whites.
BTW, black women just pulled of a huge win this week and if you think they *need* us then you are dead-wrong. Black women are achieving greatness every day in this country and will continue to be a progressively powerful voice with or without us. We are either on-board to quietly (or not-so-quietly if required) help however we can or we are here tone-policing and asking them to do more.
The women who need to be reached will get the kindly face. My point is that minorities should not be expected to have that face on all the damn time because that’s inhumane. They are not superwomen, they are human beings who need to have the space to feel angry about it. That’s the job of women who call themselves white allies and feminists. If you want to call yourself a feminist, you have to be willing to make space for the anger of POC who have to deal with that shit day in and day out. That means not yelling “NOT ALL WOMEN” whenever a WOC decides to vent about racism in what is considered a safe space.
If you are a white woman and want to sit at the table and call yourself a feminist, WE have to be the ones serving the honey, not the black women. We are the ones in the position of some power, not the WOC. We’ve already got the leg up. I don’t understand why this is such a complicated concept for so many white feminists. Swallow your pride and let these people vent their anger while we’re all sitting at the same table, let them know that they can rely on us to have their back even when they’re angry and hurt. Stop meeting their legitimate frustration by thwarting them at every turn because they’re stepping all over our “feelings.” THEN they can turn around and have the strength to deal with the real evil out there. Goddamn. This is not rocket science.
Yes – same goes for white women. They need to swallow their pride and approach the other white women they are trying to reach/educate/discuss/whatever with kid gloves – placate them to get them to the table to get the conversation started. Not rocket science.
I don’t think anywhere did I say that black women should be the only ones doing anything.
babar It is simple. Just listen. You can choose to put aside your feelings and practice mindful acceptance. We have had an open invitation to join them all along. They don’t need to ask or beg to be heard. They don’t have to change. We have to change.
Validate their anger. Don’t tone police. WOC have had more than enough of that and instructed how to feel and behave to make our lives more comfortable. This is treating grown women like children who need white Mommy so much they should be grateful for our exalted help and politely accept whatever crumbs we rouse ourselves to throw their way. Truthfully, WOC are stronger as a whole than white women are as a whole.
It is liberating to open your eyes, I promise, and the sisterhood grows and strengthens. We should be there for them and ask nothing in return because they always give. Ask How can I help? Not in my experience has anyone been angry when asked that question.
When we act hurt it stops progress, and it diminishes their feelings.
glad to see the usual amazing posters making great points. Thank you guys…you’re the allies we need.
Last thing I needed was to be more angry today lol
Capitalism and equality are not compatible.
Oh, Jeesh. I hear echoes of my former self, and it makes me cringe, and my cheeks are burning with shame.
The same principle used for believing her give to black women too. What more do black women have to do? Cure cancer and AIDS? Reduce the deficit? Heal the world? Stop the polar ice cap from melting? They are women, not self-sacrificing superheroes. Yet there they are cleaning up our stupid.
I no longer include myself in every area of problematic white feminism, but I have been a big part of the problem, and I recognize that to be a real ally I have to accept my responsibility and see the problem from WOC’s perspective as much as I can. There is still MUCH to learn.
Which is why Gillibrand needs to sit on down. Which is why the black caucus needs a very prominent role on the left. It is why we need to cultivate and support women of color, especially black women in positions of leadership and as candidates. Be willing to be the only white woman in a group of black feminists and listen. Absorb their pain and be angry on their behalf and with them and fight for their causes as hard as for anything else. Recognize the horrible way they have been marginalized and abused.
It is hard and humbling. It is embarrassing and painful, but those feelings mean nothing without action. They don’t want our tears.
Because she didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton, the ultimate white feminist?
Wasn’t anyone insulted when Hillary pandered and claimed she carries “hot sauce” in her purse? I thought that was so ridiculous.
I think the hot sauce thing turned out to be true.
Even if it were, she “revealed” that to up her “cred”.
This might help:
https://everydayfeminism.com/2015/09/white-feminists-anti-racism/
And black women came for Susan on Twitter yesterday. It was glorious
I can only imagine. I know the responses I read to white people *finally* noticing black people ain’t crazy have been a hoot.
Cue lecture on “working together” and “being appreciative” and support for pepople “voting their conscience”…
Cue lecture on “working together” and “being appreciative” and support for people “voting their conscience”…
To which I say, fuck all that noise. Forever. Amen.
Yes it was. My favorite was the tweet with Erykah Badu gif (not sure if link allowed)
https://mobile.twitter.com/WkndGirl/status/941001766405107712
I had such a great time reading the comments last night, in between my troll posts to Lil Marco Rubio.
FYI: For anyone ever planning a trip to Alabama’s white sand beaches, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are in Baldwin County which went 62-38 for Child Molester. Dauphin Island is in Mobile County which went 56-42 for Jones. I think Baldwin County is Whiter than Vermont.
Just putting this out there.
Brilliant idea Jerusha. This should be on billboards and resort websites. We can use the comments section to mention it.
I live in Pensacola and grew up an hour away from Mobile. I think it’s a little more complex than that. Dauphin Island is home to a state-funded lab that’s surrounded by senior (white) scientists who tend progressive, and part of the island has some whomping million-dollar homes. Those are likely snowbirds who aren’t registered to vote there. There are also several small colleges in the county which were probably Jones strongholds. It’s a real mix.
The rest of Mobile County, no. The shipyard workers are about as rough and Trumpish as can be, and there are thousands of them. Mobile County also has the rich element of bring-back-the-glorious-Old-South closeted white racists.
My sister lives in the stinking rich part of Birmingham where Doug Jones lives, and the only reason those noblesse oblige closet racists went for Jones is because he’s one of them and they didn’t want to be embarrassed by having a reptile representing them.
For rich old-school Alabamians, who in my opinion are still as racist as ever, the social onus of being associated with this piece of human waste outweighed their convictions. When/if a more moderate Republican shows up, you can bet they will be behind (probably a) him all over again. This was just a fluke caused by rich white personal mortification at being represented by a Moore.
My B’ham BIL is a lawyer and friend of Jones, and BIL’s father was a federal judge who was part of key civil rights decisions in the early 60s, so I think BIL’s convictions are sincere and he voted his conscience. Unfortunately I think that’s the exception.
Baldwin County is fairly poor overall and for a long time was full of backward potato farmers. Orange Beach and Gulf Shores permanent residents are about as red in the neck as it gets, but remember that most of the beachfront condos there are owned by absentees who are not registered to vote there. There’s a definite schism. Once you get away from the posh permanently inhabited waterfront neighborhoods not far away, it is a scary place. You might as well be in Evergreen or Eufala or Opp. I can’t even understand these people’s accents, and I grew up here. Alabama is pretty diverse and tends towards class extremes.
OT…Just east of Gulf Shores is an exclusive and very well guarded island where many Hollywood types have or had homes with complete security and privacy. Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston had a house there, and I think Tom Selleck and Steve Majors still have houses there. There are many others. Well below the radar because no one gets on there without an invitation or clearance from owners.
I’m not sure what your point is. There are plenty of redneck racists and plenty of rich racists in both counties. There are also plenty of permanent residents of each of the beach towns. There are simply more racists in Baldwin, our fastest growing county, imo.
The Black population of Baldwin County is 9%. In Mobile County it’s 35%. Sales taxes help support our schools. I think spending money where it will help schools with the greatest minority enrollment is better than spending it to support schools with a low minority population and in a county that overwhelmingly voted for a pedophile.
Peak white feminism. This b!@(h can take several seats. Black women are in this mess because of people like her the last election.
I’m gonna quote the Pajiba headline from the other day. Shut Your Stupid Mouth, Susan Sarandon. Signed, Everyone.
http://www.pajiba.com/web_culture/shut-your-stupid-mouth-susan-sarandon-signed-everyone.php
HAHA!
Black women never do this for entitled white women like Susan. We remember how you were SO QUICK to vote third party because of your “conscious”.
If we thought we could save ourselves without yall we would. Esp since we are the first sacrificial lamb every damn time.
As a black woman, from Selma, that voted – have several damn seats Susan
P.S. I live in Birmingham now, and I did walk around Wednesday saying “You’re Welcome” to everyone I saw because I am officially Petty Patty
I LOVE this.
This is the best thing I have heard since Amber Ruffin’s take on Seth Meyers. The visual is perfection.
OMG! That’s perfect!
I had read that it was the Selma voters who sealed the win for Jones. I have no idea how true that is, I was skimming articles so I didn’t fact check, but I have to say I loved the irony and I teared up a bit.
I would have paid you money to follow you around that day and watched the varied reactions.
Sarandon is dangerously out of touch. Her celebrity amplified her views, helping disinformation about the campaign spread far and fast. She needs to apologize.
Clinton had so many celebrities on her side. You really think an actress whose high point was the 80s and 90s did that much damage?
People kept amplifying her voice.
I’d like to lock her in a cabinet with Trump and all his dummies. She earned them!
I’m so proud of my fellow black sisters in AL for coming out in droves to defeat a child molester, racist character. This woman needs to stop talking.
While I admire her advocacy for AIDS victims, her tweet is condescending. She’s completely out of touch.
Yet when African American Women in large were voting for Hillary, she was screaming about “Deep south Primaries” and a “rigged process”. If there was one thing that has soured me to Sarandon, Woodley, Robbins, and Dawson is that they actively tried to diminish the importance of voters of color when it suited them to do so last year. Not to mention Nina Turner, Zogby, and the rest of Bernie’s unity commission delegates tried to do the same by insisting that the Washington and Nebraska caucus remain the way those states allocate delegates.
Back then I agreed with them, but for a different reason, that won’t matter once we get state offices and can redraw the districts fairly. Once that happens more minorities will have fair representation, and more people of color will be able to hold offices.
Another project for 2018. Support women of color for offices and help mentorship programs. Donate to scholarships for children of color and girls of color. Use influence to help get black girls into internships so that they can network and make career contacts. Rich white girls have their parents make one phone call and can work at Vogue. Do it for a minority woman. Use alumnae status to help Girls of color.
If anyone is in that position that would be a good acknowledgment.
I had a good laugh the other day when Jesse Williams thanked black women on instagram and all the white women came to say “No! All women!”
Same with news reporter’s who said, “oh well yeah we can thank black women, I guess…BUT actually it was the millenials who really made the difference.”
And then my favourite is all the black men who were angry they weren’t getting the credit and said that black women are just further dividing the community.
None of the above reactions are at all surprising. For some reason it just really irks people to acknowledge how much black women do for this country and they do their best to discredit us. Tale as old as dirt.
Now my only question is that since black people once again turned out for Democrats, will the Democrats finally turn out for blacks?
Nope.
She is a truly awful person.
I actually never comment but I’m going to do so today. Watch That’s My Boy and Susan Sarandon’s (and her daughter’s) role in that film. At it’s heart, it’s child rape. And they went along happily. She is NOT woke, she is NOT aware. She panders, she’s ill-informed and I’m guessing she is aware of her increasing irrelevance.
I wouldn’t say we so much vote for self-interest, but rather for self-preservation. It is an issue of survival for POC.
As a black female voter, id like to ask Becky to take several seats.
Champagne socialist. Lol.
Personally, I don’t think she’s the smartest tool in the toolbox and she just needs to shut up.
I don’t even like her as an actress.
I still don’t get why this woman inspires so much vitriol. You’d think she’d personally rigged the election.
Nah, she just voted for the woman who had dinner with Michael Flynn and Vladimir Putin – the same dinner that began the investigation into Mike Flynn. He was paid $45,000 to attend. How much do you think Jill netted? Isn’t it funny how they both were part of campaigns against HRC? Susan told people to vote for an unqualified, dangerous woman who is close with Putin. Does it need to be spelled out?
You white women who vote to suppress your own rights are lost sheep who just follow anything labeled Republican because that’s what mommy and daddy raised you to vote for. Roy Moore said he wanted to get rid of all the amendments past the 10th? You know what that means? He was for enslaving black people and not giving them the right to vote and be protected against discrimination, and taking away the right for women to vote! That that religious nut made it as far as he did is pathetic.
Susan, well I think she just dislikes Hillary Clinton. We had two horrible candidates. I just went with the lesser of two evils. I think Susan probably despised her too much to go with that method.
It bothers me that people are piling on Susan Sarandon like this. As if Hillary Clinton wasn’t the ultimate white feminist.
Simple. Say stupid shit, get hit.
I as a non-American have a couple of questions that I’ve always wanted to ask, and I do apologise upfront if I offend anyone with these questions.
1. Why do people need to state their political affiliation when they register? In my country (Australia) that would be a breach of privacy. There should be no reason at all, whatsoever, for anyone to state their affiliation, even Independent, when registering. Why is it even asked on the registration form? Voting where I am is completely secret ballot and though you are registered, it is your name, address, birth date. That is all. It would be ILLEGAL to even *ask* that let alone for the government to record it. Stating your political affiliation or even for the govt to ask, would be against the law and a breach of the Privacy Act and UN/human rights laws. The govt should not be allowed to even ask let alone collate or record political affiliation. I don’t understand how it is even legal in America to record citizens political leanings on registration forms. It sounds like something out of a communist or fascist country. It concerns me a great deal that people can look up a person’s registration and see their affiliation. You read a lot from America that so and so is a ‘registered Democrat’ or a ‘registered Republican’. How is that even legal to record that information? That is rather scary to me. I don’t understand how that is even legal in a western country.
2. It goes to the first; how would they even KNOW what colour or race a person a person is who voted for so and so candidate, and how is that even allowed to be asked, or tallied, let alone broadcast? In Australia we have no idea how many black people or Asians or Islanders or Englishman or…..whatever voted for whomever. It is simply unthinkable and I have never even thought that it was even possible to break it down to race or colour. How would they know, and how is it even *legal* to collate that information?
I wondered about #2 myself. I can understand providing certain details like race on a voluntary basis but it seems beyond the pale to make it a requirement to vote. #2017 ffs
I assumed it would’ve been based on exit polling.