so I'm trying to figure out how could the analysis be incorrect, in order for me to make a decision on whether it makes the US a "democracy" or not

From what I understand, the restrictions on votes by mail was to ensure the majority of voters would cast their ballots on election day, under the idea that it would be more transparent and not to.. suppress the Latino and black vote

Another thing is, the majority of the latino vote this year was for the republican party. the black vote for republicans has risen as well in this year's election cycle

so.. what the fuck is the author trying to say?

Democracy is cringe, read some Aristotle

Already have

> america wasnt ever a direct democracy
@GoldKeyOboist constitutional republic

^

okay so if buzz from toy story believed he was a real space ranger and not a toy how come he knew to play dead every time Andy came?

SHHHHH

> Isn't it a democratic republic?
@LunaLeMoon constitutional republic

>
right.

I’m a little behind ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I didn’t see the other guy respomd

did you see the article I was given to provide an opinion from?

> did you see the article I was given to provide an opinion from?
@LunaLeMoon article is really biased. The entire article is basically opinion(from a quick skim.). ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

yeah, well, I'm trying to write the best counter I can make against the article

I must ask.. In 2013, the supreme court was composed by what political demographic?

because the decisions on the voting rights act were made by a 5-4 vote.

does anyone know?

5 libs and 4 originalists

5 liberals and 4 originalists.. gotcha

Ginsburg, Roberts, Sotomayor, Keagan, and Brayer as libs, then Kennedy, Sacilia, Thomas, and Altio as the originalists

ah, and I assume Ginsburg, Roberts, Sotomayor, Keagan and Brayer voted in favor of dismantling the special provisions in said act?

I guess

If the supreme court does hold up democracy for trump, im not holding my breath either. Will some legit legislation be put foward to get voting ids to stop this madness.

that's what I'm confused about. How does voter ID relate to racism.. the article is really misleading

what the restrictions do is better ensure legal votes to be carried, nothing more.. the only thing is still doesn't block or regulate anything racially driven, although I have yet to see such policies

I havent seen the article you are talking about i was jumped in with a question. My bad. Ive been busy for the last two days sending emails to all of congress asking for legit voter ids. I know nothing is going to be done but when you feel compelled to do something and thats all I can do is send emails.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/30/is-america-a-democracy-us-election-fight-to-vote @the silent trucker here, I posted it again

Thanks

np

the question I was given was: In Levine’s view, are the United States a democracy? Why/why not? Do you agree with his analysis?

Levine challenges the concept that the United States is a democracy by selecting examples of decisions made by the republican party in order to make vote by mail difficult, and relate it to the discouragement of the minority vote. The first problem I find with this analysis is that the United States is a federal constitutional republic, not a direct democracy, although it adopts characteristics of a democracy just as much as a republic. In the United States, mostly local decisions are made by direct democratic processes, while federal decisions are made by democratically elected representatives. So yes, one may call the United States a democracy, although organizationally, it is not the case. What makes an individual call the country a democracy are the processes of which elected officials are chosen and operate.

In terms of the voter suppression, the actions of big government have hurt the ability for citizens to vote.

An example is given by Levin, from 2013, during the Obama administration, the supreme court dismantled the special provisions in the Voting Rights Act that allows the federal government to regulate election laws and block discriminatory voting policies in order to make voting fair. This change allowed the states the removed provisions to change their election laws without advance federal approval. In other words, they could re-enact race-related discriminatory policies, and disenfranchises felons and individuals who do not have acceptable literacy test results, redistricting maps without federal approval, etc.

Another example Levin provides is Texas' decision to only allow voters to vote by mail depending on age and other criteria, and not allowing individuals to register to vote online, and their decision to uphold these voting policies during the spread of COVID-19 in the US.

What I do not agree with in his analysis is the claim that the republican party was behind all the decisions and aim to discourage and restrict citizens from their ability to vote for their candidates. Like I mentioned before, the decision to "gut" the 1965 Voting Rights Act was made by a 5-4 vote, which consisted of 5 liberals and 4 originalists, not republicans. The objective of which Texas and other states who employ regulations in election laws such as voter ID, is to ensure the validity of ballots, therefore only letting American citizens to vote. The core objective of the republican party in terms of election laws in the 2020 election cycle are to minimize the opportunities for discrepancies or voter fraud, as it has been warned time and time again that vote by mail is a likely way of which fraud may occur, not to racially discriminate citizens based on their ability to vote. One thing to point out, the republican party in the past week have heavily expressed the difference between a legal vote and an illegal vote, and in order to show the difference, they promote regulations such as voter ID.

Another part that may contradict, instead of support Levin’s claim that the Americans are “fighting back” is the turnout in the 2020 election cycle, where over 161 million Americans voted as of November 4th, the highest voter turnout in modern history, regardless of the restrictions the author claims harmed the ability to vote. In terms of hurting the minority vote, the majority of the Black vote this year was won by the GOP, along with a considerable percentage of the Muslim vote, and the majority of the Latino vote; this consequently contradicts the concept that Levin proposes that there would be major resentment from the minority communities directed at the republican party, as majority seats have been won by the GOP in the House of Representatives and the Senate; it is still a win for the republicans regardless of the results of the presidential race.

If anything, the 2020 election cycle demonstrates a higher presence of democratic processes in the United States, and regardless of the results of the electoral college, the republican party's "tactics" would have allowed a more transparent election. Even though I disagree with the claims within the analysis,  therefore I will agree with Levin's conclusion up to the extent of what theoretically makes the United States election process democratic.

(feel free to suggest tweaks and feedback, I greatly appreciate it)

Very well written.

Anything you would add or change?

Nothing I would add or change, its a great rebuttal to the article.

> jeffrey epstein didnt kill himself
@Twist20081 far out