• RaoulDook@lemmy.world
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    21 hours ago

    “ICE at the polls” is a mostly empty threat, because there are only about 22000 ICE agents, and the USA has about 4-5 times that many polling places for voting. They don’t have enough agents to put even one at every polling place. Yes they could target the “blue” areas and ignore the “red” areas, but still they just don’t have enough agents to stop Americans from voting.

    • silence7@slrpnk.netOP
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      20 hours ago

      In a close election, tipping a few tens of thousands of votes in the right state could in fact alter the outcome. So they’d target the closest swing state, and pick precincts with large minority populations.

      • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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        16 hours ago

        Exactly this. The dweebs in the Republican Party will strike with near-surgical precision. It doesn’t take much to tip elections in our bullshit system.

      • CorrectAlias@piefed.blahaj.zone
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        19 hours ago

        Maybe, but I don’t think “tens of thousands” would be blocked from voting through ICE simply being at the polling locations. Maybe that would be possible through spreading fear that they might be there, that sure sounds a lot like what’s happening with this post.

        • limonfiesta@lemmy.world
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          18 hours ago

          ICE concentrating on Atlanta would be enough to keep Georgia red.

          And they wouldn’t need 22,000 agents to do it.

          • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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            16 hours ago

            Pretty sure this was an age-old favorite conservative tactic in the Jim Crow South - station sheriffs, etc at polling locations.

            This is why the conservatives looooooove the idea.

        • First_Thunder@lemmy.zip
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          19 hours ago

          If ice starts randomly detaining people before they can vote for “suspicion of being an illegal immigrant with fake documents”, they could actually have an impact?

    • theprogressivist @lemmy.world
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      20 hours ago

      Yup and elections are ran at the local level not federal. They’d need millions of ICE losers spread thin throughout the country.

    • CorrectAlias@piefed.blahaj.zone
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      19 hours ago

      That’s not even counting states that have mail in voting with dropboxes. Yes, they’re trying to restrict mail in voting but it all seems like it’s around postmark dates which do not apply to drop boxes (the drop boxes have the same deadline as voting in person). Good luck putting an agent at every dropbox in the country, it’s just not going to happen.

      • HubertManne@piefed.social
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        19 hours ago

        yup. I did dropbox due to them delaying putting postmarks on the envelope to begin with and even happier with the other shenanigans they are trying.

  • stylusmobilus@aussie.zone
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    20 hours ago

    I really hope these upcoming elections are free and fair.

    I really hope there’s better than 80, nope 90% turnout.

    I urge their citizens to band together to do everything they can to ensure those that could vote, can. When Biden won, I had a friend in Georgia who managed to recruit 1200 or so mainly African American unenrolled people, somehow, and got them to vote. As I understand it, that state was won by around 5000 or so (someone correct me if I’m wrong) so there is an example of how one person can make a difference. She did most of her work going to groups, functions, visiting individuals. She was so proud of her efforts.

    • stylusmobilus@aussie.zone
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      20 hours ago

      There’s probably time for those able to organise this too

      I’m certain there’d be individuals who could do that, in a way that they are passive but not to be messed with.

    • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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      16 hours ago

      It was an old favorite of the Jim Crow days - station sheriffs at polling locations.

      Just swap sheriffs for ICE and voila.

    • silence7@slrpnk.netOP
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      21 hours ago

      The problem is that just standing around is going to intimidate a bunch of US citizens who have dark skin