The US primaries and the general election are two different things. Voting uncommitted in the primary expresses support for the Palestinian plight and does not give Republicans any ground.

The uncommitted movement presents a safe and effective avenue for voters to voice dissatisfaction with President Biden’s policies, particularly with the Israel-Hamas conflict. By doing so in the primary, voters can signal discontent without risking a Republican victory in the general election. The purpose is to send a wake-up call to the Biden administration that it is failing to address issues and effectively engage with the party, vis a vis that Biden is enabling a genocide.

That being said, anyone who calls for an uncommitted or third-party vote in the general election I will personally kick in the gender neutral balls (in Minecraft).

  • spujbOP
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    4 months ago

    don’t think i can do your first question justice (though looking up the spoiler effect is a good start) but for the second:

    such manipulation of the primary, while theoretically possible and legal (not a lawyer), would take massive concentrated effort and messaging (and therefore money) to coordinate successfully, and would be entirely unprecedented. the system is broken, yes, but is generally foolproof enough to make such manipulation impractical in the real world.

    edit: another fact i forgot to mention. it’s almost certainly too late as the primaries are well on their way and complete in some states.

    • Garbanzo@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      It doesn’t take any money or coordination to decide to vote for someone other than Trump in the Republican primary, and anyone can do it. Apparently voting for Biden or ‘noncommitted’ in the not-really-contested Democratic primary was a higher priority than resisting fascism.

      • spujbOP
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        4 months ago

        …? no. flat out wrong.

        you are asking millions to entirely change their voter registration to a different party and then unanimously pick one candidate that is better than Trump and win.

        to communicate that would cost more in funds than the Republican party spends in campaign advertising altogether.

        the “uncommitted” movement works because it doesn’t have to be unanimous; only a handful have to do it to be effective

        • Garbanzo@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          Is changing your party affiliation difficult or cumbersome in other states? I did it in about three minutes, wasn’t a big deal at all.

          If millions of people did the same, they wouldn’t need to vote for the same candidate, just anyone but Trump. Literally anyone else they could vote for would be an improvement, even if they went on to win the general.

          • spujbOP
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            4 months ago

            ok go for it lol. try to convince millions of voters to become republicans on paper. better have a good candidate who is running as well. oh and you might want to have a plan for the states who have already selected their nominees.