As a European, the whole registering to vote thing is honestly one of the wildest parts of the US elections to me. It’s so unnecessary complicated and prone to errors/manipulation. I just have to show up with my ID, doesn’t matter if it’s for the EU parliament or the local city senate.

I see comments like this a lot. Most important and apparently most difficult for Europeans (and others but it’s almost always Europeans) to understand is that the US is a very large country, made up of 50 semi-independent states, each with its own government and laws-- about many things, not just elections. So that’s why things are more complex here–we’re not a small monolithic nation with one single, centralized government and set of laws that apply to everyone no matter where in the country they live.

Each US State runs its own elections; a person obviously can’t be allowed to vote in more than one state. Since people can move from one state to another at any time, and even have residences in more than one state at the same time (such as college students and well-off people), it’s necessary to register with the state you will be voting in, so that you are officially able to vote in that state and no other.

update response to the replies: Funny, the replies to this post comparing the situation to that of their country with the EU is basically the relationship I was trying to explain, yet they think they have somehow refuted what I said, when actually they validated what I said. Here’s what’s really “wild”: First you call our system stupid, then when I explain our system to you, you say, “But that’s just like our system!” and then downvote me for making you realize that what you called stupid is what you also have. 😄

Read the original comment condescendingly asking “Why do you have to register to vote?” yet they are also registered to vote in their own country, but don’t even realize it because it was done automatically for them as a citizen. Your government has to track who is eligible to vote[1] and therefore in EU elections as well, one way or another, even if you don’t use the word “registered” for it.

BTW, Many US States also automatically register their residents to vote (though a person can optionally refuse that); other US states expect you to register for it yourself (perhaps some European countries too?). Each state makes its own laws about that. Once registered in a state, we can also vote in our Federal elections, just like you can vote in EU elections.

[1] Example: Germany voter eligibility:

Generally, to be allowed to vote in Germany, you need to be a German citizen who is at least 18 years old. You must also have been officially registered in the place where you’re voting, such as Berlin, for at least three months, and you must not be excluded from voting for other reasons (for example, if a court took away your right to vote because you were deemed legally incapable of making your own decisions).

I clicked on this story just to make sure someone posted that.

I’d rather have a linux OS on the phone that can run Android apps.

Several reasons that I know of and probably a lot more that I don’t, but basically ignorance and lack of critical thinking skills.

1. Our educational system is underfunded and has cut a lot of things that used to be taught, like Civics/Government, so no one knows how things work and assume the only important office is the presidency, and that it has control over everything. Other subjects and extracurricular activities that help teach critical thinking like Speech/Interpersonal communication, Current Events, Logic, Debate, etc. have been dropped or cut back to only superficial coverage. Watch some old videos of schoolchildren being interviewed about various topics and you’ll be amazed at how informed and thoughtful they were for their age back then compared to now (not to mention polite).

2. The information bubbles of social media and the algorithms that amplify disinformation on places like Facebook, X/twitter, YouTube, etc. They suck people deeper and deeper into rabbit holes of insanity. Foreign powers such as Russia, Iran, and other enemies of democracy exploit this by injecting and amplifying their own disinfo to sow anger and division.

3. and finally one of the worst offenders: FOX “News”. Ever since this station started it has been a brainwashing tool. Most of the people you are talking about, who believe all this crap, especially the older ones who are more into TV watching are avid FOX news viewers, used to listen to Rush Limbaugh on the radio and are also listening to people like Alex Jones and others like him. It all feeds on itself.

Wait, this asshole still has a radio show? I thought he was bankrupt and had to liquidate all his assets to pay damages in the Sandy Hook lawsuit. How can he be broadcasting? Who is paying for it?

What I don’t like about these graphics is there is no data source so you have to look it up to know how much to believe about what they say. So for those wondering, per Wikipedia:

• Helene was a Cat 4, its max diameter was between 400-450 miles, max wind speed of 140 mph is correct. Known fatalities so far > 227 and counting.

• Katrina was a Cat 5, 400 miles in diameter as shown, but with a max windspeed of 175 mph, not 125. For those too young to remember, Katrina was a very, very bad storm. So bad. Over 1392 fatalities (official estimate; exact number unknown). BTW Katrina also had a big tail/wing(?) stretching to the north when it hit land like what Helene had, but thinner since further west–but those don’t count as part of the measured diameter of the hurricane.

My opinion of this graphic: Hurricanes are getting worse because of climate change, but we don’t need to convince people of that by downplaying Katrina or making Helene look scarier–Helene is also very very bad. It’s all bad, folks.

Katrina photo:

the A/C comment is in reference to the USA in general.

But what we are all saying is that it doesn’t apply to the USA in general, it’s different in different parts.

It’s 93 here today and I’m not using the AC, haven’t turned it on for several weeks. That’s because it’s autumn and the hot days are fewer and further between now, and the lows are getting down into the 50’s so in the house it’s only 78 right now (which is comfortable for me, that’s what I keep my AC set on during the summer). If it was 93 but August instead of October, you can bet I’d be using the AC. The overnight lows at that time of year don’t go below the 70’s and the house would never cool off to 78 without it.

Point is, the US is a very large country with lots of different climates, which the people who live in them are acclimated to. Northerners are acclimated to the cold so the 70’s feel very warm to them, while they feel perfect to me where I live. In even hotter areas 70 may feel cool. Of course that all depends on the humidity as well.

I lived in western Montana (cold and dry climate) back in the 80’s. I don’t know how it is there now with climate change, but most people didn’t even have air conditioners at all back then. There was no need. Even in the hottest part of the summer it got chilly or even cold at night. The house would hardly have time to heat up, you could regulate your inside temp with strategic opening and closing of windows at different times.

No, boomers invented forums (and the internet itself). Millenials invented Web 2.0 (as they called it), the corporate takeover of the internet.

In many of the responses I can tell which part of the US they visited by the things they list as weird. It’s funny that they think the entire country is like some particular city or area.

The climate is different in different parts of the world, you see. But if you want to live through a Texas summer without A/C, go for it and enjoy.

That’s what Michael Bloomberg thought and he was wrong, too.

Yep, that’s him, that’s exactly how he would say it!

That’s Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle from the old Andy Griffith Show. He also played the same character on Gomer Pyle USMC

I’m surprised marketing companies don’t release their stats since they have a better idea of who everyone is going to vote for than anyone else. But then they’d have to admit that they know.

When they named it Hideaway Hills, this wasn’t the kind of hiding away they meant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymarket

I wondered if this might turn out to be somebody reading something into something, but Nope, he said it clear as a bell. You don’t accidentally say that unless you’re thinking it. This is obviously a word this guy uses frequently, and he even seems proud of himself for it.

One thing to consider is Graphene and Calyx both say they are designed to work on Google Pixel phones. If you have a different kind of phone you should search on your phone model and see if anyone has installed those on it and how it went for them.

Other than that, they are basically just de-googled Android so I would expect the things you mentioned to work. You can get many apps from Fdroid or use the Aurora client to get them anonymously from the Google store, though I don’t know for sure if that works in all circumstances. My brother uses Calyx and I know he has been able to install at least one proprietary app (for his car) and I think one from an insurance company or something like that.

edit: update, I just checked the CalyxOS site and it says they also support Motorola moto and the Fairphone.