The 2024 US presidential election had been widely characterized as one of the most consequential political contests in recent US history. Although turnout was high for a presidential election – almost matching the levels of 2020 – it is estimated that close to 90 million Americans, roughly 36% of the eligible voting age population, did not vote. This number is greater than the number of people who voted for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.

More than a month on from polling day, eligible US voters from across the country as well as other parts of the world got in touch with the Guardian to share why they did not vote.

Scores of people said they had not turned out as they felt their vote would not matter because of the electoral college system, since they lived in a safely blue or red state. This included a number of people who nonetheless had voted in the 2020 and 2016 elections.

While various previous Democratic voters said they had abstained this time due to the Harris campaign’s stance on Israel or for other policy reasons, a number of people in this camp said they would have voted for the vice-president had they lived in a swing state.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    20 hours ago

    I didn’t find Harris compelling, just more of the same.

    Well you’re sure not going to get more of the same now. Good job, shithead.

    • funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works
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      18 hours ago

      the problem is, we still gotta beat Trump.

      I dont think anyone knows if actual leftist messages will actually work, but holy shit it’s gotta be better than diet, no caffeine, low sodium fun size Bill Clinton Zero.

    • BananaTrifleViolin@lemmy.world
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      19 hours ago

      Well when you get Biden pardoning a judge who literally took bribes to send kids to jail to benefit a for profit jail, I’d question how compelling the Democrats are.

      Instead of voting 3rd party and trying to change things, many Americans seems to be locked in a pointless argument over which party is the least shit.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        19 hours ago

        Maybe you shouldn’t worry about them being compelling when the alternative was fascism.

        How are you still arguing this?

        • Test_Tickles@lemmy.world
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          1 hour ago

          Because it is all a lie to cover up the truth. They want everyone to think of them as righteous, good, and caring. Hell, they want to think of themselves that way. But deep down they know it’s not quite true. There’s something they hate that is more important than what happens to anyone else, and even to themselves. I suspect that for a lot of them it’s extreme sexism… Sure, they are all for a female president. As long as she is perfect. Says everything perfect, does everything perfect, and it would really help if she had a penis too. Or maybe they didn’t want an Indian or another black person… Whatever it was it was more important than their so called support for the Palestinians, support for the Ukrains, hate of fascists and Nazis, ect ect…
          Whatever it was, the blood of the Palestinians, Ukrains, is a small price to pay… But whatever it is, it’s heinous and they know it. So, rather than admit to everyone, and even more importantly themselves, what they know is truly disgusting, they pretend that it was something that makes no sense. “She didn’t explain her policies, we didn’t like her policies on something even though her opponents were 100 times worse…”
          It’s a smoke screen for the truth. Intellectual Dishonesty. They are lying to us and themselves.
          At least the maga crowd has the guts to admit their hate. They come straight out and let you know that they are fine with the world burning as long as whatever they hate burns with it.

        • msage
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          14 hours ago

          How you still did not understand that this way of arguing won’t change anyone’s mind?

          “Choose between slow sleepwalk to fascism or this rapid honest one”.

          I can’t fathom why people put all the blame on the voters. Dems could a and should have done more. Harris got billion dollars for her campaign!

          Biden pardoning his son is understandable, but a giant Fuck You to everyone else. He got his, now the rest will live with consequences.

          DNC has fucked the USA again and again. How about some blame there.