This clever voter registration tactic can neutralize MAGA election rigging and defeat Trump
Students hold a trump card that could swing elections and save democracy. If MAGA candidates can change districts to run, students can change districts to vote against them.
We’ve all heard the absurd MAGA conspiracy theory that “the election was rigged” in 2020. After nearly four years, Trump supporters have never been able to provide any evidence for voter fraud in Biden’s favor. There were no hacked voting machines that flipped votes, no stacks counterfeit ballots, and no corrupt election workers secretly passing thumb drives. The MAGAs are right about one thing though. There are structural ways that elections are rigged, because this is how red states have preserved an advantage even as the number of Republicans has dwindled. Some of their tricks are legal and some are illegal. But all are shady, unfair, and anti-democratic.
Republicans have rigged the system in their favor. They’ve used gerrymandering, the electoral college, voter suppression, and now a packed Supreme Court that has prevented states from upholding the 14th Amendment’s disqualification of insurrectionists. If there was ever a year to do what it takes to neutralize their cheating, it’s 2024.
The principle is simple. Do one or more of the following when you have a choice of where to register:
Vote in a swing state.
Vote in in a state with a contested Senate race.
Vote in a contested congressional district.
Vote in a contested state legislative district.
Students are in the best position to do this. Students attending college out of state can make a tactical choice on whether to register in their home state or their adopted state. In-state students can chose between their home district or their college district. High school seniors who have been accepted to multiple universities and haven’t decided which to attend can make voting a consideration. Students planning to attend colleges near congressional or legislative district lines can decide which side of the line to move to.
Here are some examples of good voting tactics.
Natalie, from California, has been accepted to University of Arizona, University of New Mexico, and University of Washington. She would be throwing away her power to vote against Trump if she went to UNM or UW (in blue states that don’t need an extra vote as much as a swing state does). Biden only won Arizona by about 10,000 votes in 2020. And Arizona has a contested Senate race. If Sally moves to the right part of Tucson, she can even vote in a contested Congressional race and get a voting “trifecta”!
Emily, from Denver, lives in an on-campus dorm at CSU in Ft. Collins but wants to move to an apartment next year. Denver is the bluest congressional district in the state, and the Ft. Collins district is almost as blue. But Windsor has cheaper apartements and is a short commute. Lauren Boebert is moving to Windsor to run in that district. Emily might want to consider moving there to vote against her
Final quiz
Laura, Robin, and Martie share a student house in Bozeman, Montana. Laura is from Nevada, Robin is from New York, and Martie is from Georgia. Where should each of them vote? (answers at the bottom)
All my examples are female, because girls and women have the most to lose if Trump wins and the GOP takes control of the US Senate.
2024 Senate election interactive map from 270 to win.
Answers
Laura should vote in Nevada, which is a swing state with a contested Senate race.
Robin should vote in Montana, which has a contested Senate race.
Martie should vote in Georgia, which is a swing state.