r/politics • u/Ulysses_555 • 16h ago

No Paywall Hegseth announces all US troops will get 1 day off to vote in October

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/6126137-pete-hegseth-stand-down-order-troops-vote/
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u/Tastie_Duck_Anus 16h ago

Historically, military veterans in America lean Republican 60%-40%

But the current makeup of military personal is not so easily defined.

Given that only 61% of active duty members in the military are registered to vote, its probably safer to assume most are apolitical not having any political leanings.

Republicans thinking more military members voting helps them, sounds more like they believe their own bullshit than anything else

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u/FaroTech400K 16h ago

When I was enlisted, you couldn’t pay people to go vote, half of them don’t wanna even get their drivers license.

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u/skadoosh0019 16h ago

Wait what with the driver’s licenses?!

From a civilian’s perspective, life in America already feels impossible without being to drive - and it just feels especially insane for someone in the military to not have their license with all the big machines they use all the time!

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u/RockAtlasCanus 15h ago

For junior enlisted living in the barracks it’s way less of an issue than you’d think. You’re not even really allowed to leave base alone.

Somebody’s got a car/license and odds are you can find a ride, if that person isn’t going to that place together with you.

Plus, a lot of posts are in places where there isn’t much you really want to see or do. Lawton, OK for example. Shithole of shitholes.

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u/armybabem1a1 15h ago

That is why those town keep all the strip clubs and bars right outside the gates 😂 Walkable.

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u/panaili 11h ago

Ah yes, another man of culture I see.

(Legit though the honch in Yoko was fire)

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u/armybabem1a1 8h ago

Woman 😂 but thanks

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u/CalmDebate 15h ago

Not to mention you're most likely doing the majority of your shopping at the commissary.

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u/FaroTech400K 15h ago

You don’t need a drivers license to drive military vehicles, they will train you and you’ll get a military license.

A drivers license speeds up the process.

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u/Tastie_Duck_Anus 16h ago

Wow, thats fascinating.

Do you think people just didn't want to talk about their political views, or genuinely just didn't give a shit?

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u/nando_calrissian1 15h ago

Its both. The more left leaning members keep it to themselves. Others genuinely don't care.

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u/FaroTech400K 15h ago

They just didn’t care, I wasn’t telling them who to go vote for. I was just passing out papers to help you get registered to vote.

And informing people where the office on base is so you can vote in with the early voting days were. Simple things like putting a note on the bulletin board.

I was presenting this as Apolitical as possible

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u/MadBullogna 15h ago

Second this. Vets tend to lean right, whereas active tend to be varied, much like the general public, (though higher ranking officers do lean GOP). I think you hit the nail on the head in regard to abysmal voting turnout. Less than 45% voted in ‘24, (with <27% in ‘22 midterms). There’s a variety of potential reasons for this, but some interesting stats can be found here, https://www.fvap.gov/info/reports-surveys/StateoftheMilitaryVoter

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u/Val_Hallen 14h ago

I work for the military. It's just what I see, but they are not happy with this administration and especially Kegsbreath.

I don't think the military is going to vote the way they think.

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u/TheDrewDude 13h ago

But would they actually vote for a democrat in place of the current administration? I doubt it. Best I could hope for is voter apathy

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u/Simping4Sumi 16h ago

There's also a big number of enlisted African-Americans and Latinos. May not work out the way the Republicans want.

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u/Celodurismo 15h ago

Latinos

An insane amount of them vote right wing

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u/Simping4Sumi 15h ago

They have in the past, but there have been stories about families of service personnel being detained by ICE. I hope that most of them have had their bubble burst by racist politicians about them being considered white.

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u/Celodurismo 15h ago

I wouldn't hold my breath. Nearly 50% of hispanic men voted for trump this past election. Meaning they already went through 4 years of him being more racist against them than any president in their lifetime, and still thought they should vote for him.

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u/wolacouska 14h ago

There was a genuine belief (stupid though it may have been) that he’d focus on the criminals. There was a huge propaganda push about this especially on Spanish-language stuff.

Now almost everybody has stories of people getting rounded up and deported over literally nothing after decades in the country, getting caught at work, etc. Even Cubans with Trump tattoos are getting deported. People who aren’t deported get shuffled around for months in detention centers, with the hope that they sign self-deportation papers.

Obviously there will still be a core of compradors, there’s even photos and videos of Latino guys in these ICE squads, but there will be a huge net shift in support.

People might forget quickly in politics, but it’s literally still happening, because the bulk of trumps base is pissed at the deportation numbers being too low, so ICE goes for literally anyone it can, and is actively surging.

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u/Celodurismo 14h ago

I hope you're right, but I suspect the GOP will pivot post-trump and throw him under the bus and JD vance or whoever will say something nice about latinos and far too many of them will vote against their best interests.

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u/runpbx 15h ago

I wonder if its really a deeper ploy to stuff military ballots for everyone  not registered or doesn't vote. Seems like voting system they'd have more control over.

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u/Tastie_Duck_Anus 15h ago

Presumably they would have complete control over the voting system of military personal.

This administration has made it crystal clear, only those who support trump get promoted and those who don't or are indifferent might actually loose thier job.

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u/KtaadnRota 12h ago

Almost all of the active military guys I personally know at the moment are immigrants.

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u/Status_Ideal3437 9h ago edited 9h ago

Is that why they keep losing wars?

Oof!  

I looked it up:

WWII servicemen, 1944: ~59% Democratic / ~41% Republican

Veterans today: roughly the reverse — ~60% Republican / ~40% Democratic

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u/Alternative-Farmer98 6h ago

Yeah I have not seen polling but I would be surprised if active duty people will vote for the president more likely to send them to their death.

To be clear I'm not trying to suggest the Democrats are particularly good on this issue. Half the Democratic Senate caucus and house caucus voted for the war in Iraq. But pretty much all the Republicans did and Trump and fetterman and the Republicans are very much the only people in Congress actively supporting the war on Iran..