In an appeal to the powerful voting block, Trump told a group of influential Amish megadonors that, if elected, he would make turning on the lights or plugging in an appliance a criminal offense.

    • Makeitstop@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      As I understand it, the Amish aren’t strictly forbidden from using electricity or technology so much as they aren’t allowed to include those things in the Amish way of life without approval. Different communities come to different conclusions about what should be allowed, but in general, if it’s a device they aren’t going to own, they tend to be a lot more permissive about it. I would imagine that most would have no problem with voting machines, since it’s basically something they would only interact with outside of their normal daily lives.

      How inclined they are to vote, I have no idea. A quick googling shows plenty of talk about courting the Amish vote, but that has less to do with Amish views on the topic and more to do with the fact that they are warm bodies in a swing state.

      • SomeAmateur@sh.itjust.works
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        1 month ago

        Yep I’ve seen Amish people on home brew e-scooters, driving side by sides and having smart phones. Usually it’s very case by case thing but then again I saw an amish dude ripping around on a one wheel

        I’ve also heard of an amish community that got pissed at the school system (idk the details but I think some board of education members were assholes to them) but they voted in force for several years voting down school levies until the nearest school building had to be shut down. I don’t think they vote unless it directly impacts them, as far as I know

    • drhugsymcfur@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      The sect around me does not vote as a rule. They use voting as a threat whenever the English try to enact some rule that affects their situation.

      In the past 20 years these restrictions on their “religious freedom” have included the following:

      License plates and road taxes for buggies

      Helmet requirements for children riding bikes on state highways.

      Requiring them to clean up their horse poop scattered on public roads and waterways

      Requiring their children to receive a bare minimum of education.