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USA voting day
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Post by
Murrdurr
my friend in santa barbara is crossing his fingers Issue 19 passes out there. I may have moved back to ohio too soon ;p However ohio is voting to pass the use of medical use, which is the start of things.
Post by
107106
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
valundar
Many people died to ensure you have the right to vote.
Not voting could easily be considered a form of protest, so this statement works both ways.
I'm not buyin that.
If ya wanna protest, go and write yerself in... or someone crazy, like Bin Laden.
Passive protest at least use their bodies to block something... such as a tank or a lumberjack... not voting is not a passive protest.
No, not voting can easily be a form of protest against the American political system in general. Voting endorses it- not voting does the opposite. Sure, one person alone can't do much with not voting- but one person alone also doesn't do much by voting. A single vote has never made a difference in any American election and never will.
Not voting is very much a form of protest.
Years ago my local mayor was elected by a total of 3 votes.
Tell me again that a single vote doesn't count?
That's a local election, not a national one or one that even sends anyone to washington.
yet id wager it has more impact. They get to decide what businesses come in.. local ordinances... local taxes... (which can hurt FAR worse than national ones..)
moral of this... GO VOTE!
Post by
93865
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
valundar
Hundreds of millions of people cast votes a year - how many change the world?
Hundreds of millions of people.
It could even be argued that so far as trying to change the world goes, voting is a weak bet.
A weak bet is far > than a non-existent bet. And that is the bet you place by not voting.
Post by
HiVolt
Years ago my local mayor was elected by a total of 3 votes.
Tell me again that a single vote doesn't count?
When speaking of
local
elections, single votes do matter in most cases- I'll give you that.
But, when you're casting your ballot out against some 200+ million potential voters at the
national
level, it doesn't and it won't unless the Black Plague makes a comeback.
yet id wager it has more impact. They get to decide what businesses come in.. local ordinances... local taxes... (which can hurt FAR worse than national ones..)
moral of this... GO VOTE!
More impact, sure. But what does it serve to further along with getting your voice heard?
The continued polarization of the American political system and, by proxy, the American people- Check.
A flawed voting system that favors two major parties made up of a minority of the population over others- Check.
Sluggish(at best) or gridlocked(at worst) legislation through polarization and unwillingness for bipartisanship- Check.
Continued frustration of the constituency- Check.
Rise. Repeat.
If you want to vote- go ahead, it's a great democratic practice- but don't ever do so because you feel obligated or because someone else wants you to. And if you do vote- know what you're voting for.
Moral of the story?
Voting is good- but it is usually ineffective and sometimes even detrimental to current American politics.
Post by
valundar
Voting is never detrimental.
Apathy Kills.
Then again... none of this will matter when our new alien/robot/zombie overlords come!
Post by
HiVolt
Apathy Kills.
Not voting isn't apathy if it isn't done out of apathy.
Like I said earlier, it can be a perfectly justifiable form of protest.
Protest != Apathy.
Post by
valundar
Apathy Kills.
Not voting isn't apathy if it isn't done out of apathy.
Like I said earlier, it can be a perfectly justifiable form of protest.
Protest != Apathy.
Except for the fact that convincing yourself that not voting = protest does not make it true.
Post by
Porcell
The only pros I am hearing for voting is "Because you should."
I'm choosing not to vote today. If I were to go to the polls and randomly vote for someone, there is a near 100% likelihood that the election outcomes would not change. If I were to spend 20 hours researching every candidate and every proposal and then go to the polls and vote according to my reasoning, there is a near 100% likelihood that the election outcomes would not change. How is that showing me voting is effectual?
Politicians have jobs to do. For the vast majority of the time, it wouldn't matter if you had Republican A or Democrat B in that seat. I'll keep waking up in the morning, going to work, doing my job designing car parts, driving home, playing WoW, watching TV, and repeating it all again tomorrow. Maybe I'll be paying 25% income tax, maybe I'll be paying 27% income tax, maybe 23%. But, per point 1, my personally casting a vote won't change any of that.
Politicians are liars. They tell you what you want to hear, or what they think the majority wants to hear, or what he thinks will get him elected. Then the only recourse is that he might lose his job in 2, 4, 6, or more years. There's really no accountability to campaign promises.
Voters are uninformed. News outlets run these stories all of the time. I just read that in Michigan, 2/3rd of surveyed voters could not identify who Johnson and Benson were (they are the two candidates for Sec. of State). And yet people are shouting from the rooftops "Go vote, it doesn't matter who you vote for, just vote!" So you have masses of uninformed people who are out voting because that's "what a good American does," or you have people voting how their brother, friend, or Union is telling them to vote, or you have 9 million African Americans voting for Obama because (I'm sure they will argue otherwise) the dude's black and wouldn't it be cool to have a black President.
Anyway, voting is pointless and I just ain't gonna do it.
Post by
MyTie
For all of you fellow Americans here, this is a friendly reminder to go vote.
Whatever you believe and for whomever you vote.. I don't care.
Just be sure to exercise the right that many have died to ensure you still have.
GO VOTE!
I disagree. People who are uniformed and don't know why they vote for certain people shouldn't vote at all.
Post by
Pwntiff
Anyone who has 30min to kill and can stomach an episode of South Park (TV-MA) should watch the voting episode:
http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s08e08
If I don't vote it's because the outcome doesn't concern me. Like my state's gubernatorial election. The Republican may as well be running unopposed for all the competition the Democrat is.
Post by
83344
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Post by
148723
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Post by
124027
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Post by
288048
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Post by
138638
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Post by
EpicDragon
Just one question on the topic of "having to vote because it's a right":
Isn't it possible vote blank? I.e show you're interested in voting, but not interested in any of the questions and stuff that the parties bring up. This is what we do in Sweden.
Post by
138638
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
EpicDragon
Just one question on the topic of "having to vote because it's a right":
Isn't it possible vote blank? I.e show you're interested in voting, but not interested in any of the questions and stuff that the parties bring up. This is what we do in Sweden.
how's that different than not voting? It has no effect on the outcome whatsoever either way,
Also let's say your against the electoral college system I would say not voting would symbolically mean more than voting blank
Not exactly.
IMO not voting means you don't care. Voting blank means you do care, but none of the options presented appeal you. This also shows the parties that there are voters interested in the question out there.
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