Civic Duty and Voting

[AmonGwareth]

For those of you in the United States who are of age, please get out and Vote. Its your civic duty and its important to have a say in what happens in our great nation.

[Shinkuu]

Also do not say "I am going to change things!" and then do nothing. If you do not Vote then you will NOT change anything nor will you get anything accomplished. A lot of these Politicians will do ANYTHING to keep the power your Vote gives them so get together with your friends and family and give them a little reminder about who they WORK for. If what they do is unacceptable then deny them that precious Vote. If what they do is what you want then make sure they get your Vote.

Only YOU can prevent the Influence of Money getting someone elected based on who had the most TV ads instead of what sort of a Job they actually did or will do as your new elected official!

[Dhalin]

A lot of these Politicians will do ANYTHING to keep the power your Vote gives them

Including lying and then going about and doing whatever the *beep* they want once they do get elected into office, and then smoothing that over with smooth-talk the next election, or worse, if they are not permitted to run again (like a President's 2nd term), not really care about the people who voted them in.

I'm not saying not to vote, but... very few (if any?) politicians actually care about the people and a lot of them are downright corrupt.

At the very least, at least the TV ads should stop and we can get some peace-n-quiet.

Voting and Elections are a necessary thing, I'm just glad its over with for now.

[AmonGwareth]

Very true... Which is all the more reason to vote them out.

But, not all elections are just about political offices. There are ballot measures that affect your local cities and regions, that range from tax increases to changes in various laws. Its important to do your research and vote on them as well.

[Blue Hasia]

Just voted here

hmm wonder if prop 19 in cali will pass??

[Steelclaw]

I voted! Go out and vote! It doesn't take very long (if you take the time to read the measures and statements, then pre-mark your sample ballot).

Regarding prop 19, there's definitely a lot to be said, but this thread isn't the place for that.

[Akrion]

Ultimately I may only vote on a few measures. And those being the ones that aren't trying to be shoved down my throat through ads and a billion signs cluttering the sides of the roads that do whatever they can to show the bad about the opposite and never highlight the good.

I think that most people are intelligent enough to come to their own opinions on a matter through research and the fact that we keep getting ads and signs saying "If you don't vote for this, you're a horrible horrible person because *of all these reasons that prove this is the only good course of action you can take*" I believe is just an insult.

This is why I will only vote on things that are simply brought up and left for me to decide. Measures that don't clutter our streets with a billion signs, measures that don't fill the airwaves with ad campaigns that do nothing but slander what they oppose for the sake of giving themselves a better position.

It's really hard to care about politics when 90% of our politics are handled this way. And thus, though I will vote, it will only be for a small fraction of everything there is to vote for.

[Dhalin]

Ultimately I may only vote on a few measures. And those being the ones that aren't trying to be shoved down my throat through ads and a billion signs cluttering the sides of the roads that do whatever they can to show the bad about the opposite and never highlight the good.

I think that most people are intelligent enough to come to their own opinions on a matter through research and the fact that we keep getting ads and signs saying "If you don't vote for this, you're a horrible horrible person because *of all these reasons that prove this is the only good course of action you can take*" I believe is just an insult.

This is why I will only vote on things that are simply brought up and left for me to decide. Measures that don't clutter our streets with a billion signs, measures that don't fill the airwaves with ad campaigns that do nothing but slander what they oppose for the sake of giving themselves a better position.

It's really hard to care about politics when 90% of our politics are handled this way. And thus, though I will vote, it will only be for a small fraction of everything there is to vote for.

He posts a pretty good point here.

With all of the garbage and *bleeeep* going between the factions, I can't bring myself to want to vote for either of the candidates as they ALL did mud-slinging.

Can't we ever have a candidate that steps up and says "I did, this that and that over there. You should elect me because I want to do this this and that." and NEVER say anything bad about his opposition? I'd vote for him in a heartbeat.

But sadly, I saw no such politicians in this election.

[Blue Hasia]

He posts a pretty good point here.

With all of the garbage and *bleeeep* going between the factions, I can't bring myself to want to vote for either of the candidates as they ALL did mud-slinging.

Can't we ever have a candidate that steps up and says "I did, this that and that over there. You should elect me because I want to do this this and that." and NEVER say anything bad about his opposition? I'd vote for him in a heartbeat.

But sadly, I saw no such politicians in this election.

you vote based on the person track record of their past, what policies they have voted for, have they ever flipped flop before on issues

they can say what ever they want now in ads or campaign speeches, but their history will tell you the truth on what views they stand on.

[Akrion]

you vote based on the person track record of their past, what policies they have voted for, have they ever flipped flop before on issues

they can say what ever they want now in ads or campaign speeches, but their history will tell you the truth on what views they stand on.

But in the end, it doesn't change the fact that they're almost always going out of their way to rub dirt on their opponents. And for me, it doesn't matter what their history looks like after that. If all a candidate can do is point out the bad in their opponent, then I don't see them ever telling me the truth with anything else.

[Dhalin]

But in the end, it doesn't change the fact that they're almost always going out of their way to rub dirt on their opponents. And for me, it doesn't matter what their history looks like after that. If all a candidate can do is point out the bad in their opponent, then I don't see them ever telling me the truth with anything else.

Not to mention, it all sounds like petty namecalling to me. A bunch of kids at a playground pointing fingers at each other, calling each other such nasty stuff. I grew out of that *beeep* in Highschool; why can't these guys grow up?

I don't care what their history is, if they sling mud, they don't get my vote, plain and simple.

That, and I *really* want to elect as many independents as possible. The first and foremost thing the USA needs to do is GET RID OF THIS REPUBLICAN/DEMOCRAT bull*beeeeep*.

"United, we stand. Divided, we fall."

This whole Democrat vs Republican thing seems pretty divided to me.

[Akrion]

This whole Democrat vs Republican thing seems pretty divided to me.

Not to mention if you honestly look at the Democrat vs Republican thing, it's no longer really about being a Democrat or a Republican. It's about being Liberal or being Conservative.

There are republican viewpoints I can agree with, that is republican viewpoints. However these days republican has more meaning with conservative than it does with what a republic truly is. But unfortunately this isn't an isolated thing.

Communism is another thing that has been skewed horribly to make people think it's a bad thing. Soviet Russia was never truly communist. For one, they had a government. And a communistic government makes just as much sense as an organized anarchy (Or 1 + 1 = 5).

But I'm skewing off the topic here. *turns back on topic*

I completely agree with Dhalin in that things have become far too left or right, far too divided.

[awdz]

In theory, there needs to be opposing parties to prevent any one from becoming too corrupt. At the last presidential election, there was heartfelt relief at change from the direction the country had been driven both in the states and around the world. If there was just one party, those in power would have stayed in power, without any drive to reform. Now if only those who were ousted last time learned something from it...!

[Dhalin]

I'd almost call it a "Cold Civil War", to be honest.

The mudslinging gets worse every year, and it seems nobody can be in the middle and be taken seriously.

Whereas a real Civil War has violence and bloodshed, a Cold Civil War is just the two sides glaring at each other, and doing their best to 1up each other, or outright lying to get control of the government.

Sounds more like a Cold Civil War than an actual Election to me.

[Dhalin]

In theory, there needs to be opposing parties to prevent any one from becoming too corrupt. At the last presidential election, there was heartfelt relief at change from the direction the country had been driven both in the states and around the world. If there was just one party, those in power would have stayed in power, without any drive to reform. Now if only those who were ousted last time learned something from it...!

We don't need any parties.

We just need several nominations of people who have the right qualifications, and then elect the people whose views the majority of the public agree with. That's all that's needed. That's all that was Ever needed. I say, for President, we nominate 10 people, and let the one with the most votes get in office. Simple and effective.

[Dragonboy]

As outsider I must say that I am sad to see Obama not being given longer to try and get the USA back on its feet.
Not that I am a big fan of Obama, but it is not as if Bush accomplished a lot during his years.

[Steelclaw]

With all of the garbage and *bleeeep* going between the factions, I can't bring myself to want to vote for either of the candidates as they ALL did mud-slinging.

It's a bit of a catch-22. They do this because it works. We still vote for them regardless. Don't expect anyone to change their campaign if it's worked for them and worked for their predecessors.

So... what do you do about it? If you don't vote, you only make the voices of those who DO vote stronger. (hey, that's how the forum works too!) Even if you vote for a clear loss, you've diminished the overall strength of a vote, which is a start.

It feels good to say "you don't deserve my vote", but if you don't vote for anyone, then you don't matter to the candidates -- and you've essentially improved the top candidates' chances of winning. Consider a pool of voters of 4 people -- each vote has a support of 25%. If one person abstains, each vote has a support of 33%. Two people abstain and each vote has a support of 50%. Three people abstain and the lone person gets to pick the winner with 100% support. To get elected in the latter extreme case, the candidate would need to win the vote of only that single person.

Got it? Mark the ballot.

But, what's your goal? If there's a particular candidate you want to see in office, vote for them. However, if there's no particular candidate you want to see in office, don't stop there and randomly pick someone. Ask yourself if there's someone you /don't/ want to see in office. If the answer is yes, then vote for their closest competitor. Yes, it does become a lesser of two evils thing, but that's the system we have to work with.


Abolishing the two-party system won't do much to break out of the "lesser of two evils" rut. We'll still have situations where less than half of the voters approve of a winning candidate. We need a completely different voting system. A good model to look at is "instant runoff" voting. Complexities aside, instant runoff captures the sentiment of "If I can't get X, I want Y, and if not Y, then Z".

The net result is that the winner will have been "approved" by a majority of the voters. This will allow voters to show their support for a risky candidate (popularity-wise) without forcing them into the "lesser of two evils" situation.

[C`gan]

My vote again this year didn't count. The people I vote for invariably lose the election, unless they run unopposed. People in my county and district are too blind to any issues. Their only issue come voting time is "Is there a (R) or a (D) after the name? If it's (R), you vote for them."

In my area, you could be a racist lesbian with a proven track record of prostitution and drug use and any other non-felony crime on the books who can't balance a checkbook, but if you're on the ticket as a Republican, you'll be in office.

[velveeta]

like linus says, 3 topics of conversation one should always avoid are religion, politics, and the great pumpkin.....

all i can say is
don't vote, don't beeatch.....

being able to complain and moan about politics is the reward for voting for the lesser of 2 or more evils...
i love american democracy!

[Veruliyam]

Yay! I voted, so I can *****!

EEEWWWWW!!! McCain won again?!!?!?!

*crawls into his cave and hides, holding all his best scales and claws close*

Only from my cold, dead claws!!!