Voting - Why dont you vote?

[JONES]

I don't vote because currently I'm not registered and really, basically in my opinion all the candidates suck, leaving me stumped for choice, so I'm just gona sit out this time.

I've heard things about both Clinton and Obama, well I just plain don't like Hillary, also I heard somewhere that Obama doesn't solute the flag nor does he say the Pledge of Allegiance? As for McCain I haven't really heard anything about him...

Hopefully if we are lucky in 2012, we will have someone with the views that the population will agree with which of course is hard cause everyone is too different, but honestly everyone currently running, has different ideas for everything, none of which is really any good.

*based on what I have heard and think*


Voting is only as good as the people who you vote for, if none of them are any good, who do you vote for?


Jones..

[-Hero-]

Originally Posted by DrugstoreCowboy

I feel like my one vote doesn't count. With the electoral college and the way that works, it totally doesn't appeal to me to bother wasting my time.

That one vote might do all the difference. It has before.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Johnson

[hoochan]

Originally Posted by DrugstoreCowboy

I personally don't vote. I feel like my one vote doesn't count.

Obviously, if it were just up to you then it wouldn't really make a difference; but when you add in the fact that MANY other people share your same belief, then obviously, if you all voted then it would make a difference to an extent.

PS-If you don't vote, then you can't bitch. Not pointing this at anyone in particular but this is my standpoint on voting.

[Grandiagod]

Originally Posted by hoochan

PS-If you don't vote, then you can't bitch. Not pointing this at anyone in particular but this is my standpoint on voting.

Anyone I would vote for is not going to win. I'm not going to take hours out of a workday to go waste my time to "earn" the right to voice my displeasure. I can bitch whenever I want to as long as I am capable of holding an opinion.

[stretchypanda]

I'm seriously considering not voting this year.

I am sorely disappointed in the choices I've been presented.

[MalReynolds]

Originally Posted by JONES

... also I heard somewhere that Obama doesn't solute the flag nor does he say the Pledge of Allegiance?...

This is, hands down, the best reason to not vote for someone. Because of something arbitrary. Because of hearsay.

He does salute the flag. And does say the pledge. Just not every time - and it's a shame you're letting that deter you. I can understand Hilary, who has a history of falling neatly into the pockets of lobbyists, or McCain, who will more than likely go insane before his first year is up - these are legitamite reasons to not choose a candidate.

But because he doesn't salute the flag?

[Tokzic]

Originally Posted by hoochan

If you don't vote, then you can't bitch.

I completely disagree. Not voting implies that you don't like any of the candidates. Obviously when one candidate that you don't like wins, you are not going to be content. Therefore, you bitch.

I don't understand where this concept came from because it doesn't make any sense. It's not like your opinion loses merit because you didn't waste time throwing one ballot into an ocean of them.

[devonin]

I completely disagree. Not voting implies that you don't like any of the candidates. Obviously when one candidate that you don't like wins, you are not going to be content. Therefore, you bitch.

Actually the proper method to demonstrate that you don't like any candidate is to register to vote, arrive, and spoil your ballot either by writing in a nomination for "none of these" or otherwise marking it in a way that makes it so that it will be counted as a submitted vote, but will not generate a vote for any candidate.

That's half the reason the ballots are set up the way they are, so that people can exercise their right to vote for no candidate, rather than simply not vote at all. It has the additional benefit of showing up as a spoiled ballot when they are presenting election results, and if it turns out that even 1/4 of the people who don't vote refrain from voting because they like no candidate, it is valuable for the incoming president to know that in addition to getting just over half of the votes that did count, there was also a few million people who said "we don't like any of you"

The concept of "If you don't vote, you can't complain" is founded on the same principle that says the only comedians who can tell racial jokes are members of the race they are joking about. If you don't at least take part in the process and the system, you can argue that you don't have as much of a right to lodge complaints about what happens in the system than someone who did participate. This is true in pretty much every arena of life. Think back to when you were little, and your family was deciding what to have for dinner. If you didn't suggest something to eat, and something you didn't like got picked and you complained, I'm willing to bet your parents told you that you should have suggested something then.

[Tokzic]

Originally Posted by devonin

If you didn't suggest something to eat, and something you didn't like got picked and you complained, I'm willing to bet your parents told you that you should have suggested something then.

This doesn't fly at all. Complaining that you got something you didn't want isn't realistic - you'd complain that there's something you'd rather have that was available as an option in your example. Spoiling your ballot doesn't have any point because "none of them" isn't a valid option (though I still drew penises and dragons all over mine for provincials anyway). If "none of them" has more votes than President A, and President A has more votes than Presidents B-Z, President A is still going to get in, and therefore voting for none of them is a waste of time. Going through the trouble of voting just to let President A know you don't like him is a waste of time.

[devonin]

If "none of them" has more votes than President A, and President A has more votes than Presidents B-Z, President A is still going to get in, and therefore voting for none of them is a waste of time. Going through the trouble of voting just to let President A know you don't like him is a waste of time.

If President A gets in with 30% of the popular vote and "None of these" got 40% of the popular vote, you can be damn sure that President A is very very careful how strongly they try to carry out their mandate, lest the people call for a vote of no-confidence and have them impeached.

[LilyPichu]

I don't think I'd vote. I've really no insight on any of the presidential candidates, and if I do, it's too influenced by opinionated views from the public and media. D:

[MalReynolds]

Originally Posted by LilyPichu

I don't think I'd vote. I've really no insight on any of the presidential candidates, and if I do, it's too influenced by opinionated views from the public and media. D:

As opposed to the rest of us that have Obama, McCain and Clinton over twice weekly for tea and dumplings?

[LilyPichu]

Originally Posted by MalReynolds

As opposed to the rest of us that have Obama, McCain and Clinton over twice weekly for tea and dumplings?

Why..yes, that's exactly it.

[Grandiagod]

Originally Posted by devonin

If President A gets in with 30% of the popular vote and "None of these" got 40% of the popular vote, you can be damn sure that President A is very very careful how strongly they try to carry out their mandate, lest the people call for a vote of no-confidence and have them impeached.

George bush had the lowest approval rating since Nixon and he charged forward with his plans.

Voting for "none of these" is nothing but a political statement that holds no practical merit. First of all, no matter what, no considerable amount of people will ever vote for none so EVEN if your point was true it would still be irrelevant. I'm not wasting my time.

[devonin]

First of all, no matter what, no considerable amount of people will ever vote for none so EVEN if your point was true it would still be irrelevant.

The first part of this statement is self-fulfilling because everyone who thinks nobody will vote that way and so don't are what make it true.

If everyone who didn't like any candidate -did- vote anyway, a considerable amount of people would vote that way.

[Grandiagod]

Originally Posted by devonin

The first part of this statement is self-fulfilling because everyone who thinks nobody will vote that way and so don't are what make it true.

If everyone who didn't like any candidate -did- vote anyway, a considerable amount of people would vote that way.

Self fulfilling or not I lack the capability to persuade the populous to do so.

It's a hypothetical that people would vote this way thus it lacks any real merit,

PS. My point still stands about presidents not giving a crap so it would be wasted anyway.

[JONES]

Originally Posted by MalReynolds

This is, hands down, the best reason to not vote for someone. Because of something arbitrary. Because of hearsay.

He does salute the flag. And does say the pledge. Just not every time - and it's a shame you're letting that deter you. I can understand Hilary, who has a history of falling neatly into the pockets of lobbyists, or McCain, who will more than likely go insane before his first year is up - these are legitamite reasons to not choose a candidate.

But because he doesn't salute the flag?

Nah, that is just what I have heard, considering, I haven't heard any other negative things against the guy.

Although if I was voting, I would choose for the things he says he will do, but probably wouldn't vote for him because of the fact hes a democrat. My family are Republicans and thats how I was raised, it's hard to go against ones party.

Many people straight up vote for the front runner in there party and never anyone else, others choose the best due to the tasks they lay out that they will do and fix. I would like to do it based on a combination of the two, if the selection of candidates was better.

Jones..

[Grandiagod]

Originally Posted by MalReynolds

This is, hands down, the best reason to not vote for someone... Because of hearsay.

Originally Posted by JONES

Nah, that is just what I have heard

Just pointing this out in case no one noticed.

[Rubin0]

Originally Posted by KgZ

I also find it extremely pathetic how regardless that in the past century women and black people were bitching to get voting rights, however now that they finally have it, they don't take advantage of it.

Simply amazing.

Regardless of whether or not people to choose to excercise their right to vote, the point is that they have the RIGHT to vote. Nobody is giving crap to an 18 year old white male for not voting because they never had to "bitch" about it.

[Laharl]

This next election perplexes me.

I don't know how to vote, vs. the last few. I knew I didn't like Gore, and I knew I trusted John Kerry about as far as I could throw him (which isn't saying a lot, I'm not very strong). This time around, though... I don't trust any of the front-runners. Romney flip-flops more often than pancakes, Clinton hasn't revealed a damn thing about the actual plans she makes to change (but she sure insists that whatever they are, it'll be good), Obama has absurd liberal ideas about economics, McCain seems like he'll personally come to my house to beat me up, Ron Paul makes Bible Belt Christians look sane, and everyone else seems like a twisted combination of the above.

That said, I still vote for state things. At least I can influence that. Presidential elections largely don't matter, anyway.