Do you vote?

[TankCopter]

I do, but I vote blank. Why? Because I don't support the current political system.

I wonder, can Australians vote blank? Because you're forced to vote and all.

You're only legally required to show up at the polling place, have your name ticked off, and stick your bit of paper in the box. What you do with that paper is your problem, so you certainly can vote blank.

 

[Saint of M]

I vote because I might as well do something, and leaving it to the same idiots over and over again seem to not be doing us any good.

 

[Soviet Steve]

I live in Denmark and I vote at all elections. We have a fucked up theocratic party in parliament that feels that immigrants are worse than the Nazi occupation in WW2. Any time spent eliminating their influence is time well spent, albeit thankfully it seems they are disintegrating on whether they want lazzes faire or communism for an economic policy so there is hope yet.

 

[Kaytastrophe]

I don't know how many people will read this but let me offer those of you who don't want to vote because you don't like any of the candidates a suggestion. Vote but abstain (or spoil your ballet). When the government sees that you didn't vote they see you as just being lazy or indifferent and as such they are not going to try and get you to vote for them because you're seen as lazy and an absentee voter. You never made your voice heard you gave up your say. However if you spoil your ballet you clearly put the effort into researching candidates and still went to vote but voted for no one because you didn't like any of the candidates. How legitimate would it look if lets say 100% of the nation voted in an election and the winning party got 30% of the total votes, opposition 20% and 50% spoiled or abstained. By spoiling instead not voting your showing an interest in politics and exercising your vote however none of the candidates appealed to you. That's just my opinion.

This is on the second page of the thread though...and no one reads the second page

 

[Puddleknock]

I vote in everything I can, not only that but I'm a member of a political party in the UK. Done campaigning for local councillors and also for the general election.

Political participation is very important in my eyes. I think one of the reasons that politicians can get away with so much shit is due to the vast majority of people not engaging in politics.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Why would I?

My choices are.

1: Lying scumbag politician

2: Lying scumbag politician

3: Lying scumbag politician

Hmm, decisions, decisions...

 

[TankCopter]

I do, but I vote blank. Why? Because I don't support the current political system.

I wonder, can Australians vote blank? Because you're forced to vote and all.

Out of interest, what sort of system do you support?

Voting is mandatory in Australia, but you can choose to put in a 'donkey' (voting the way candidates appear on paper). I'm pretty sure that informal voting is also counted alongside 'donkey' votes also.

There doesn't appear to be any explicit clauses stating a person can be prosecuted for informal voting under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.

If they could fine people for informal votes, there would be a lot of stupid people with holes in their pockets.

Donkey voting usually does the opposite of what a person wants it to do, because it's still counted as a vote as it's impossible to tell a donkey vote from a legitimate coincidence so pollies will still benefit from them. The fact that people who don't know or don't care enough to vote will tend to make donkey votes means that choosing the order of candidates on a ballot can actually be a pretty contentious issue - being at or close to the top will get you more first and higher-preference votes.

If you want to protest against the system, you'd be better off drawing kittens on the ballot or something.

 

[spartan231490]

I was in a conversation with a classmate the other day who proudly proclaimed that they don't vote and have no intention of ever voting. I was kinda baffled by this so I asked why. Their response was something along the lines of "all my choices are shit, I'll vote when someone good comes along".

Too be honest, I don't understand this logic at all. Especially when said classmate goes on to discuss how our politicians were doing such a bad job at running the country. The philosophy I was brought up on is that if you don't vote, then you have little to no right to complain about how those who are elected are doing a poor job. After all, your best method of fixing the problem of someone doing a bad job as an elected official is to simply vote for their opponent or threaten to do so in a letter or phone call. Not voting is the same as voting for them, it's an affirmation that you feel things are just fine as they are and that your elected officials can continue to do as they please. (or worse that you just don't care how they run things)

tl;dr: Do you vote, why or why not?

By not voting they are making a statement that they don't identify with any of the candidates, they don't see themselves being represented. That's a pretty big deal in a "representative democracy" I think they are doing the right thing by not voting.

So I think you're fundamentally wrong to say not voting means you're satisfied with the way things are.

Doesn't hold up in the USA. You don't have to vote for one of the candidates, you can write in whoever you want. A noticeably significant number of voters in the US vote for Mickey Mouse. And if that isn't proof positive that something is terribly wrong with the USA's government, I don't know what is.

 

[kasperbbs]

I don't vote because whatever you pick nothing really changes, they spend a lot of money on their campaigns and promises, but in the end its all the same no matter who you pick, youre left only with disappointment and higher taxes.

 

[spartan231490]

Why would?

My choices are.

1: Lying scumbag politician

2: Lying scumbag politician

3: Lying scumbag politician

Hmm, decisions, decisions...

Write in. Mickey Mouse is a popular protest vote. Or you could vote in your favorite author, or actor/actress. Anything is better than a non-politician.

 

[Still Life]

If you want to protest against the system, you'd be better off drawing kittens on the ballot or something.

I agree.

There are far better and more productive ways of showing your distaste than putting in a half-assed vote. Still, I don't think people should be denied the choice.

 

[Gerishnakov]

I'm a Lib Dem, but I hate what the party has become in the Coalition - I wouldn't vote for them any more if it was a party thing.

Why wouldn't you vote for the party anymore? Do you really think we're going to be stuck in our current situation forever more? The Lib Dems are still the most left wing of the three main UK parties, the Greens don't even come close and if you want examples of loony-lefties and woolly liberals that's where you'll find them.

The party will change again, but it takes people like us being active at the grass-roots to make that change.

 

[Saltyk]

Well, I do vote. But I do understand the people that don't vote. Most of the time, I feel like I am less voting for the guy that will do the best job, and more voting against the guy that I think will do the worst job. It's pretty crappy, really. I'm looking forward to Presidential Election 2012 and all I think is, "Really? Is this the best they have to offer? I don't want to vote for any of these ass holes! Not one of them deserves my vote. Not one of them will do what the country needs."

All that being said, I will vote. So I invite all of my fellow Americans to come and vote for the one you hate least.

 

[Kevlar Eater]

No point in voting for anyone in the American political system, as all the options have a hidden agenda and are being paid off by corporations. That, and with the help of corporations, they are hellbent on destroying as many rights as they can legally get away with.

Also, American votes have never counted for shit, and this came to light in 2000, possibly earlier.

 

[Gerishnakov]

I saw Obama's socialism immediately and my parents didn't listen to me.

I don't know if you're just trolling mate, but Obama socialist? Please.

 

[Hollock]

I registered to vote last week.

 

[Muspelheim]

Common misconception. One block is slowly dismantling or undermining the welfare state in favor of market interests, the other is getting fucked about because they're either too small, too radical or too picked at by the media to put up a fight.

I find the fact that we in practice have a propaganda minister in Sweden to be a real cause of concern.

Hey, that reminds me... http://edge.ebaumsworld.com/mediaFiles/picture/46696/804176.jpg
Seems to be in tune with what a lot of people here think.

Personally, I've had the chance to vote once and I plan to do so for the rest of my life. Politics is an interest of mine, believe or not. Which sadly doesn't stop it from occasionally making me very sad and facepalmed...

Point, actually... One side is making big dosh on people that aren't like them and the other is too concerned with individual prestige to put up a fight. What happened, Left? It used to be about the people! But still, it'd be even less of a hope of ever changing that if I didn't try.

UK - I vote.

Main reason I vote is because I owe it to all the Woman who fought for me to vote. Feels like a kick in the balls for them if I didn't bother.

Another reason that I vote. People were prepared to get mowed down by the royal army to ensure that I could vote once upon a time. It would feel a bit unfair to them to just not do it.

I convinced my cousin to vote for McCain for me. I saw Obama's socialism immediately and my parents didn't listen to me. Not old enough to vote but everyone is old enough to convince or pay someone for there vote. GO DEMOCRACY! America needs a few years of being led by a good business leader. I guess I'm part of whichever party uses logic and logic only when making decisions. It's a rather small party.

...And just because this kind of leaps out to me: no. Obama is not a socialist. Whatever he is, a socialist is certainly not that.

 

[spartan231490]

I don't know how many people will read this but let me offer those of you who don't want to vote because you don't like any of the candidates a suggestion. Vote but abstain (or spoil your ballet). When the government sees that you didn't vote they see you as just being lazy or indifferent and as such they are not going to try and get you to vote for them because you're seen as lazy and an absentee voter. You never made your voice heard you gave up your say. However if you spoil your ballet you clearly put the effort into researching candidates and still went to vote but voted for no one because you didn't like any of the candidates. How legitimate would it look if lets say 100% of the nation voted in an election and the winning party got 30% of the total votes, opposition 20% and 50% spoiled or abstained. By spoiling instead not voting your showing an interest in politics and exercising your vote however none of the candidates appealed to you. That's just my opinion.

This is on the second page of the thread though...and no one reads the second page

I do. and in the US, you don't need to spoil the ballet, you can write in a nonsense vote. Mickey mouse is a popular protest vote. Also, 30 percent of american voters have no physical ballet to spoil. 30% of US votes are counted by electronic machines with no paper record to spoil. 60% are counted by electronic voting machines.

I vote because I might as well do something, and leaving it to the same idiots over and over again seem to not be doing us any good.

"crazyness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" can't disagree, voting is never a waste of time. You only have the rights you are willing to fight for.

By not voting they are making a statement that they don't identify with any of the candidates, they don't see themselves being represented. That's a pretty big deal in a "representative democracy" I think they are doing the right thing by not voting.

So I think you're fundamentally wrong to say not voting means you're satisfied with the way things are.

Then why remain silent if you aren't? If you sit around waiting for the perfect candidate things will never change. The lesser of two evils is better than just sitting back and letting the current situation run it's course.

Not really. I would argue not only that both are equally equal, but further: if you have the choice between getting murdered or getting raped, what do you choose? I choose to run away or fight back. There are other options. 3rd party. Write in. And they aren't pipe dreams anymore. You don't need the deep pockets of a political party to win an election anymore, thanks to the internet you could run a decent campaign for free. Youtube and facebook is more than enough to reach the masses, and both are free. The world is changing, we need to shed our assumptions about politics that were made during an era without the internet. The internet has changed everything, especially politics.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

I grew up watching the shit storm that Florida made during the Bush/Gore election. I argued with my parents that Bush shouldn't be elected because he didn't win the popular vote. As in more people voted for Gore, but because Bush won the electoral vote he got into office.

I still vote, because while I find many aspects of this country disgusting I am still one of its citizens and should do my duty as an American.

Besides I have no right to ***** about a president, when I never voted in their election.

 

[Michaluk]

If you don't vote, YOU are the problem. Not the politicians, not the special interest groups and not the lobbyists, YOU. You're the reason my generation constantly gets crapped on by policy makers. You're the reason OWS is laughed at by congressmen. You're the reason why I have to pay for tax breaks for hedge fund managers. It's your fault my country is fubar, no one else's.

Stop whining, stop playing the victim, stop being a narcissistic prick, and just go vote. Get your whiny narcissistic friends to vote too.

Do you know why government works for old people and not young people? They vote.

We could be a powerful voting block. We could get our voices heard. Want a more equitable distribution of funds for primary education? Vote. Want more government assistance for higher ed programs? Vote. Complaining gets you nothing.