And I thought it was neat being able to avoid it and still read GD. I’d say aye as well, but I suggest people keep weighing in with the pros and cons until the sunset date. If it’s approved, it’s likely this model may be used for the weightier 2012 elections as well.
I’d like it to stick around until Jan–when the new congress is seated and then immediately open a 2012 one since people will start announcing their candidacies around Spring, 2011.
I also vote “unqualified success”
I’d have to say no. The forum didn’t really come alive until a few days before Election Day and nearly half the posts made in the forum were confined to fewer than ten threads.
Maybe it’ll work better in 2012 for what will surely be a knockdown, dragout POTUS vote. But it felt unneeded in 2010.
How 'bout changing the title to “Politics” .
And it shall be done.
so is this restricted to us elections, or can we post about elections in other countries as well?
Good post, Ed. During the current wave of turmoil in Egypt/Middle East, we are seeing what should be interpreted as the greatest compliment to the USA/democracy-practicing countries of the world: an orderly/organized/MANDATED BY CONSTITUTION turn over of the head-of-government. It is also a huge warning to the USA because so few people actually participate in voting. Some of the most important ballot measures are local, such as bond issues/board members for school districts. Public participation is unbelievably low, yet the complaints are exponentially high. Even many young people who just turn 18 who have completed civics class refuse to participate. I’d like to see participation in the elections to become mandatory as it is Down Under!
And speaking as someone who lives Down Under, I’d prefer to see voting become elective (excuse the pun) as it is in most other civilised democracies.
When everyone has to vote, it turns the whole thing into a known-numbers game for the politicians- and means that if you, the voter, live in a “Safe” electorate for a particular party, but support another party, you’re completely wasting your time turning up to vote. Voluntary voting would, I think, go some way towards making politicians actually work for their votes.
In the last Federal Election, I’d never heard of- much less seen in the community- most of the major candidates (and this sentiment was shared by a lot of people; I lost count of the number of people I spoke to who more or less said “Who the fuck are these candidates?”). The parties had basically said “Well, this is a safe Silly Party Seat, so the Silly Candidate will win even if they’re a stuffed Iguana, so no need to put any effort into it or anything” and the result was… well, surprise surprise, the Silly Party’s candidate (fortunately not a stuffed Iguana) did indeed win.
I don’t see in which way this is a consequence of compulsory voting. In countries with voluntary voting, you also find “fortress” constituencies where no matter what happens, the candidate of Party X will always win. This is certainly the case here in Canada. And is it not true that in elections for the US House of Representatives, you only have a small number of seats that are ever legitimately in danger of swinging?
Not to say that compulsory voting is necessarily a good idea, of course. It seems to me that it increases the chance of seeing people vote who don’t know anything about the candidates, and possibly shouldn’t be voting.
It seems to be a forum that requires a lot of deleting of dead threads. Most of them have a shelf life of 1 election. O’Donnell ,Angle , Steele and a few others are no longer news or post worthy.
To repeat Northern Piper’s questions: what about elections, electorial politics, politicans in the non-US part of the world?
(What are we, chopped liver?:dubious:)
Mandatory voting raises the bar for throwing out incumbents. To lose, an incumbent would not merely have to disenchant his supporters to the point that they don’t bother to show up; he would have to offend them to the point of voting for somebody else.
Why don’t you just call this Forum “Politics”?
Then most Great Debate topics other than those philosophical or theological will end up here then.
I think we got this now. Maybe un-sticky it?