After reading this thread , it got me wondering about the SDMB crowd. According to some news reports, approximately 70% of the registerd voters in Iraq made it to the polls. They went despite distance, danger and death. These people literally risked their lives for a chance to vote.
In this country, we had barely 50% of registered voters make it to the polls. They didn’t go because the lines were too long, they didn’t like the candidate, etc. People have litereally died to give them that right yet they don’t do it.
I would like to know if you do or do not vote and why.
Absolutely I vote. If I didn’t vote, my opinion on matters would not count for anything.
Even if my preferred candidate doesn’t win in one particular election, someone out there knows that X people voted the way I did, and will be looking for my vote in the future.
I attribute it to a couple of things.
My family has been in the country for most of its history, and we have always done military service, and been involved in the community in a number of ways. I was brought up with that whole ‘duty, honor, country’ thang.
One of my favorite books was Starship Troopers when growing up. I always liked the idea of making people earn their franchise, and I just dont really understand people who whinge about the crappy politicians or crappy laws, things that if they had voted they would have had a say in. If I whinge about Bush, it is because I didn’t vote for him, and I am not happy with what he is doing. Back when our local elementary school wanted to buy a $10,ooo US paper shredder I voted against it. What in the name of Og do they need to have a shredder that costs that damned much? Last company I worked for had one that rendered paper into molecules and cost under $1000US [well, paper fluff, and CD confetti] Oddly enough, most people voted against it and they bought the $1000 US shredder and it didnt seem to attract the AlQueda to Canterbury … though I don’t suppose a 6th grade geography test is too much of a security risk.
I haven’t voted for more than ten years now, but it’s because I’ve been on the move too often to get a place on any electoral register. I don’t know if the situation is the same in the USA.
I vote because I am politically aware. I consider myself among the 10-20 percent of Americans who are informed enough about issues to be able to see through the populist crap that politicians spew to get elected. I know who I agree with and I support them.
I vote. I do it because I’m supposed to. For me it is one of those things that just comes with adulthood and I consider it both a priveledge and my civic duty.
I’m always disappointed when I hear the voter turn out stats. I wonder how things might be different if we were just a little less apathetic and disenfranchised.
“If you don’t vote, you can’t bitch.” I vote. (Well, I have missed an occasional minor local election).
I vote. First of all, last year when I lived in Ohio, I knew my vote would make a difference. But still, there are usually other races on the ballot that ultimately have more of a direct impact on my day to day life.
Yes, I vote in all Commonwealth, state and local elections because:
- I think it’s my civic duty;
- I’m personally interested in what party controls government because it affects me and my family;
- in any event I’m effectively required to vote by law (although I would still do so even if this were not the case).
I vote because its compulsory in Australia and because I feel I should,
But the reality is Im in a very safe seat for one party and my vote essentially counts for squat whichever way I go in regard to that particular vote.
I suspect thats the case for many non-voters, and is one reason why Im not a big fan of ‘first past the post’ voting systems.
Otara
I vote in every election. I want the record to show that someone was opposed.
I vote, happy in the knowledge that $1.25/year of federal election funding will go to the party of my choice (assuming they get 2% of the national vote) specifically because of the single, individual vote I cast. (Ain’t campaign-finance reform great?)
I vote because I was brought up in a family that believed that society should be fair and equitable to everyone–and that ordinary people could make a difference in politics. My grandfather ran for parliament. My mother worked in the elections. I have a family tradition to live up to.
I vote for a smaller party because it gives me great pleasure to say, “Don’t blame me; I didn’t vote for them!” when one of the mainstream parties does something stupid.
I vote because of the feeling of smug power I get when I leave the voting booth.
I vote as often as I can because this vast governmental edifice of custom, tradition, and law that affects my life actually has a formal interface where I can affect its operation! And it’s perfectly legal!
I vote because my father and grandfather fought, and made themselves available to die, to ensure that I could.
The only election I’ve missed since becoming an adult was the 2005 Montreal mayoral vote, through a combination of having to work that day, bad weather, and faiing to come up with a reason to care.
I vote because that is what adults do. Somebody has to decide these things and it might as well be me.
I don’t vote very often, largely due to time issues.
I do personally make campaign contributions fairly often and am generally in charge of determining campaign contributions for our company. The candidates I’ve met and talked to seem far more interested in my viewpoint because of my checkbook than my vote.
I really can’t agree with ‘can’t complain if you don’t vote’ line of thinking. I’m more in the can’t complain if your refuse to pay your taxes camp. I expect whomever gets elected (whether I’ve supported them via money and the occasional vote) or not) to utilize the resources they have effectively.
I vote in every November election since 1984 and in most school board elections for last 4 years.
I vote for the corniest of reasons. It is my privilege and my civic duty.
Of course I also don’t try to get out of Jury duty and I volunteered for the Navy when I was 18. So I am a bit of an anachronism.
Jim
Absolutely I vote. I feel it’s my civic duty. I try to educate myself on the issues and how the candidates stand on them or on how resolutions will affect me and my community so that I can cast my vote accordingly.
I vote. It’s not much, I admit, but it’s at least doing something to bring about change. I find it very hard to take people who don’t vote* seriously when they talk politics. I mean, you want to change the world, but you can’t take half an hour to vote?
*This only applies to individuals who are not legally barred from voting and choose not to, not to felons/underage/etc.
I don’t vote. I am not politically aware. I can’t seem to sift through all the non-sense and figure out what various politicians actually mean to do if elected.
I vote, because people I knew and loved were killed, or tortured and imprisoned, all in an effort to give me that right. My grandfather being the least of them.