I vote. It’s my duty and privilege.
I absolutely vote. People have risked and died to make sure I have that right and privilege, friends and family among them. I was late coming to that realization (late 20s) so I make damn sure that I no longer dodge the duty of voting.
I can’t decide which makes me more angry; highly politically opinionated people who don’t vote - and continue to bitch, or people who vote regular as clockwork and do so with as much forethought as I put into ordering fastfood at a drive thru.
-rainy
Yes, I vote in every election. As Quartz said ‘It’s my duty and privilege.’ Its what it means to be a citizen.
-XT
I vote in every local, state and national election for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is respect for my Mayflower and American Revolution ancestors. Despite what politicians like to espouse, it’s better for them if you remain ignorant. Ignorant and voting is even better, since you’re easier to brainwash into pulling the straight-party ticket.
A right not exercised is soon a right that is lost.
I vote. Like a great many people have already stated, I consider it an honor, privilege, and it’s my civic duty. I registered to vote the day I turned 18, back in 1982.
When the kids were little, I’d take them with me and explain the process and how important it is to vote. I hope it made an impression on them. My kids do like to talk politics and I think that as soon as they are able, they’ll both vote.
I’ve missed a few school levy type elections, but I vote in every major election.
I vote but I think for different reasons than mentioned above.
First I don’t have a duty to vote. It doesn’t matter that people died to make voting possible. People have died for many reasons and for many things that were of little consequence to me. A lot of people have died fighting for pointless reasons in American conflicts, that doesn’t sway me.
I think that voting is largely pointless and irrelevant, it is little more than an opinion poll in the presidential election, which is decided by the electoral college.
I think that my vote is cancelled out by every vote that is a mere switch flip voting for the party that someone believes they belong to, though they could really care less, and mostly voted because someone guilted them with some BS about civic duty. I think that the overwhelming majority of votes are cast randomly with little education on the subject, so that voting is mostly a pointless excercise.
I largely think politicians are interchangeable mutable, and that the sides they represent need representation, and they are merely the person standing there to do it.
I vote because it’s a WISH that it meant something. I vote because I believe in local elections it makes a small modicum of difference, where I am connected to the political process on days that aren’t in November. When I vote, I don’t expect my vote to mean much other than to add to the cacophony in a state sponsored opinion poll, but I vote because I feel that it is a wish put into the universe for a particular outcome. I vote because I see it as a ritual, that is largely devoid of meaning, but has some personal meaning to me.
Erek
Many elections are won or lost by very narrow margins. I like the thought of my little vote acting like a brick tossed though the metaphorical window of the local power structure.
Besides, or local area is changing fast, & the 7 or 8 families that have dominated local politics since the Civil War have been getting some ugly shocks. That makes me smile.
I vote come hell, high water, or Diebold machine.
I vote. You bet I do.
A lot of people bled and died over the years to give the right to vote; I would be a total goddam idiot if I didn’t exercise that right. And since a lot of goddam idiots don’t vote, it makes my vote that much more important.
I don’t vote mainly because I disagree with the electoral system in Canada - first past the post. I believe that every vote that is cast legitimizes the phony majorities that are formed at all levels of government across the nation.
Currently, the only party that advocates any sort of electoral reform is the NDP and in most ridings across Canada, a vote for the NDP is a wasted vote. Until a fairer and more democratic method of electing governments - like STV or even PR - is instituted, I’ll withold my vote.
Although this may seem counter productive, I would argue that it’s not. The constantly dropping voter turnout rates are forcing people to look at causes and the basic unfairness of our current system is coming to light. Two provinces, BC and Ontario, are already moving ahead with plans for electoral reform and others are examining it. The silence and disenfranchisemnt of voters speaks much louder than votes wasted on parties that have no realistic chance of coming to power under the current structure ever can.
In US elections, yes. I vote by absentee ballot.
In Japanese elections, not yet, but once I get permanent residency I’ll vote at whatever level I’m allowed to (depends on the locality, but bills are moving through parliament now to expand voting rights).
That pretty much sums it up for me, too. It doesn’t take long, and you only have to vote for what you want to, so if you don’t know anything about the person running for dog catcher, you can skip it and let the better informed decide that election. Plus, you have the right to complain about the idiots who got elected if you made an effort to keep them out of office.
I’d like to see a “voting holiday” enacted in presidential election years, if only to see how many people still use the excuse of not having time to vote. :dubious:
I am also very politically aware, and it is for that reason that I choose to abstain from enacting my right to vote. Should there ever be a candidate I want to see elected, I’ll be first in line. I refuse to play the “lesser evil” game; I’d rather not vote for any evil at all. Because my politics are so radical, there is simply no one I can honestly say should be my representative. I engage in activism instead.
I lived in Ohio during the last election, and boy, did some of my friends go nuts. “The election’s so close!” So what they really meant was that I was obliged to vote * for their guy*, and that wasn’t going to happen. I will never, ever vote for your guy, or probably any “guy” who could actually get elected even in theory. I’m starting to think that probably the only kind of candidate I would vote for wouldn’t run in the first place.
My vote is precious, all right. It’s so precious I won’t sully it by casting it in bad faith.
Hell yes, I vote. I think I’ve voted every time I’ve been eligible to do so (often by absentee ballot, early on). My parents always voted and often took me along; my sons are now receiving the same lesson in civic responsibility.
Is it my duty? Well, it’s not my legal duty - you could live as an adult in the U.S. all your life and never run afoul of the law by not voting. But I think it’s my ethical and moral duty as a citizen to play a role in deciding who will lead my city, state and nation, and in helping to decide the various issues and levies which come up.
I disagree with the canard that “if you didn’t vote, you can’t complain.” You enjoy the right of free speech whether or not you voted. I may think you’re an idiot if you didn’t vote and still complain about politics and current events, but I won’t lift a finger to keep you from sounding off.
Democracy is not a spectator sport. It is not a destination, but a process. And I’m glad to play my (admittedly tiny) role.
I vote in every election: local, state, and national.
sorry- Why: because I feel it is my responsibility to take part in our democracy.
BWAAAA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!
no, really…
I’m inclined to agree with that, but George Carlin had a point in one of his routines where he argued that it’s the people who do vote who are to blame for the way things are.
I have voted in every election since 1972. As others have stated, I consider it a duty and a privilege. If I have failed to do my homework and know nothing about either candidate in a particular race, or about a ballot issue, I abstain from voting on that race or issue. I almost always do my homework.
Nah, it’s the people who make uninformed votes that cause the screwed-up way things are. Which then reduces the matter to a case of smart folks vs. stupid folks, and that’s a universal constant regardless of whether we’re talking about elections, your highway commute, or reality TV.
I always vote, BTW. But I think if you want to have an effect on the course of public policy, there are many “force multiplier” tactics you can use which are much more powerful than your individual vote – campaign activities, letters to the editor, organizing, and . . . well, posting your opinions on Internet discussion boards.