Personally, I can’t remember my vote ever being the least bit affected by any of these things, but an enormous amount of money and energy gets spent on them in every election cycle. I’m curious how much influence these actually have, I suspect they have almost none, but let’s do an informal, unscientific poll.
Please check anything and everything on the list which has ever affected or changed your vote. Poll on the way.
Crap. I meant to include a “none of the above” option, but apparently guests cannot edit. So, if it’s none of the above, just say “none of the above.”
If your vote HAS been affected by something, a little detail would be nice as well.
Other: Carter made me register for the draft in 1980, so I voted for Reagan.
None of the above.
ETA: But, contrary to the beliefs of some, I’m not an idiot. 
Um, Jesse?
Whose vote hasn’t been “affected by something” (assuming this is not a free will vs. determinism discussion, in which case the poll is moot)?
In my case, my vote for legislators or council members is usually based on policy positions and lately (past 16 years) on party affiliation, and my vote for executives is usually based on policy agenda, party affiliation and expressed or apparent governing philosophy.
Occasionally I will base a vote on character assessment, in which case many of the poll choices may have some input. However, I selected “Anything else”.
I just mean stuff like the advertising and spam. The superficial stuff.
Don’t know if you want to include special interest voting guides, like the kind people leave at my doorstep fairly often. I’ll get one from each party, usually from a local organizing group, and often one from the police and firemen’s group, and from the local teachers’ group, etc. They are “junk mail,” but I pay closer attention to them than to most other forms of advertising.
How about because all the really hot women are leftish?
When I moved to South Carolina several years ago, I got a “welcome to South Carolina, I’m your new congressman” letter which wasn’t pushy or overtly political and it impressed me. That earned Lindsey Graham my vote and the distinction of being the last R I have voted for.
I don’t agree with Lindsey on very much but that was some effective propaganda because I still try to find the positives he brings rather than dwell on his politics and if he were running for an office that did not involve national policy I’d probably vote for him again.
I voted for Dick Greco for mayor of Tampa when he ran after a 30 or so year hiatus in the private sector. My mom and dad had gone to school with him and I’d heard all these great stories about him long before he came back to Tampa that I couldn’t see not giving him a shot. I personally think was the best vote I’ve ever made. Since he won reelection unopposed I’d say that my hyperbole doesn’t miss the mark much. He improved life for the community he represented. What can be more worthy than that?
I wish I could vote debates but honestly, I’ve yet to be undecided that late in any election. It’s a good idea though. I wish they’d space the debates out so you could get some in earlier.
I will vote for who ever kills Rachael from Card Member Services. I don’t care how they kill “Rachael” as long as “she” quits calling my phone.
“Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Rachael, that bitch from Card Member Services…”
New jobs available.
The debates are my last factor in deciding, the previous works have the most effect. The current situation has the biggest, each one has been different. Have to say the choice of “trustme” and this is where we are now, is going to be the most difficult.
The one “superficial” thing that immediately springs to mind is Saturday Night Live. Back in 1980 I was not yet eligible to vote, but I leaned Republican and had supported Ford in 1976. I have very clear memories of watching SNL’s coverage of the 1980 campaign and being very disturbed by their portrayal of Ronald Reagan and the things I learned about him and the Republican party. I ended up registering as an Independent, but I voted for Mondale in 1984 and have never voted for a Republican for president. I probably would have ended up as Democrat anyway, because I am extremely liberal on social issues, but SNL definitely gave me an early push in that direction.
I missed the deadline to get an absentee ballot, but I would’ve voted Obama in '08 because Palin’s debate performance scared me s*&%less.
None of the above.
I know I’ve seen yard signs for local races in yards of people I’ve known to support Bush and other Republicans, so I’ve kept it in mind not to vote for that person. That’s probably been just in local races though.
I’ve sometimes based my vote on local races based on mail advertisements I’ve got. Not often, but sometimes that’s about the only thing one has to go on. I mean, the last time there was an election to the local hospital board there was no, and I mean zero, information about the candidates in the media.
I loathed Ronald the Iran/Contra criminal Reagan. I voted for Republican-turned-Independent John Anderson in 1980.
In 1984 I already knew what an incompetent asshole Reagan was (and boy did I turn out to be right — trickle down, my ass), and was sickened by the despicable campaign put on by Reagan and the vile, filthy way Republicans referred to Walter “Fritz” Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro:
Wally and the Beaver
Fritz and Tits
So there was no way I was voting Reagan regardless, but given that his was a party that could be that misogynistic, Mondale got my vote that year.
Then I read Ken Follett’s book, “On Wings of Eagles” about how Ross Perot broke his employees out of an Iranian prison by hiring an ex-Green Beret to train his executives to stage a prison riot, when not a soul in the U.S. government would help him (Screw you, Kissinger), and was extraordinarily impressed with his know-how and fortitude. So come 1992 when Perot decided to run for president, I was all set to vote for him … until the vice presidential debates.
Admiral Stockdale was an incredible man who deserves loads of respect and admiration. But he wasn’t equipped to be president were something to have happened to Perot, so I changed my mind and voted for Clinton. No way in hell was I going to vote for Reagan’s partner in Iran/Contra crime, George H. W. Screw you too Bush. No way.
And after the outrageous waste of taxpayer dollars on investigation after investigation, and the dereliction of duty on numerous fronts, by and of the Republicans in Congress during Clinton’s two terms, I became an avowed Democrat and have never even considered voting for any other party’s candidate in a presidential election.
It certainly helps that the Democrats represent a majority of my positions on the issues, but even if they only met half of them, I’d still never vote for a Republican. Not even if they promised to make me a billionaire. Not even if they threatened to kill me.
In 1992 I voted for the Perot/Stockdale ticket, based on how Stockdale spoke during the VP debate.
You must be an ontologically-minded philosopher, interested in questions about the nature of human existence. When you get down to it, why are any of us “here”?
Anyway…I voted “none of the above”. The only time I recall voting for someone other than due to policy positions as gleaned from news media (well, I do admit to having voted for some local Dems without knowing anything about them), was the “safe” vote for Nader in 2000 (I was a NY resident), while doing a bit of campaigning for Nader-inclined swing-state voters to vote for Gore – and my decision was based on, I think, some statements that came from the campaigns themselves, and so might fit somewhere on the OP’s list.