Surreal, I vote precisely because I know they’re not paying attention to me because by voting Libertarian or Green (this year it will be Green), I can do my level best to overthrow the government, and they can’t do a blamed thing about it. I vote because I went through 4 months of bureaucratic hassle for the privilege (aka, the naturalization process), and because I like the idea that I’m expressing my opinion in a way which is meaningful.
I also do get a kick out of giving a royal “Up yours!” by voting against certain candidates. What can I say? My religious beliefs don’t allow me to insult people directly.
I don’t even know why I can even register to vote in Wisconsin, but I’m registered, so oh well.
There’s actually one candidate I would vote FOR, but all the others are Tweedledum vs. Tweedledumber races. Sometimes it bothers me that I have to choose a candidate I don’t particularly like to assert a basic freedom. Kind of gives you that hopelessly screwed feeling, you know?
I wish there were some way you could vote and still express discontent with the way campaigns and elections are often run. Like, fill out the ballot but then blow your nose on it.
Oddly enough, this is how I used to behave before I reached 18. I would stay glued to the TV watching the returns. My favorite memory is from the '98 election, watching Dan Quayle squirming while trying to explain how the GOP had managed to lose seats after every conservative pundit had promised a huge victory.
Nowadays, I don’t care so much, but I’m still going to show up at the polls at 7:30 AM.
I’m so damned sick and tired of evil politics I think I’ll (didn’t think I’d ever say it) I think I’m going to pick a party and just start voting straight ticket. They’re all goddamned liars anyway!
Think I’ll oppose any new legislature as well…f*#/ 'em.
Ok, I was there at 8:00 this morning (actually 7:45 waiting for the polls to open).
Only problem? I got confused by the TN voting machine and had to read the directions a couple of times. :o
I managed to vote for the right ones though.
Oh, yeah, I’m definitely voting. I really, really want our corrupt, good ol’ boy county sherriff to lose and lose hard. Your vote may not count so much in national elections, but when it comes to local elections it sure does.
Vanilla for you, I voted for the Green party candidate for governor today. That and because I didn’t like the some of the Libertarian candidate’s views. [hijack]Would someone please explain to me how transplanting an unwanted fetus to someone else’s womb is keeping the government out of people’s lives?! This is part of the Libertarian candidate’s views on abortion.[/hijack]
Anyway, the deed is done, the die (or rather the vote) is cast, and yet again I’ve managed not to vote for a major party candidate. My inner anarchist is happy!
Happy Election Day, American Dopers, and Happy Guy Fawkes Day, British Dopers. It’s so nice to be able to combine the two!
I voted this morning. Almost didn’t though, because they told me my registration was challenged. It seems the card they send out to confirm address had been sent back as undeliverable, although I did get one, so I guess they must have tried twice. They finally said it was okay, because I hadn’t been “pink slipped,” whatever that means in these circumstances.
The mail around here (Chicago) has really pissed me off lately. This is at least the 4th time something was returned rather than being delivered. I know this because people have gotten hold of me to confirm my address.
That’s not at all my reasoning, Lsura. I don’t even go to church.
Reasons why:
Schools should not be funded on gambling. (Yes, this is a personal opinion, but others do follow…)
Lotteries are horribly inefficient in funding. Less than 35% of the money spent on lotteries actually go to the programs that they are funding.
Most state governments tend to reduce the amount allocated towards school funding by the amount increased by the lottery. I did my econ senior thesis on this quite a while back and it was pretty blatant. For example, say you have a state that allocates $1 billion a year to education. The lottery comes in, giving another $500 mil. to education. The next year, the state will allocate $500 mil. to education and expect the lottery to make up the difference.
Lotteries tend to be a wealth transfer from the poor to the rich. Lotto outlets (like liquor stores) are 3 times more common in poor neighborhoods, and the percentage of income spent on lotto tickets decreases as income rises.
Tennessee doesn’t even have an income tax. While some states don’t, that is usually because they have a special industry (like Florida and tourism) that can handle the difference. I’d much rather have an income tax to increase the quality of the states education system than a lottery: it’s more honest.
So we won’t tax the rich and middle-class, but we will tax the poor, and be remarkably deceitful and inefficient about it at the same time. Such a thing I cannot support.
JohnT, I’ve got no problem with folks who are opposed to the lottery, whether for religious or non-religious reasons. I know too many people who are voting against it simply because that’s what their church told them to do, not because they’ve actually given it any thought.
I’d rather have a state income tax too, but we know how likely that is to happen in Tennessee.
Oh good, we’ve cancelled each other out. Because there’s no way I’d vote for one more conservative Republican who paints himself as a moderate just long enough to get elected, then reverts to form for the next 2/4/6 years.
What can I say? My religious beliefs don’t allow me to insult people directly.
