# Voting question **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 20, 2015, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-question/740915 "2015-12-20T10:56:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![48Willys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/db5fbb/32.png) [@48Willys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/48Willys)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-question/740915/21 "2015-12-21T07:20:53Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Well it looks like people here try and be an informed voter. > > See thats why I dont care for the “Get out the vote” campaigns where they pat themselves on the back for signing up all these new voters. Well what good is that? Thats almost like stuffing the ballot box. **You want voters educated who can then make an informed choice.** Bolding mine. You & I want voters educated who can then make an informed choice. Many politicians do not want voters to be able to think for themselves. The informed voter may not vote “correctly”. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-question/740915/22 "2015-12-21T13:44:50Z")
A lot of times, a candidate will have a voter guide for other down ballot issues. So if you know you are going to vote for candidate X for mayor, s/he might have a guide on referenda and down ballot candidates. I also try to stay informed throughout the year, but I confess, I’ve come across an issue on election day I didn’t know anything about, I skip that issue. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-question/740915/23 "2015-12-21T15:37:58Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > When we go to the polls on a general election, say the times when one can vote for a president, there are often 10-20 other races for office or issues to be voted on. Offices such as state, county, and local offices. > > My question, how many of those other races do you honestly feel your prepared to give a true vote on? Damned few. It’s a joke that Americans elect so many office-holders on so many different levels (federal, state, county, township, municipal, school board, mosquito abatement district, blah blah blah). No other country does this. > [@Urbanredneck](#): > > If you do not, then what do you do? Abstain. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-question/740915/24 "2015-12-21T16:06:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Senegoid** : > > It has the full text of propositions, typically half-a-dozen pages of incomprehensibly dense legalese. “Incomprehensible legalese” is an oxymoron. So-called legalese differs from ordinary speech in that it’s specifically designed to be comprehensible. The problem is that we’re not used to reading for comprehension. Usually, people just read through enough of a text to be able to make a pretty good guess of what the author probably meant, but guesses aren’t good enough for the law. That means that you actually have to read what the author meant, a task that is often impossible with ordinary language. At least, that’s how it works for actual legalese. What’s even worse than ordinary language, though, is when an author misunderstands the purpose of legalese, and thinks it’s supposed to be a shibboleth to prevent understanding by the uninitiated. If that’s what you have in your ballot measures, then I can sympathize, but one doesn’t actually encounter that too often coming from professionals. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-question/740915.md?page=1)