# When was the first presidential election you voted in and who did you vote for? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 9, 2007, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245 "2007-04-09T01:28:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/61 "2007-05-20T17:43:21Z")
Dukakis '88. I was a year too young for the '84 election. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/62 "2007-05-20T18:26:17Z")
I registered to vote in the 1988 Presidential election, and requested an absentee ballot because I would be away at college. The ballot never arrived :mad: I intended to vote for Dukakis. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/63 "2007-05-20T19:31:13Z")
1996 - Dole. I knew he wouldn’t win, but even at 19 I was already sure I wasn’t cut out to be a democrat. ---
**Author:** ![JimOfAllTrades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@JimOfAllTrades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimOfAllTrades)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/64 "2007-05-20T20:06:41Z")
Carter in 1976. I was 18 in January '74, but don’t recall who I voted for in the local and state elections that year. ---
**Author:** ![Khan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3ab097/32.png) [@Khan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/65 "2007-05-20T20:23:21Z")
Shrub, 2000. I soon after came to regret that decision. My conscience is eased by the fact that I wasn’t in a swing state, and a solidly blue one at that. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/66 "2007-05-20T21:43:19Z")
1972, George Mcgovern. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/67 "2007-05-21T12:25:46Z")
1. Carter. I was too young to vote for McGovern in 1972, but I more than made up for it by incessantly haranging my entire high school class about the election - I had all the facts from various McGovern campaign materials memorized, and shared my knowledge freely. My heart was in the right place, but I was a royal pain in the ass. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/68 "2007-05-21T12:47:29Z")
Wow! More old farts here than I realized. 😉 I was 18 in 1972 and voted for McGovern. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/69 "2007-05-21T12:53:28Z")
Cobb in 04, since Kerry would take NY anyway. We had a mock vote when I was in the first grade. I voted for Dukakis because Michael was a nice name, while George was not. Six year old logic is kind of odd. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/70 "2007-05-21T15:37:09Z")
1980- Reagan (though I voted for Crane in the primary) ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/71 "2007-05-21T17:12:05Z")
1976 Gerald Ford I was in the service, in Germany, had to vote by absentee ballot. All of the military absentee ballots were collected in the county clerk’s office, and they lost them so my vote wasn’t ever recorded. They found the ballots two years later when a new clerk was elected. ---
**Author:** ![JohnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/848f3c/32.png) [@JohnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnM)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/72 "2007-05-21T17:23:30Z")
1980, Carter. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/73 "2007-05-22T01:23:41Z")
1972, John Hospers ETA: What’s with all the police stuff in the Google ads? ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/74 "2007-05-22T01:37:35Z")
Ron Paul in '88. ---
**Author:** ![Carm6773](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2bfe46/32.png) [@Carm6773](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carm6773)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/75 "2007-05-22T10:47:20Z")
Clinton '92, followed by Clinton '96, Gore '00, and Kerry '04. For '08, I think it’s going to be Obama. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/76 "2007-05-22T13:48:05Z")
I was 18 in 2004. Kerry, of course. I live in Indiana, so that was really useful. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/77 "2007-05-22T16:19:28Z")
Nader in '96. It was a protest vote. I thought Clinton was sleazy, and even though I liked Dole, he was a Republican, and I certainly wasn’t going to vote Republican. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/78 "2007-05-22T18:16:15Z")
Bush '88. Too young to have voted in '84, but it would have been Reagan. ---
**Author:** ![Jammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@Jammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jammer)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/79 "2007-05-22T19:11:45Z")
1. I voted for the candidate that won my state. I’m not from Minnesota. Jammer ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2007, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245/80 "2007-05-22T19:20:43Z")
[QUOTE=KayElCee] 1980. I was disappointed in Carter, and there was no way in hell that I’d vote for Reagan. So I voted for John Anderson. [/QUOTE] I almost did that, but my roommate (a furriner!) convinced me to vote for Carter. It was by absentee ballot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-first-presidential-election-you-voted-in-and-who-did-you-vote-for/399245.md?page=5)