This relates to the Canadian election too, I believe.

Woah, thread necromancy! Still can't vote, still want to, and still no option for that.

Larenxis:
Woah, thread necromancy! Still can't vote, still want to, and still no option for that.

Ah, Larenxis. I'd feel sorry for you if Schadenfreude weren't my middle name.
But damn, I'd totally forgotten about this thread. You're playing a dangerous game, Easykill.
Having returned to this topic I've formed another rebuttal ti H0ncho's thesis: voters are being asked to choose between two broad-brush options, not to draft up law. There's a cetain level of political awareness most people have, which I think it sufficient to choose the lesser of two evils.

Alas, my only reprieve is bringing in votes for my candidate. But it's not at all the same as putting your little piece of paper into the ballot box. I thought it was, and then I got a chance to vote (within a municipal party) and my eyes were opened to the ecstasy that is voting as a tactile experience.

in answer to the early donkey elephant question... the irony is it was back when the two parties were reversed in their conservative/liberal sides.

http://www.c-span.org/questions/week174.htm

I'm Irish, I vote. I was recently one of those people who voted "No" to the Lisbon Treaty (put that in your pipe and smoke it, Nicolas Sarkozy). My preferences are towards the more left-wing parties in Ireland, although I will note that the truly left-wing parties don't have any power, and the likes of Labour and the Green Party are only ostensibly left-wing.

I always vote, trying to go for some kind of moral highground while other people decide what's going to happen is not something I'd consider.

And because Warren Ellis is always right (warning, pretty offensive):

I don't believe people should vote unless they actually have looked into the politicians stances. however, i also believe the australian system is the best. Where everyone has to vote by law but you can put down abstain as your voting option. (this may be entirely incorrect view of the aussie political system as it was gathered from a bloke in a pub)

Mandatory over here, but I'm a minor.

At least, for another 2 months.

But I can't vote until I'm 18, so 2 years and 2 months.

The US Electoral College system guarantees that a US citizen's vote isn't worth a god damn thing. You'd think in this day and age we'd have dumped that system, however it's too ripe for abuse by the candidates.

I vote Cthulhu every election. No candidate has stepped up since I became old enough to vote that I believe would actually do a good job running this country.

Voting for the most part is easy just pick the ones that benefit you

Wow, this a blast from the past!

I seem oddly eloquent in this thread, beyond my normal scope.

Thats what trying not to offend will do, i had to be careful to question america without criticizing it.

And i am still surprised that anyone thinks kangaroos were ever endangered.

jamesworkshop:
Voting for the most part is easy just pick the ones that benefit you

I disagree. I think it would be better to vote in a way that benefits the country. You and your country don't always have the same needs or interests, and ultimately your vote is a civic duty, not a chance to reel in some perks or benefits.

Isn't that what patriotism is all about? Looking past your own beliefs/interests/comforts in favor of what's best for the country?

H0ncho:

This is because there exists GOOD policies and there exists BAD policies.

That's not always true. Most of the time it's policies you agree with and BELIEVE ar good, or those you don't agree with and BELIEVE are bad. You'd have to almost be completely impartial to decide which policy is "good" or "bad" without hindsight (which I believe is impossible).

I see a lot of people who vote in local elections such as state constitution amendments but not voting for the president for one common reason:

"Your vote does not count."

A voting is really a statement. It's really the Electoral college that determines who becomes the president - heck i've been berated since apparently I, who was twelve years old in 2000, apparently voted George W bush in when Al Gore won the popular vote.

it's just a statement - I'm likely to be voting for a third-party candidate simply because of all the freaking Political Spam and how I can't go one day without hearing a McCain, Obama, or Palin smear ad. (if I had my way, you'd have to make a public appearance and apologize to the person for what the ad said or risk being dropped from the campaign.) If the Electoral votes vote for Obama and I voted for McCain, all the votes we cast for Obama are canceled anyways - so you voted for one of the two people whose votes DID count but since you didn't vote along with the majority, your vote doesn't count. Gotta love "The system".

I agree with not voting. 99.999% of us has absolutely no idea about running the country, whether it be economy, education, healthcare, legal system or defense and foreign policy. So why is it a good idea for us to choose these policies? You wouldn't design a car by gathering a bunch of 5 year olds then presenting them with different components and colourful ads, then choosing the components based on their vote. So why would we vote in elections?

There is massive support in China for the arguement that: "We should not have democracy in this country, because people are simply too stupid to vote responsibly." Votes can be bought and sold just like any product, and just as salesmen lie about their products, politians lie about their policies.

zhoomout:
I reckon people should vote cos otherwise there is no democracy any more cos the only people who vote are those who want benefit to themselves (eg, lower taxes for the rich) and cause hassle for everyone else. We might as well be living in the middle ages again.

While I'm not totally in favour of what the OP is saying, I strongly disagree with you.

Also-

Saskwach:
You're playing a dangerous game, Easykill.

It's far too late to go back now.

Should check out the video on youtube titled 5 friends (uncensored)
Its a really good video by a bunch of famous people to encourage voting, and the first minute or so is pretty funny, all these famous people telling you not to vote.

Wow, didn't realize so many people here were against voting. I guess this reflects the younger skew of this site.

Anyways, I would say there are reasons to vote. First of all, if you vote, you have an excellent reason to bitch. And an excuse. As in - I voted for the other guy, fuck Bush. Or I voted for Bush but he lied to me - he didn't do the things he promised. Fuck Bush!

Also, while it is true that in US the electoral college system is asinine, if you live in a battleground state you have every reason to vote. And this time around there are a ton of those. If the margin of victory for a candidate less than 5%, and the poll margin of victory is also less than 5%, then your vote could actually weigh a lot. Remember what happened in Florida in 2000 - a few thousand votes decided things, I think.

This is presuming that the election fraud like in Ohio in 2004 doesn't happen. But even then you can bitch like crazy saying that somebody stole your vote. Fuck the Republican chicanery.