stop voting against candidates!

Every time an election comes around you probably hear a lot of people telling you how incredibly important it is to vote. If you don't choose somebody else wil, blah blah blah.

Unless you do an uncommon amount of thinking for an American, or unless you've seen a certain episode of Southpark, you may have never really thought about just how contrary that idea is to democracy.

Pressing uninformed people to make a decision, just because it's wrong not to make a decision at all? The fact of the matter is that they are rallying people to vote against who they hate the most, because they expect you to obviously vote for the other name on the ballot.

By all means, vote, it's not a bad thing. But if you aren't going to inform yourself on the issues, and you just can't bring yourself not to vote, write in your best friend's name, or you dad's name or what the hell ever. Better to send the message that you find both options evil than to cast your vote just for the lesser evil!

Food for thought... afterall, we're voting again in about 14 months. Are you going to vote at all? Are you going to vote as a yes or no on the incumbent as if this were one of Saddam's elections? Or are you going to vote for somebody you actually know and support- whoever that may be? "Throwing your vote away" on somebody who can't win is better than voting for someone who can win if you don't have reason to firmly believe that they actually should win.

One more thing to remember- if everyone votes- even if they just wrote in their best friend's name- that's more ballots, and if there is voter fraud that increases the chance of it being discovered.

I think this year is different, people don't care anymore, voting doesn't really matter anymore, or does it?

My question is, a true democratic/republic type of vote would be done by paper ballot and not a machine built on software..

so I ask, does it really matter anymore what you vote, now that we have machines that could sway a vote one way or another..?

Whether we want to believe it or not... Is this not possible?

edit: i'm drunk, if this doesn't make sense, I will correct it later... nite nite

[edit on 5-9-2005 by TrueLies]

Yes it is theoretically possible, but what are you saying exactly? Screw it, let's not even try?
You don't have to vote on a computer. Just check out what your polling place is using ahead of time.

My remedy, which hopefully I will have a chance to attempt if and when I get into office is simple. Voting machines should generate paper reciepts in triplicate, one for you, one for the poling place, and one to be stored in a safe location for access by concerned watchdog organizations, and votes should be indexed by SSN- one voter, one vote.
You get an electronic count and screening of multi-votes with a double check by the voter and the watchdogs, and an official paper trail on record with the government.

The secret ballot is a joke. A political power grab initiated in 1888 to deny ballot access to third parties and divie up America between the two major parties of the time- and it worked. Transparency is the key to democracy.

Originally posted by TrueLies
My question is, a true democratic/republic type of vote would be done by paper ballot and not a machine built on software..

It amazes me that you don't have paper ballots. We have paper ballots here in Australia for State and Federal elections and they seem to work fine. Why the need for elaborate machines or software when the simpler version will work just as well, if not better? Is it that there would be too many to count? That is why we have independent counters to count the ballots here in Australia.

As I said, paper works well. Perhaps one of the Americans here can explain to me why you use machines instead?

We don't use machines everywhere, but Americans, especially American politicians and businesses, are in love with electronics and the promise of speed associated with them.

I think a poll would show that American citizens hate the idea but have no idea what their recourse in the matter is.

Then of course there is a corrupt angle to it. I personally have no way of knowing for sure if the machines are counting accurately, but I have no reason to trust that they are.

Originally posted by Jeremiah25
Why the need for elaborate machines or software when the simpler version will work just as well, if not better? Is it that there would be too many to count? That is why we have independent counters to count the ballots here in Australia.

As I said, paper works well. Perhaps one of the Americans here can explain to me why you use machines instead?

I personally think it's more sinister then what vagabond thinks.
As I've seen proof with my own eyes that a software developer said before a court that he made voting software which swayed people's votes over to one side. It did just more then sway a vote to one side, there were a few devious tricks that he created for his boss so his boss and that company wouldn't lose the million dollar contract...

And this is people's votes we're talking about here! A person's own choice, of which these people/senator's and business people didn't give a rats ass about.

Ralph Nader is right about big companies running the show... And on a very very large scale.

So anyway, this guy told the judge that he created software for the voting machines, and admitted it is better this way to rig an election as it leaves no paper trial behind... People in the court room were in such disbelief.. I'll find the video if your interested in listening to him admitting this.

And this was for the 2005 election.

Having Paper ballots would leave people with a choice, but we can't have that... The elected are elected by their cronies and big money. Not the people.

Like a book said on the cover, our enemies aren't on the battlefields in military uniform, but rather in suits and ties.

[edit on 5-9-2005 by TrueLies]

Here's a good read:

www.thepeoplesvoice.org...
September 2, 2003
By Schuyler Ebbets

Two Republican dominated corporations, Election Systems & Software (ES&S), and Diebold Voting Systems, now control 80% of the vote count in the United States.

I always vote for whoever I know will do a good job. Doesn't matter if they have a chance of winning or not. That way when some crook gets in, I can say, hey, I didn't vote for him!

I got some guff from my former pastor because I wasn't voting for his boy Bush. I tried to explain to him about Bush and he accused me of paying too much attention to "the liberal media."

He shouldn't have worried. His man stole the election again....

(I'm sorry - can someone briefly explain how Bush stole the last election too? I'm aware of the Florida debacle, and the Ohio debacle this time around...but after all was said and done, Bush still had the popular vote too, correct? And am I right in thinking no independent investigations have yet been released to the public?)

I might actually be a US citizen by the next election.

And I'll exercise my vote as I rightly should!

Obviously I can't say who I'll vote for, but I can tell you it won't be:

The "other" guy, just to "throw" the vote;

The "no chance" guy, just to "steal" one away from one party or the other;

or

The "favourite", because "my vote doesn't count anyway".

Nope. Not going to happen.

My vote will not be wasted. It will not be given frivolously, and it won't be bought by the Dude With The Biggest Wallet, or by "The no-hoper just because I don't like the other two parties".

It'll go to the guy who I think actually deserves the vote.