Give me 1 good reason to vote

It is a valid question as to why a person should or should not vote. When you look back through history and at the different countries in the world, the actual ability and right to vote has never been so guaranteed or granted as it has with the United States. In other countries, the right to elect and decide the course of a nation is often out of the reach of the general population. In other countries, it is the law that a person vote, or they will end up getting fined and in court for failing to vote. Often the choices that those people have, are really not a choice at all. Voting in the US may not seem like it is worth the effort, or as many people who so aptly state why bother. Yet there is one primary reason that I can think of as to why you should vote and exercise that right, above all else. If you do not vote, or care or even make the attempt to vote, then by that action alone, you really should not complain or have the right to stand up and criticize the government at any level. You can not complain about the tax increase that you will see, nor can you complain when a law on the books inconviences you. Why should you complain, as you did not go out and vote, and that one vote, in the recent days could be the deciding factor if somethine is passed or someone is elected. A person who votes, in my opinion has the right to speak out against a law and the government as they did what they should have, exercised their right to determine the course of the government and the laws therein.

reply to post by neo96


Well talking into consideration that my vote for the last past elections have done nothing to fix the problems that I think are relevant to this nation and more legislation has been shoved down my butt me wanting or not, I have come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter what the people vote.

Is what the elite in power and those behind them wants

Originally posted by Da Man6
people like you disgust me... our founding fathers sacrificed their estates, children and their own lives for the declaration of independence and the dream that one day we would be free and hold power over our own land... did u know that or were u too lazy to realize all of the blessings that surround you? I think this country would be better off if people like you just moved away and quit mooching off of a system that you do not want to pay the price for...
-not to mention the thousands of U.S. troops that have died in the name of "freedom" so u can vote...
-you sir are complete trash

Actually it is ignorance such as you display that is disgusting. Voting in the current system is voting for an illegitimate system that has usurped what the founders fought for and implemented. Democracy is not mentioned in the constitution for a reason. So go ahead and vote in your ignorance and support this De facto system and choose one crime family over another and sh!t all over that which the founders originally established...

reply to post by sonjah1
There is no good reason to vote ... nothing will change because the electronic voting machines can be manipulated, so that no matter who the winner is, they probably won the election because they were the choice candidate of TPTB. Until these machines are banned, this trickery will keep happening.

When in doubt I consult the great George Carlin
www.youtube.com...
Warning: some strong language
(sorry dont know how to embed)

Because if you wish to see things change in the future and you want to see them change in a way that YOU want them to, you have to go vote for the people that will make those changes happen.

Or don't vote and watch the country go in a direction that you hate, and when that happens, there will be no one to blame, but yourself.

Sad, so sad, still with all the BS going on in Washington people still hold to dreams of a great America when people's vote did count

Wake up people it doesn't matter anymore, is not what the American people wants and has not been for many years.

Apathy is killing this nation and dreamers.

reply to post by sdcigarpig

If you do not vote, or care or even make the attempt to vote, then by that action alone, you really should not complain or have the right to stand up and criticize the government at any level. You can not complain about the tax increase that you will see, nor can you complain when a law on the books inconviences you. Why should you complain, as you did not go out and vote, and that one vote, in the recent days could be the deciding factor if somethine is passed or someone is elected. A person who votes, in my opinion has the right to speak out against a law and the government as they did what they should have, exercised their right to determine the course of the government and the laws therein.

You are so wrong on so many levels. First of all where do these people get the authority to vote on every aspect of my life and pass some law that inconveniences me or steals my money and substance against my will??? I don't vote because i don't have the right to vote to steal from others and call it taxes. I do not consent to this theft by agreeing to vote and accepting the outcome which is agreeing to allow this theft and participating in it through my vote. So I most definitely have the right to complain when the fruits of my labors are stolen by the mob who thinks they have a right to steal nd enslave me by a collective vote.

No harm no crime! Anything else I do is nobody else's business whether they
agree with it or not! like what kind of health care I choose, or plant I grow,
or if I wear a seat belt, or own a gun etc. No human has the right to tell me
what to do as long as I am not harming others.

Also no collective group of humans have the right to vote to tell me what to do
either, for if they never had the right as individuals how did they suddenly get
it collectively? By osmosis? They answer is of course they do not have it.

Because the voting system in America is a big conspiracy in and of it's self. Do you really think We The People of the United States really vote our leaders in? No, the leaders have long been decide even before the election begins.

If we the people really have a vote then the leaders would not always be the rich. If we actually had votes the average man would have a shot at congress, the senate or the presidency.

reply to post by sonjah1
There is no good reason to vote,sonjah it's the same dog and pony show as always anyone who tries to tell you different are fools who truly think their votes count well,guess what? it does not.

According to statistics compiled by George Mason University there were 213,231,835 eligible voters in 2008. However, only 132,645,504, or 62%, actually cast a ballot. That leaves a deficit of 80,586,331, or 38%.

If you consider that, in the 2008 Presidential election, only 9,522,083 votes separated the candidates, 80 million additional votes absolutely have the potential to completely change the political climate of our country. Obama won the Presidency with only 69,456,897 popular votes. That is considerably less than those who chose to not vote, for whatever their reasoning. ( and yes, I do understand the electoral college process )

If those 80 million would choose to make a statement by voting for a third party candidate, rather than by staying home, we would begin to see real change in Washington. The only message sent by not voting is apathy and that is exactly what the elite want you to be. An apathetic populace is easy prey.

I already posted this in another thread, which pretty much asked the same question.

reply to post by hawkiye


Ah, but there is the issue, did you vote? Have you voted, did you think about who you were voting for, did the research to know exactly the kind of person who is suppose to represent you? Did you even try to get something on the ballot that would change or repeal a law that, in your opinion, is wrong or impedes on your persuit of happiness and then get others to vote for it?
There are alot of laws that we may not agree with, or laws that may seem to be outright ridicolous, but unless we the people take the time, do the leg work, get out vote, treat all those wanting our votes as employees, interviewing them like a prospective employee and even take the time to get a law repealed or changed, what right do we as citizens have to complain. We all complain about taxes, but has anyone really gone through and seen about changing the laws on the books? Believe it or not, most laws at the state level are easy to get passed, and once it hits the state level and survives what may be a lawsuit, it remains, until it is voted down, or changed by another law.

Originally posted by marg6043
Sad, so sad, still with all the BS going on in Washington people still hold to dreams of a great America when people's vote did count

Wake up people it doesn't matter anymore, is not what the American people wants and has not been for many years.

Apathy is killing this nation and dreamers.

Well, I should start by asking you if there is a good reason -not- to vote?

I can assure you, I'm most certainly awake - locked, cocked, and ready to rock. .... Now what? What are we going to wake up to do?

You assert voting doesn't matter anymore, and that we should wake up.... but with most areas usually reporting half or less than half of the registered voters (and that's not counting people who have failed to register) ... it's kind of hard to say that voting doesn't matter when it's noteworthy to have a 55% turn-out. That means half of the people didn't etch their opinion into the political process. Of course it is going to feel like it doesn't matter if you have only half the people actually turning up to make decisions.

Now - no matter what kind of change we elect into office - it's not going to happen overnight. To change this country back into a free society or into a socialist state of your ideological dreams will take decades. And keep in mind - voting is not the start, or the end of your voice in the political system. You have every right to hold your representatives and elected officials accountable for their actions - whether there is an election in a week or not. Turning the polls into a battlefield and penal system is counter-productive, in my estimation. You should never vote against someone - only vote for someone you want to represent you.

You are part of this political process. It cannot work without you. The reason things have gotten to where they have today is due to the American people not standing up and holding their representatives accountable. It has been letting them pass thousands of pages of legislation filled with additions that have nothing to do with the title piece of legislation and billions in spending. It has been letting the government step in and relieve us of responsibility over our own lives.

So - really, voting, alone will not solve this nation's problems. It will require more than that. But that is no reason not to vote.

I don't really see what you're charging us to do. Wake up and realize voting doesn't work.... and revolt? I'm not going to start a revolution, but if everyone else is shooting their firearms at each other, I don't want to miss out on all of the fun. But, no offense - I don't really see you being motivated to armed revolution if you can't be motivated to go fill out a piece of paper, or computer screen, or however your precinct is doing it this year.

So... I'm kind of curious as to what we are supposed to do with the enlightenment to the idea that voting doesn't matter.

Not only do votes not matter, even if they mattered what your voting for is really not much different then the other guy. The only reason to vote is to keep the show going. At least it's creating some job's for a little while, especially for politicians but only the career ones reap the full benefits. My advice find which corporation they represent and what exactly that corporation does, and if you agree or get something out of it or it's products, then vote there representatives in, the democracy they teach you about in school never existed, it's all an experiment.

The projected numbers for Nov. 2, 2010 elections are 41.5% of eligible voters went to the polls. I am saddened to report that, in my state, the number is only 32.5%.....

What if less than 1/3rd of your surgical team showed up for your life saving operation?

What if less than one half of your child's teachers go to work tomorrow?

elections.gmu.edu...

I came to a realization today... something I've always sort of known, but never really acknowledged.

It isn't about how your vote doesn't count - it's about how your vote is manipulated.

The U.S. has an incredibly polarized two-party system where third parties are almost completely out of the picture. Also, as the two major parties have become more firmly rooted in American culture and media - the campaigns have turned into why you should -not- vote for the opposition. Great lengths are traversed to portray the political opponent as incompetent, delusional, immoral, etc. Very little time is actually spent on what the running candidate actually intends to do, their political ideology and views, etc.

Why does this work? As part of a major party, you have almost 40% of the vote guaranteed. It's just the way the cookie crumbles most of the time. Since there are only two major parties, this means 80% of the vote is spoken for. About 5-10% usually goes to third party candidates (Libertarian and Constitution parties being some of the larger ones). That means 10-15% of the vote is all that is really up for grabs. In many cases, it is far less - only 2-3% of the vote.

The attack ads work because of statistics. A certain number of people are going to view those ads and take them to heart. They then will likely vote one of two ways - for the candidate sponsoring the attack ad, or for a third party candidate (and let's face it, Nader is -never- going to be president). Thus - attack ads work because they 'sink' votes into 'irrelevant' parties while their 40+% of the vote is all but secure because of party affiliation.

This is why you can't just cast your ballot and hope everything in DC goes according to your desires. You've got to write your representative, talk with other people, read the legislation being put to vote, etc. A vote, alone, will never solve anything.

Really - I would have to say that these next few voting cycles will not see a whole lot actually done, and the 'tea party' will break down the two major parties in power and we will see the rise of practical third party candidates.

Part of that is wishful thinking on my part, and the other part of it is that I don't really see Republicans or Democrats really changing things much. The 'tea party' is not a voting movement, but a political/government/policy movement - the 'tea party' will not settle down until the government and the policies thereof are amended appropriately. It won't end with the repeal of "obamacare" - it won't end with GOP majority. I really don't see it ending until America has shifted towards a three or even four party system.