I VOTED for My beliefs, Not to keep someone out of office!

I don't know if the machines used elsewhere in the country are different, but mine printed the ballot which was enclosed behind a plexiglass cover - That is what ultimately gets counted, right? The electronic machine just makes a smoother process of that printing?

reply to post by Sek82


Sadly not here in Indiana. We are given no paper receipt or anything. We are given a card, put it in the machine/computer choose who we want, return the card and viola we are to expect that it accurately counted our votes which I have a gut feeling it doesn't.

I honestly feel that the majority of the voters that turned out for the primaries (at least in this county) were Ron Paul supporters (I do not have proof but everyone I asked who voted in the primaries voted for Dr. Paul.).

reply to post by tw0330
Alright, keep in mind I got a separate receipt, not indicating votes chosen, but the machine itself had a printer that printed the results while still shielded within the machine... I'm assuming it's that paper which gets counted...

...by another machine, more than likely.

Originally posted by Sek82
reply to post by tw0330

 

Alright, keep in mind I got a separate receipt, not indicating votes chosen, but the machine itself had a printer that printed the results while still shielded within the machine... I'm assuming it's that paper which gets counted...

...by another machine, more than likely.

Personally I don't mind the idea of a machine counting the paper ballots, to create an "unofficial" result, but should always be backed up with a fare (as in not a private count and the boxes with the printed ballots should be always locked and out in the open for all to see) for an official result, and each precinct as well as county should be posted online (both machine count and hand count) to hold everyone accountable.

In my opinion this is the only way to assure the voters that there vote really does count. otherwise I seriously don't trust it.

Nice, its funny from a non american perspective seeing you guys talk about not voting since you dont like the two primary parties, or saying your votes dont count if you go third.

I always assumed everyone voted like the OP, naive i guess to think that, although I dont mean on the day choosing of a candidate but voting for those that sit closest to their idea of a good system and beliefs.

Every vote counts or at least it should (ahck dont get me started on your stupid swing states and electoral college crap ) so saying your vote for a third party feels like a waste is confusing to some one like myself, every vote counts and who knows your vote might be the one that makes that difference. If more people voted like the OP for a party that fitted them better (rather than one of the two big ones they think are the only ones that can win) then you lot might have a more varied election landscape like the rest of the western world. Maybe its because your population is so large, that everyone thinks meh im one in a few hundred million my vote means nothing... 1 in a 100 million is still 1 in a 100 million, if you get 10% of that lot thinking the same way heck even 2%, thats still a few million votes that could have impacted a result for change.

And do you guys really have limited voting choices in some areas?.. thats mind boggling. In my country we might have limited choices for local candidates but you can cast a party vote for any party thats on the ballot and every party is on the ballot every where in the country. The thought that you couldnt vote Green, Constitutional(?), Justice or Libertarian since you lived in some state that didnt have that on the ballot reeks of wrong so so badly. Guess its the issue with voting for a president rather than a party.

Guess its the American system, but really you guys need to ditch the historical ra ra and form a better more balanced election system.

Maybe more people this time around are thinking like the OP, and that will make some real change for the better. Heres hoping.

edit:- hmm came out a little incoherent sorry

Originally posted by BigfootNZ
Nice, its funny from a non american perspective seeing you guys talk about not voting since you dont like the two primary parties, or saying your votes dont count if you go third.

I always assumed everyone voted like the OP, naive i guess to think that, although I dont mean on the day choosing of a candidate but voting for those that sit closest to their idea of a good system and beliefs.

Every vote counts or at least it should (ahck dont get me started on your stupid swing states and electoral college crap

) so saying your vote for a third party feels like a waste is confusing to some one like myself, every vote counts and who knows your vote might be the one that makes that difference. If more people voted like the OP for a party that fitted them better (rather than one of the two big ones they think are the only ones that can win) then you lot might have a more varied election landscape like the rest of the western world. Maybe its because your population is so large, that everyone thinks meh im one in a few hundred million my vote means nothing... 1 in a 100 million is still 1 in a 100 million, if you get 10% of that lot thinking the same way heck even 2%, thats still a few million votes that could have impacted a result for change.

And do you guys really have limited voting choices in some areas?.. thats mind boggling. In my country we might have limited choices for local candidates but you can cast a party vote for any party thats on the ballot and every party is on the ballot every where in the country. The thought that you couldnt vote Green, Constitutional(?), Justice or Libertarian since you lived in some state that didnt have that on the ballot reeks of wrong so so badly. Guess its the issue with voting for a president rather than a party.

Guess its the American system, but really you guys need to ditch the historical ra ra and form a better more balanced election system.

Maybe more people this time around are thinking like the OP, and that will make some real change for the better. Heres hoping.

edit:- hmm came out a little incoherent sorry

edit on 6-11-2012 by BigfootNZ because: (no reason given)

Star for that post. thank you for your thoughts, and i agree with you for the most part. I live in the USA and don't quite understand why things are the way they are. I understand the point of the electoral college vs popular vote being the "United States" but also think there could be a better system we could use in these modern times.

Originally posted by DarkKnight21
reply to post by tw0330

 

A last minute vote for Gary Johnson eh? Me too. And I'm in Texas, a big red state. Kinda feels like ya just threw away your vote right?

Well... good for you. In my eyes its a vote against this two-party system craziness. This is one of the most polarized elections in American history.

I would venture to say it IS the most divisive ever.

I also voted for Gary Johnson because I like what he stands for. I like his tenacity.

I do not feel like I wasted my vote. I feel like I am too far ahead of my fellow countrymen. That sentiment is not limited to my political views either. Fox and friends have done a great job dumbing down a nation.

reply to post by tw0330


I too voted for Gary Johnson and am proud of my vote.

If anything it's a FU to the political show.

Simply put...

I did not vote because my beliefs were in one person who didn't want to invade other countries and lie to get into office.

And no, you shouldn't vote just because you have the right to. Hopefully people put more thought into that...

reply to post by DarkKnight21

In my eyes its a vote against this two-party system craziness

Funny, in my eyes a vote for either of the two party system is craziness.

Originally posted by SpaDe_
I also voted, and while it was mostly a painless 20 minutes out of my day, I did have some trouble feeding my ballot into the machine as did a few others that were in front of me. Hopefully they all get tabulated, and not just counted as a voter that inserted a ballot.

One of my favorite talk show hosts says this election is so crooked you'll have to screw your ballot in. I thought he was kidding.

reply to post by tw0330


I'm in a very similar boat, I live in Indiana and I voted with my beliefs instead of voting to keep someone out of office. I'm tired of voting between the shiniest of two turds and I threw my count in with a write in for Ron Paul. He won't win, but I doubt it matters at least when people look back at what one of these two screw-ups did and question who voted whomever wins in, I can say I didn't vote for either of those jerks.

I'm a Pisces and even I cannot understand how it's even possible to be undecided until you walk into the poll.

I'm not saying you're wrong or crazy or anything like that. I just don't understand how its possible.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

files.meetup.com...

When will people learn. It's a crime to vote.

IN SUMMARY: The purpose of Section 1 & 2 of the 14th Amendment does these things: 1) Section 1 makes all people in the United States (the several states) citizens of the United States, i.e. federal citizens (see federal citizenship). 2) Section 2 sets up a legal fiction that all persons (or inhabitants) are represented by Congress. This includes all people living in the several states, including ex-slaves. 3) Section 2 enfranchises citizens of the United States, but not the ex-slaves; on its face this is done with the 15th Amendment. 4) Section 2 gets “state citizens” to participate in rebellion which in turn gives consent to a new political system that is installed by Congress (the United States). 5) Section 2 disenfranchises state citizens of the several States. 6) Section 2 ultimately sets forth that only the ones represented in this new government are the ones voting and committing crimes (under the presumption that the ones committing crimes are U.S. citizens). The current governmental system is unlawful and a fraud. The only way it has authority is through the legal operations of the usurpers’ Fourteenth Amendment. The government can only represent people that support it by voting; and the de facto-insurgent states can only regulate ITS citizens by private statutory law. These people are in rebellion against the republican system that was in place prior to the War Between the States. Accordingly, this is why the de facto Supreme Court says things like this: “In this country, the law in effect in all but a few States until mid-l9th century was the pre-existing English common law... It was not until after the War Between the States that legislation began generally to replace the common law.” Roe v. Wade, 410 US 113

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
You're kidding? You are literally one of the undecided on election day itself? Honestly?? You're not just saying that as an ATS statement...are ya? I didn't think mythical beats like that existed. I kinda imagined the undecided Tuesday voter to be like the Unicorn.

Good for you though. You voted your true conscience by what you say and no one..no one.can fault you for that. Whoever got your support. Voting one's own beliefs is all this is about after all the B.S.. Right?

S/F!

I was also undecided until i got in the booth. My choice was between voting for my favorite candidate (Rocky Anderson) or strategically helping Johnson get the 5% so that libertarians could potentially weaken Republicans in the future. Instead of purely symbolic vote for someone who is likely to come in 5th and no where near 5%, I went with strategy. I also had to check Jill Stein's chances of being the 5% but thought Gary had a better chance.

I applaud you. In my opinion you should always vote your conscience - no matter what that happens to mean for you personally, and no matter what you think the consequences for other candidates might be - because you are the one who has to live with your decision. Of course, your decision indirectly affects others as well. But ultimately the decision must be yours, and yours alone. I respect everyone who stands by their beliefs, regardless of whether I agree with them or not.

Though, I have yet to encounter a voter willing to offer me the same respect and civility for not voting.

Peace.

Not a reply to anyone, said I would write in Ron Paul if necessary and stuck to my guns. No vote is wasted... period. Any other thought just means that the MSN has won!

Originally posted by spinalremain
I'm a Pisces and even I cannot understand how it's even possible to be undecided until you walk into the poll.

I'm not saying you're wrong or crazy or anything like that. I just don't understand how its possible.

 

Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

 

Very simple. I didn't let anyone decide for me ahead of time. I weighed one option vs the other, and have not been able to decide which to choose until I was faced with the choice and what my heart told me was right to do.

I also voted my conscious...Gary Johnson

This morning my son called and joked about who to vote for. He was going for Romney to avoid Obama although he was a Ron Paul fan. I told him I was voting Gary Johnson and why. Texas was going Romney regardless of my vote and I was tired of people just worrying about the next four years. I was casting my vote for the future of my children and grandchildren so they could have more than two choices. Make a statement this election and a little more the next etc., until the established parties recognize other voices.

Anyway, my son called this evening. He and his wife had just voted for...Gary Johnson! Not sure what it was I said but hey....Mama made a difference.

reply to post by liveandlearn


I think if Gary Johnson was given the same attention that Romney and Obama get regarding the media, then he would easily win as I see him as someone both Republicans and Democrats can agree with. Which of course is why the corporate media ignores them as he isn't for the 1% best interest.