NationStates Jolt Archive

Australia has been talking about abolishing compulsory voting. At the same time, Britain is talking about introducing it. I want to write an article on it for my local newspaper.

I don't want the arguments for and against. I'll use the local pollies for that.

I just want to know why people who could vote, don't.

It would help if you would include your age. If you don't want to be exact, just say 'virgin voter' or 'old-timer' or 'coupla times' or whatever.

My age is too complex to even compute.

Anyhow, I don't/wouldn't vote cause in the country where I reside (USA not America which should only be used to descibe either the North or South continents, hence we should be called USians/ United Statians.) voting is useless for presidency, since only the electorial votes count. I don't care what happens locally, as long as the people aren't too corrupt.

It never changes anything over here in England. The parties all say the same things, and use the same put-down to the other party... it's tiresome hearing about how 'hospitals will improve' yet they continue to do the exact opposite.

Most of the time here in the US you simply get to choose between the lesser of two evils for President. Yes, two. Everyone knows the other 1 and half candidates don't count. >_< There's not really anyone worth voting for in that scale of elections.

Most of the time here in the US you simply get to choose between the lesser of two evils for President. Yes, two. Everyone knows the other 1 and half candidates don't count. >_< There's not really anyone worth voting for in that scale of elections.

Well said.

I certainly will take part in elections and although all the main parties in Scotland say the same things and won't change anything there is a radical alternative offered by the Scottish Socialist Party which I will be voting for.

Anybody watch Futurama? Remember that episode with the two clones running for president? The main reason I don't vote, though, is that I just don't beleive in democracy. If it didn't work out for the Greeks all those years ago, why should it work now?

19 year old American

Anybody watch Futurama? Remember that episode with the two clones running for president? The main reason I don't vote, though, is that I just don't beleive in democracy. If it didn't work out for the Greeks all those years ago, why should it work now?

I don't believe in democracy either, but it works with a small population, and actually worked for the greeks.

I don't see any candidate as honorable enough to hold the office.

It worked for a while.

My age is too complex to even compute.

Anyhow, I don't/wouldn't vote cause in the country where I reside (USA not America which should only be used to descibe either the North or South continents, hence we should be called USians/ United Statians.) voting is useless for presidency, since only the electorial votes count. I don't care what happens locally, as long as the people aren't too corrupt.

Yes but the electoral college votes in each state always go the way the majority of people in that state voted. So while your vote doesn't go _directly_ to deciding who the president is, it still counts.

And before you moan about how your vote won't make a difference, remember that half America's eligable voters don't seem to bother turning up these days. A typical election is won or lost by a margin of less than one tenth of the votes cast. Which means if just a relatively small fraction of the people in a state who support the losing party had voted instead of pissing and moaning about how there's no point because the other party has their state locked up, things could have gone the other way.

I mean I'm sure there's perfectly good reasons for not voting some of the time (lord knows I don't give a rat's ass who runs my city council), but anyone who cares enough about how their country is ran to occasionally get shitty at politicians for doing a bad job needs a _way_ better excuse than "my vote wouldn't really count anyway" for not turning up on voting day.

This is the wrong question to ask. The right one would be why people even bother to vote. I mean, most things a government does new does not affect you directly, and in an advanced democracy, personal life is normal even with bad leadership. Even tax cuts, a thing everyone loves to get, are not enouugh to rile voters because most voters assume that the tax cuts won't last. Take Bush, for instance. I would only vote for him as he would repeal inherentence taxes, but didn't, as I figured that any change he made would be repealed. I feel vindicated. They're talking about reversing the repeal of the inherentence taxes on those wicked old grandmothers.

Anybody watch Futurama? Remember that episode with the two clones running for president? The main reason I don't vote, though, is that I just don't beleive in democracy. If it didn't work out for the Greeks all those years ago, why should it work now?

19 year old American

My favourite is the Simpsons halloween epside with the space mutants impersonating Clinton and Dole. "We must go forwards, not backwards; upwards, not downwards, and always twirling, twirling towards freedom!" Actually, I think I might put that in my sig...

As for ancient Greece, that's more about direct vs representative democracy than democracy itself. I think the only valid reason not to vote is if you believe that there's no real difference between the main parties and that participating is giving them validation that they don't deserve.

I don't vote because the minimum voting age in the US is 18.

Read the thread, O Sabretongue! It's if/when you're old enough.

(BTW, just so no-one thinks I'm abusing the Master of Sarcasm, I dubbed him thusly because he's a wordmeister and I was thinking of sabre-toothed tigers. So it's vaguely complimentary.)

I consider my non-voting a vote against the people in power.

Until negative votes are accepted or parties abolished I will not vote for anyone as parties define politics, not individuals.

I consider my non-voting a vote against the people in power.

Until negative votes are accepted or parties abolished I will not vote for anyone as parties define politics, not individuals.

Would any non-voters vote if your country had a different way of voting? Like, change from preferential to proportional, or have multiple-MP electorates, or 'negative votes', or whatever?