Vote!

[transplant99]

Just as an aside...just heard this on the radio.

A guy in New Glasgow NS, ran into a polling station, grabbed a ballot box, ran back outside and ran over it with his truck!!

Now THATS a protest vote.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Inferno

They also fought for our freedom. Therefore we should have the freedom to choose whether we want to vote or not and not be criticized for it.

You have the freedom to choose whether you want to vote or not.

Others have the freedom to criticize you for your decision.

You have the freedom not to care.

Gotta love freedom.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by transplant99

What do you think they were fighting for?

Freedom. The ability to have a choice and not be forced into doing things which includes whether or not I want to do things like vote. I shouldnt be forced to go and vote if I dont want to and I shouldnt be criticized for it. Just because I dont vote doesnt mean I'm not grateful for the people who fought for Canada.

[V]

I don't like any of the options, so I'm going to go to the polling station and submit a blank vote.

It's not like it matters. Something tells me good ol' Art Hanger isn't going to have a hard time getting in.

[DuffMan]

in

[Tron_fdc]

Originally Posted by Dominicwasalreadytaken

I don't like any of the options, so I'm going to go to the polling station and submit a blank vote.

It's not like it matters. Something tells me good ol' Art Hanger isn't going to have a hard time getting in.

I'm in the same boat. For some reason I can't warm up to any of the parties, so I might just go in and vote for them all.

[return to the red]

I used to be one to say that I'm not going to vote because I never really understood what I was voting for or thought I agreed what was being put forth. Evryone argued that it was my democratic DUTY to vote but my thinking on this lines that it was kind of an oxymoron right? I mean democracy is about having the right to choose is it not? so In reality I was using my democratic right NOT to vote.

This year however, I voted for the first time in my life and my attitude has completely changed. I now understand what was meant by the DUTY to vote and completely agree.

It is best said that you can't bitch about the governement or the way the country is run if you don't vote

[ken0042]

I do agree with most of what BBS said. However my own 2¢:

Not voting is like your wife asking what you want for supper, you saying "I don't care", then getting mad because she made chicken and you wanted beef.

Between paying taxes, paying EI, and paying CPP each of us here spends thousands of dollars per year contributing to the govenment pot. Do you make so much money that you don't care where those 1000's go?

If you don't care, could you give me $1000 then?

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Inferno

Freedom. The ability to have a choice and not be forced into doing things which includes whether or not I want to do things like vote. I shouldnt be forced to go and vote if I dont want to and I shouldnt be criticized for it. Just because I dont vote doesnt mean I'm not grateful for the people who fought for Canada.

Well if that's your defination of the freedom people fought for, then why am I constrained in what I can do.
I'd like to slap around anyone who says stuff like this, but I'm not allowed to.

So here's the deal. I'll admit that it's fine for you not to vote, if you admit it's fine for me to b!tchslap anyone who doesn't vote.

[Hakan]

From a previous thread. The right to exercise not voting is important if there is little in the way of choice.

I don't get this sense of duty that many of proposing here to get out and vote.

The chances of your vote being the deciding factor in a provincial election (don't know federal but it's even worse) is some like 1 to 100,000. Infact your chances of getting hit by a bus and killed on your way to the polling station are higher than your vote counting one iota.

Why do we need to vote? The average citizen is so woefully uninformed on the differences between parties and the like that it's not like they're actually contributing to a flourishing democracy. And I'm not chastizing the average citizen here.

You have to look at a cost-benefit ratio. The time spent learning each party's platform and analyzing each party's historical performance pro-rated to the current state of the nation and economy to the zeitgeist of when the party they were voting for was last in power compared to the actual benefits that individual will achieve if the party he/she voted for gets into to power are so insignificant that most people purposefully remain ignorant.

So what's worse? Nobody voting or people voting for the completely wrong reasons? I like Jack's moustache I'll vote for him to me is worse than just not voting. If enough people don't vote then that will create the momentum to seriously re-examine the way we choose our leaders and the way our country is governed. By voting for ultimately trivial attributes you perpetuate that system of ignorance and apathy.

Finally, I think as a political statement a non-vote is righteous. What if none of the parties speak for me? What if I agree with none of the platforms? Should I still vote for someone? Not if they don't really represent me.

Anyway, this has been a cynical take but I think we're simplifying things way too much in regard of the debate to vote or not to vote. This country isn't going to become any more or less democratic if I don't cast a ballot. That said, I will gladly vote. I have voted in every single student, municipal, provincial and federal election that I have been eligible for. Infact, I'm throwing an election party on Monday night with the 4 parties themed snacks!

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Inferno

Freedom. The ability to have a choice and not be forced into doing things which includes whether or not I want to do things like vote. I shouldnt be forced to go and vote if I dont want to and I shouldnt be criticized for it. Just because I dont vote doesnt mean I'm not grateful for the people who fought for Canada.

Sorry, but we also have the freedom to criticize you.

And no one is FORCING you to vote. Is someone pointing a gun to your head FORCING you to vote?

It's a responsibility of living in a democratic society. And yes, you can shirk that responsibility. But you're living on another planet if you think that somehow frees you from taking flak for not voting.

Either take the jeering or vote. It's your choice.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

Well if that's your defination of the freedom people fought for, then why am I constrained in what I can do.
I'd like to slap around anyone who says stuff like this, but I'm not allowed to.

So here's the deal. I'll admit that it's fine for you not to vote, if you admit it's fine for me to b!tchslap anyone who doesn't vote.

Hey, if you want and try and bitchslap somebody it's fine by me. That's your choice.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by Shazam

It's a responsibility of living in a democratic society.

It's not a responsibility. It's a right. If it was a responsibility it would be mandatory.

[Mccree]

I voted. Took all of five minutes. Not sure what the excuse is not to vote but I do not buy any of them. Takes longer to get a cup of coffee and TIM's and look how many people WAIT in line.

[Nehkara]

Voted at 1:00 PM. It literally took me about 2 minutes.

[red '00]

Originally Posted by Inferno

It's not a responsibility. It's a right. If it was a responsibility it would be mandatory.

I actually agree there..

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by Inferno

It's not a responsibility. It's a right. If it was a responsibility it would be mandatory.

Just curious, but why not vote? Most people that don't bother voting are just too lazy, but you are so adamant about it that it seems like you are trying to make some sort of statement. Are you?

[octothorp]

I don't buy the whole dictatorship argument. I've never seen any statistic that suggests that a low voter turnout encourages the rise of dictatorships. If anyone has such a statistic, I'd love to see it. I can think of one example that directly condradicts it: during Hitler's rise to power, voter turnout in Germany was generally increasing. The only time he experienced a setback in his percentage of popular vote (November, 1932), corresponded with an overall decrease in voter turnout. By contrast, the peak of voter turnout in the Weimar Republic was the 1933 election which gave Hitler 44% of the popular vote and allowed him to set up his dictatorship. I'm not suggesting that greater voter turnout leads to dictatorships, but it certainly doesn't prevent them.

My perspective is that the right to vote is sacred and not something to be taken lightly or haphazardly. I take great pride in voting, and I believe others should, too. Our society seems to have the perspective that more votes always make for a more valid result, and I disagree with that notion. Ten informed voters will make a better decision than ten informed voters and ten ignorant voters. I'd much rather see twenty informed voters, of course, but that's not going to happen.

Or maybe I'm just cynical from watching that awful Elections Canada 'silent rapper' commercial too many times.

edit: I just want to clarify something with this post, because a lot of people today use comparisons to Nazi Germany when it's not apt. I'm not comparing anything to Nazi Germany, I'm merely responding to the abstract notion of a correlation between decreased voter turnout and dictatorships. I used the voting patterns during the late Weimar Republic because they are fairly well known and analyzed. There are likely other dictators elected by a democratic process in which the dictator benefitted from low voter turnout. It still supports my opinion that there is no correlation between the two.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

Just curious, but why not vote? Most people that don't bother voting are just too lazy, but you are so adamant about it that it seems like you are trying to make some sort of statement. Are you?

I dont vote because in my opinion most of what these politicians promise are just empty promises(ie "I will get rid of the GST, blah, blah, blah"). It's got nothing to do with being lazy.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Inferno

It's not a responsibility. It's a right. If it was a responsibility it would be mandatory.

Please tell me you're always conscientious about everything you're supposed to be responsible for. No? I thought not. And since when the hell did the word "responsible" mean "mandatory"? http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&lr...ne:responsible

Gawd, stop it with your damn rationalizations. It sounds like you're simply trying to justify your stance. You don't need to justify it, ok? It's still your choice. Yeesh.