Are You Voting? Are You Registered?

[Fierce Critter]

I really want to get out there and vote on all the candidates & issues.

I can't find my voter's registration card, and Jon needs to change the address on his driver's licence and voter registration, so I will be taking care of that tomorrow.

I wondered if anyone else needed a reminder.

[Msterbeau]

Jon may be too late. I do believe change of address and that sorta thing has to be done 30 days prior to election day. You should probably be alright if all you need as a card.

I'm all set to go as far as I know. I still need to brush up on the proposals on the ballot.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Ofcourse I am voting. I am also driving the elderly in my area to the polling place. I have about 6 older couples I take in to Vote.

[Soulrev]

DON'T VOTE!

just had to throw that in..

[Fierce Critter]

Jon may be too late. I do believe change of address and that sorta thing has to be done 30 days prior to election day. You should probably be alright if all you need as a card.

Damn. Well, I'll have to go out there and represent the entire Gosling household then!

I read on a website last night that you don't need your card to vote. There's a Michigan website available that gives you your polling place. Going to double-check that.

[Homicidalheathen]

Yah, I am but I wonder if it even makes a difference.....that thing in Florida when Bush won? I suspected it was always rigged, thats why I didn't start voting until I was in my mid 20's.

[Msterbeau]

Yah, I am but I wonder if it even makes a difference.....that thing in Florida when Bush won? I suspected it was always rigged, thats why I didn't start voting until I was in my mid 20's.

Your vote matters. If everyone thought "my vote doesn't count", nothing would get done. It takes a lot of little voices to make a loud statement. Your's may be only one of the little voices, but it contributes to a much bigger whole and that's a worthwhile effort in my opinion.

[Marblez]

I agree. That attitude reminds me of people who say they will not have kids because they wouldn't want to raise them in this world (as bad as it is)..um..if good people decide not to have kids for fear of the current state, how on earth will society change for the better??

[AntiHero]

Registered, and will try to vote. Need to pay more attention to politics, and the like. Also Have to pay the gruesome price for my constitutional right to jury-duty. Ahhhh, Justice.

[Marblez]

sorry.

And yes, I will be voting.

[Msterbeau]

I agree. That attitude reminds me of people who say they will not have kids because they wouldn't want to raise them in this world (as bad as it is)..um..if good people decide not to have kids for fear of the current state, how on earth will society change for the better??

Beat the teenagers and adults into submission?

[Rayne]

October 10th was the deadline for registering to vote in this election.

They told me that when I re-registered (moved 4 times and quite a few years ago from when I first registered) when I made the post-wedding name change on Monday.

[Homicidalheathen]

I talk to allot of 20 somethings who don't take the time to vote.

Then they bitch about the laws.....

When you see mostly seniors at some of the polls......

You have no right to bitch.

[Troy Spiral (13)]

If you dont vote, you voted for whoever won.

I'm registered but have not voted.

[Fierce Critter]

If you dont vote, you voted for whoever won.

I have never, and will never understand the logic of people who say things like this.

vote  /voht/

–noun 1. a formal expression of opinion or choice, either positive or negative, made by an individual or body of individuals.

2. the means by which such expression is made, as a ballot, ticket, etc.

3. the right to such expression: to give women the vote.

4. the decision reached by voting, as by a majority of ballots cast: The vote was for the resolution.

5. a collective expression of will as inferred from a number of votes: the labor vote.

6. an expression, as of some judgment: a vote of confidence.

–verb (used without object) 7. to express or signify will or choice in a matter, as by casting a ballot: to vote for president.

–verb (used with object) 8. to enact, establish, or determine by vote: to vote a proposed bill into law.

9. to support by one's vote: to vote the Republican ticket.

10. to advocate by or as by one's vote: to vote that the report be accepted.

11. to declare or decide by general consent: They voted the trip a success.

12. to encourage or cause to vote, esp. in a particular way.

By choosing not to vote, you are not voting for anything.

I don't see why people feel the need to bully people into some kind of "voter's gold star" club with this sort of nonsense.

It's ludicrous to "force" people into voting for "the lesser of evils" when they feel none of the candidates on the ballot are worthy of their vote.

They really need to include a "none of the above" selection on ballots so you can vote and voice your true opinion that none of the candidates deserve your vote.

[phee]

To me... if you didn't vote, you cannot complain about anything political in the country.

If something happens in the country you don't approve of... and you didn't vote... well you did NOTHING to stop it. So you have nothing to say...

But if you vote, and your guy looses... and the political situation sucks, well you can complain because you actually tried to stop it... OR you vote and your guy/girl wins, and things go to shite, well you hired him/her... and he/she is accountable... again... if you didn't vote, you can't say anything about complaints...

Look at it like this... if you are in a resteraunt, and someone hands you a menu, and you don't pick something and allow the others at the table to decide for you... you would not be able to complain about the food, because you decided not to choose... and if you had picked and the food was not good, well you can complain to the manager....

In other words....

"If you don't vote, you voted for whoever won"

[Fierce Critter]

I still disagree.

For instance, say I think Granholm absolutely sucks as governor, but I think Devos would be just as bad or worse, so I vote for Granholm just to keep Devos out of office.

Then Granholm wins, and does just as crap a job as I figured she would. So I've gone and advocated someone I didn't think deserved my support because "I had to vote for someone in order to have the right to complain about the job they're doing."

That's absurd.

As for the restaurant analogy, it doesn't completely apply. Because I could opt to not eat. Thus, I not only don't have to suffer the results of choosing crap I know will be bad, but I also don't have to put up with crap others pick for me.

Thus, the only way any of this applies is if they add a "none of the above" choice to ballots. Therefore, if I don't go and choose that option, I really DON'T have a right to complain, because I didn't voice my displeasure at all options given.

[phee]

(sorry I was writing this at the same time as the above)

And also...

One could say from the above metaphore...

"I am choosing not to eat... so there"

But you are not... You live in this country... you have to "eat" whatever the elected officials feed you... or you starve (go to prison for not paying taxes)

[Fierce Critter]

When I told my dad, a hardcore Democrat, I was thinking about not voting because I hate the job Granholm is doing, yet I believe DeVos is an absolutely horrible choice to replace her, he got bothered. He finally ended up telling me that by not voting for Granholm, if DeVos gets in, I'd be contributing to a possible "mandate" on his behalf.

Damned if I fucking do or damned if I fucking don't.

[phee]

When I told my dad, a hardcore Democrat, I was thinking about not voting because I hate the job Granholm is doing, yet I believe DeVos is an absolutely horrible choice to replace her, he got bothered. He finally ended up telling me that by not voting for Granholm, if DeVos gets in, I'd be contributing to a possible "mandate" on his behalf.

Damned if I fucking do or damned if I fucking don't.

That is true....

Damned either way... (Grr... I wish I could disagree)

But if you vote... Whomever you vote for has a responsability for the voters... And if DeVos wins... well you did nothing to stop it from happening.

[Fierce Critter]

Anyone know if the write-in vote is available?

[Fierce Critter]

But if you vote... Whomever you vote for has a responsability for the voters... And if DeVos wins... well you did nothing to stop it from happening.

By the same token...

If I vote for Granholm just to keep DeVos from winning, and Granholm does just as horrible a job as I figured she would...

...I did nothing to stop her. In fact, I advocated her.

Again, damned if you do...

[torn asunder]

By the same token...

If I vote for Granholm just to keep DeVos from winning, and Granholm does just as horrible a job as I figured she would...

...I did nothing to stop her. In fact, I advocated her.

Again, damned if you do...

just find *any* third-party candidate and vote for them... or do like richard pryor said in "brewster's millions" - vote "none of the above"!!!

[phee]

By the same token...

If I vote for Granholm just to keep DeVos from winning, and Granholm does just as horrible a job as I figured she would...

...I did nothing to stop her. In fact, I advocated her.

Again, damned if you do...

Right you "hired" her... for whatever reason.... and while you did nothing to stop her... she is obligated to you ie: I voted for Grandholm last election... and she sucked donkey, she let me (a person that hired her) down... so I have the right to be upset...

If I didn't "hire" her OR try to "hire" someone else... I am simply "Damned" and can say nothing about it...

[phee]

just find *any* third-party candidate and vote for them... or do like richard pryor said in "brewster's millions" - vote "none of the above"!!!

I am in agreement...

Even if you know that in all likelyhood, 3rd party will not win... you stated your opinion, you tried to change things, instead of sitting on your arse and complaining...

Do I actually think that my vote "matters"? Well the Republicrats will most likely be fixing the election anyway, (or it actually seems to more like the Republicans at least in the last 10 years). But YES... my vote matters, to me if no-one else.