h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

...there has been a lot of debate about people who deliberately do not vote.

Do you vote in elections or do you feel there is no point?

If you do vote do you vote in all levels of elections in whic you have a vote or do you only vote in national or local elections?

Me I vote at every election I've been eligiable to since I turned 18, plus a few others though my activity.

And I vote at general, regional and local elections usually before I do anything else on polling days.

Yep, I usually vote every time I'm invited to. Then I can feel justified in complaining about the actions of the winner if I didn't vote for them .

There's an occasional work or hobby related election where I know none of the contenders & have no information about them, so I don't feel qualified to choose & don't vote.

When ever possible I vote, that's what democracy is all about

Once I did vote for the loony party, I had no faith in any of the other candidates, and don't like to 'spoil' the paper.

I wish we had a 'none of the above' box, to say I want to vote, but don't like the candidates offered.

Does the US have this? does it help?

I have voted at two of three occasions when I could have done (that I know of). One general election (the last one) and two local ones (of which I voted at only one). I never voted at any of the student elections at university .

However, I do participate in other ways - I write articles for a small political newsletter and occasionally take part in government "consultations" (such as the one on ID cards which is still open for a couple of days if you want to have your say).

That said, I do understand people who don't vote. Essentially, they're right that their vote doesn't count if they vote for any of the small parties.

In response to the question, "Does the US have this? does it help?":
This is not a choice on the ballott, however the law does not require you to choose a candidate. If you don't like any of the choices for an office, you can leave that section blank, in fact, you can leave the entire ballott blank if you want. I'm not sure how much this has helped since there seems to be alot of people who don't bother to vote.

I vote in all Federall, State, and local elections.

I vote if I feel a need to.

I voted in the Scottish Parliament referendum (Yes, yes for those interested ) and in the last General Election (although not with much conviciton, more because I was annoyed at the news telling me that hardly anyone was voting).

I'll probably vote in the next election that comes up.

Not-voting is only acceptable if you are not interested in politics. If someone failed to vote deliberately in an election, then it always looks pretty rich when they have a go at the government that got in.

Yes I *always* vote in every election. I work on the principle that if you don't take part, you've no right to complain if your elected employees (for that is what they are) ignore your wishes.

That said, it is not necessary to register a valid vote once you're there. I have on occasion spent a happy few minutes writing all across the sheet what I felt was wrong with the candidates, and my general disgust with the nepotism of the local council. You do get some funny looks when you do this as most folk will vote in 10 seconds or less.

Oh, and I like Toccata, am happy to say I've voted for the Looney Party in my time

I have not voted in every election I was eligble to. There was a part of my life where I was far far from home, and, although a legal resident of my home state and still eligible to participate in its elections, I felt that I was too cut off from information and any ballot I cast would be ill-informed... not that that stops most voters.

People who think voting for third parties is a wasted vote are Stupid. Study the history of third parties in the US, and you'll find that they have driven most of the good ideas... whether they got anyone elected or not. That's because the major parties recognize the threat when a third party emerges as a political threat, and they stumble all over each other trying to capture the third party's platform first. This new feeling that third party votes are wasted is a new phenomenon in US history, and our democratic process is suffering greatly as a result.

So, if you're an American, and you don't like the two major parties, and you don't vote, then YOU are what is wrong with politics in the United States.

I also feel free to leave portions of my ballot blank. For instance, judge appointments require a confirmation vote in my state, but since I know nothing of any of the appointees, I left them blank. There was a county office that had only two candidates, and I found them both repugnant, so I left that one blank as well.

US ballots also have a write-in section at the end, so you can vote Mickey Mouse for any office you feel he would be best suited to.

I've voted at every general election I've been eligable to (all one of them...I missed the 97 election by 4 months).

I've never voted in a local election...usually for a variety of reasons the main ones being
(a)No idea where the polling station was and nowhere to find out (this was the local election when I was in royal holloway uni in the middle of nowhere without any form of transport, as the election was in winter I didn't fancy walking around the village randomly asking people where the polling station was).
(b)Being away from current home on election day (twice I've found myself in bournemouth when a polling card arrived in southampton...this is what happens when you live in 2 places at once while only being registered in one)
(c)Being brand new to the area and not having a clue about the polocies of the place and no access to the internet and http://www.upmystreet.co.uk to find out.

However since turning 18 I'm actually currently in the most stable residence for a long time (we've been moved into our house for almost a year now) so I *will* be voting in the next local election.

Wow...I forget how much moving around I've done in the last 5 years...8 moves

Blatherskite, do you have a good web reference about third parties in the US driving most of the good ideas? Living in the UK, I don't know a great deal about US electoral politics (except that I followed the debate amongst lefties about Nader and the Greens at the last one). Even if it's like that in the US, but I'm not convinced it's true in the UK, although I would love to be proved wrong. The only example I can think of might be the rise of the Labour party and the construction of the welfare state, but they didn't stay a third party and it seems unlikely that a similar phenomenon could occur today.

Dogster correct me if I;m wrong but only the Liberal Democrats are a national voice against going headlong into war here in teh UK.

And the influence of them as a third party has increased considerably in the last 20 years including making legislative decisions in both Scotland and Wales.

DD, you're probably right that the lib dems have some influence. I think I meant to talk about small parties (as in my first post) rather than third parties. My confusion arose because in the US (which was what Blatherskite was talking about) third parties = small parties.

Having said that, have the lib dems had much influence on the policies of Labour and the Tories?

I've voted in all general elections - even the ones when I was living in one of the safest tory seats in the land (the MP actually increased his majority in '97 ).

I vote in *most* local elections - I am getting better at this now I have discovered postal voting. I work away from home a lot so am often nowhere near my polling station at the appointed time. If the returning officer can get a postal ballot to me more than 2 weeks (ideally) or 1 week (at a push) ahead of election day i will vote.

I generally don't vote for european elections - I know I should as it is really important. My (not very good) excuse is that it takes a heck of a lot of sorting out to get the right people to send me the right ballots at the right time, and I haven't gotten around to it yet. I will one day.

I vote in the Croydon council tax ballot (do you want your CTx to go up by 3%, 5% or 7%?) every year - although this seems pointless when the majority votes for the lowest rise every year without fail regarless of the additional services offered if we get bigger rises. This ballot is a waste of council money to conduct really (they just change the minimum % increase you can vote for to the amount they intend to charge)- but I can vote on the internet. This is great - I get sent a personal private log in number, log in to the website and cast my vote. Doesn't matter where I am. It is quick and convenient, and if they can find a way to divorce my vote from my log in number (so secret ballot) I'd like to see general elections go this way too.


k

I've voted in all general elections - even the ones when I was living in one of the safest tory seats in the land (the MP actually increased his majority in '97 ).

I vote in *most* local elections - I am getting better at this now I have discovered postal voting. I work away from home a lot so am often nowhere near my polling station at the appointed time. If the returning officer can get a postal ballot to me more than 2 weeks (ideally) or 1 week (at a push) ahead of election day i will vote.

I generally don't vote for european elections - I know I should as it is really important. My (not very good) excuse is that it takes a heck of a lot of sorting out to get the right people to send me the right ballots at the right time, and I haven't gotten around to it yet. I will one day.

I vote in the Croydon council tax ballot (do you want your CTx to go up by 3%, 5% or 7%?) every year - although this seems pointless when the majority votes for the lowest rise every year without fail regarless of the additional services offered if we get bigger rises. This ballot is a waste of council money to conduct really (they just change the minimum % increase you can vote for to the amount they intend to charge)- but I can vote on the internet. This is great - I get sent a personal private log in number, log in to the website and cast my vote. Doesn't matter where I am. It is quick and convenient, and if they can find a way to divorce my vote from my log in number (so secret ballot) I'd like to see general elections go this way too.


k

The most successful third party in US history was the Populist party. Theodore Roosevelt ended up annexing most of the Populist platform, and so is considered a Populist even though he was technically a Republican.

Although Lyndon Johnson would violently deny it, his "Great Society" domestic reforms were inspired by the communist party.

In recent history, the emergence of third-party candidates has decided presidential elections. H. Ross Perot and his Reform Party took enough votes from George Bush in '92 to let that clown Clinton in. Nader did the same to Gore in '00. Perot campaigned primarily against the national deficit... by '98, we actually had a surplus (since squandered). Nader's primary plank has been the elimination of corporate welfare... and this year, all these robber barons are finally getting caught. Coincidences?

I vote every time.

Occaissionally skip certain *city office* ballot slots, if uninformed about more obscure topics and positions. I will not vote for an office just to be voting.

Yes