Should I bother to vote this year?

[downtown]

Vote purely for turnout.

What does that matter?

Vote to give Edwards a mandate.

My district has a Cook score of D +26. Edwards winning in a huge blowout (which she will) will be perceived as more a reflection of the demographics of the district than any sort of mandate for her policies, especially since this is going to be a Republican year.

Vote third party.

Edwards represents my polices much closer than a Green or Libertarian candidate does.

Vote for national totals.

Why does this matter?

Go and spoil you ballot with a witty remark (extra credit if it's Latin).

Well, that's as good an answer as any

 

[Hygro]

dude, America is in trouble. downtown just doesn't care.

 

[Old Hippy]

dude, America is in trouble. downtown just doesn't care.

you would think that at least he would turn up and write downtown across the ballot...

 

[Rashiminos]

Your indecisiveness may change between now and November. Who knows...

 

[FriendlyFire]

Should I bother to vote? Why or why not? poll coming

I want to see Obama (and Bidden) get impeached over Benghazi gate.

 

[classical_hero]

Working. Election day isn't a holiday.

Here it is on a Saturday so most people aren't working, but those that do, the polls open well before most people would start work and it finished after the time most people have stopped working. Considering everyone has to vote, we made it as easy to vote as possible. Voting is your civic duty.

 

[Tahuti]

That's a strong argument, but unfortunately they don't have the sprinkling of enclaves and enclaves-within-enclaves that gave they German principalities their charm.

I'm still baffled by the way this isn't allowed!

 

[Traitorfish]

I'm still baffled by the way this isn't allowed!

It would probably make more sense than the current system. If districts are drawn up to represent certain demographics, and some explicitly are, then why do they have to be geographically contiguous? It would be more honest for them not to be. Instead you get districts that include large stretches of uninhabited motorway, just for the sake of linking two residential districts, which ends up looking like a bigger scam than it actually is.

 

[bhsup]

I am rather proud of Missouri's districts. I am sure there is some minor gerrymandering going on, but all in all it does a pretty good job of trying to keep solid blocks of counties in reasonably non-twisted districts. The only county splitting looks to occur in high population areas where they have to split them to maintain equal population balancing as best as possible. I do confess that district 5 seems to have had some hanky panky going on, but overall we do good work.

 

[Hygro]

yeah those look pretty solid. good argument for MO.

OK Antilogic, your turn

 

[downtown]

dude, America is in trouble. downtown just doesn't care.

The last two years have bummed me out spectacularly, and I don't really see reasons for optimism

 

[Harv]

dude, America is in trouble. downtown just doesn't care.

If you vote, then at least you own your vote. You can say you voted for or against this person.

 

[Antilogic]

Mitch McConnell vs. Allison Lundergan Grimes, don't care for either and my Representative, Massie, who I really like will win with or without my vote. I don't see the need to get an absentee ballot.

If you don't care about the major party candidates, then it's the perfect chance to advocate and vote for a third party you might like.

Go vote, Downtown. The reasons you wouldn't are valid on their face, but still "I've voted in every election... except for that one where it didn't matter because yadda yadda *insertvalidreasonshere*" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

The best reason to do so!

We went over this before.
But anyway, again, my personal experience vis a vis voting:

• I have never registered to vote.
• I don't have a birth certificate.
• When an election is coming up i get a "voting card" in the mail. With this i can do one of three things:
  • Vote in person on election day. Which usually requires standing in line for no more than 2 minutes (rarely, usually it's way less).
  • Walk into city hall at any time city hall (i.e. the building at large) is open for like 2 months before the election and vote (quasi) in person. Standing in line for roughly 0 seconds.
  • Fill in date and place on the voting card and toss it into the nearest mail box (no postage), so i'll be sent mail voting stuff. This would typically arrive about a week later and consist of instructions, a ballot, funny colored envelopes, to-be-siged paper to the effect of "yes i'm actually voting myself" or "no i ain't because amputee".
    That too goes into the nearest mailbox without postage.
• Votes are cast by means of pen on paper.
• On a profoundly non-confusing ballot.
• Votes are counted and double counted and tripple checked by hand.
• There are pretty definite results by 10 on election night.
• Virtually no bs computers, bs punch cards, and bs manure are involved in the whole process.

Man, I'm jealous. Why can't we do this stuff?

yeah those look pretty solid. good argument for MO.

OK Antilogic, your turn

It's not that surprising South Iowa is copying Iowa's county-driven districts, but in a sloppy and worse fashion.

 

[Tahuti]

Too bad Boone isn't part of 3! It would have been Springtime for Hitler!

 

[illram]

Is there an objectively better local social policy or law that this upcoming election may determine? If there is you should vote for or against it, depending on the most beneficial outcome for the public, even if you won't be around to enjoy it.

 

[Cutlass]

No, I am saying the reason voter turnout is low is because people do not care enough about their country to actually be willing to be inconvenienced, so instead they whine and moan and want expanded voting. There is no reason why there should be expanded voting beyond election day and mail-in ballots for those that simply will not be in their locale to vote. No reason, that is, except to pander to people who care more about their personal convenience than their country.

For many it's not that they don't care, but rather that they don't think it makes a difference. Others, the act of voting itself can be a difficult thing to get through, for time or location reasons.

 

[downtown]

Decided not to do it. Don't regret it, even though my coworkers are shaming me.

 

[Harv]

You can still change your mind, right?

 

[downtown]

You can still change your mind, right?

Nope. Maryland doesn't have same day registration. I lost my chance a few weeks ago.

 

[Antilogic]

Too bad Boone isn't part of 3! It would have been Springtime for Hitler!

I wonder if that was a serious consideration on making the map.

Decided not to do it. Don't regret it, even though my coworkers are shaming me.

They aren't the only ones.