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To vote, or not to vote: That is the question

Are you going to vote?

  • No

    Votes: 4 12.5%

  • I like the selection available, so yes

    Votes: 10 31.3%

  • I dislike the selection available, but I will vote for my party

    Votes: 11 34.4%

  • Unsure

    Votes: 7 21.9%
  • Total voters
    32
Gathomas88

Gathomas88

Banned
DP Veteran
Joined
Feb 4, 2013
Messages
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Location
Charleston, South Carolina
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Very Conservative
I'm seriously considering not voting in this upcoming election. The Republican candidate leaves much to be desired (to say the least) and the Democratic candidate is the worst in decades (which is saying something). Voting for a third party would be "throwing my vote away," and I don't particularly support Gary Johnson's ideology anyway, so I really fail to see the point in putting out the energy to go in that direction either.

I really don't see much in the way of other recourse here, but to simply abstain.

Don't get me wrong. I live in a pretty heavily Red State to begin with, so I doubt it'll make that much of a difference. However, it would feel like doing to something to protest what's happening right now, which is better than nothing.

We'll just have to wait and see whether I change my mind before the actual election arrives.

Anyone else feel the same way?
 
Voting third party isn't throwing your vote away because at least you will be counted in the popular vote. Yes, either Trump or Hillary is going to be the next President. But whichever one of them it is I sure as hell don't want them to think they have a "mandate". The smaller percentage of the popular vote they have the more on ice they will feel they are. I want him or her to wake up every morning in the White House knowing that they didn't get the majority of the votes. And voting third party plays a very small, but tangible, role in doing that. If you stay home instead of voting 3rd party that helps the winner's popular vote numbers.
 
The Conservative Party and Constitution Party are probably fielding candidates this year - find out if they are, and vote for whichever one fits your preferences best. If they aren't on the ballot, write them in.

Remember, abstaining doesn't show your vote in the end count for "neither of those ****ers."
 
In a way, not voting signifies discontent with the political system. When i think how 90% used to turn out to vote even before many had cars, and now it's what 55%? That tells me the entire thing needs to be overhauled

Still, i will likely vote either 3rd party or write in, which i commonly do for the 'lesser' offices where the names on the ballot i've never heard of. For example i may write in "donald duck" for county treasurer because i hate both parties and would rather have a cartoon character (vacancy) with how terribly things are run

I usually take the presidency/congress more seriously so i may write in a real person who *wants* the job and who i trust vastly more than the Bush/Clinton dynasties or any of the psychotics from this year's republican crew. Hell i'd rather vote for my roommate than those jerk offs
 
Yes, but I don't have a party and I don't like the selection.

Clinton has my vote.
 
Van Basten said:
Yes, but I don't have a party and I don't like the selection.

Clinton has my vote.
Click to expand...

if Ohio wasn't a toss up state I'd vote Johnson but since Hillary is even more loathsome than Trump I choose the bad hair day over the Clinton Crime Family
 
Gathomas88 said:
I'm seriously considering not voting in this upcoming election. The Republican candidate leaves much to be desired (to say the least) and the Democratic candidate is the worst in decades (which is saying something). Voting for a third party would be "throwing my vote away," and I don't particularly support Gary Johnson's ideology anyway, so I really fail to see the point in putting out the energy to go in that direction either.

I really don't see much in the way of other recourse here, but to simply abstain.

Don't get me wrong. I live in a pretty heavily Red State to begin with, so I doubt it'll make that much of a difference. However, it would feel like doing to something to protest what's happening right now, which is better than nothing.

We'll just have to wait and see whether I change my mind before the actual election arrives.

Anyone else feel the same way?
Click to expand...

Vote, there is more at stake than just the Whitehouse, which is decided on by the EC not the individual voters. The Senate and House have important races at stake, Vote.
 
Casper said:
Vote, there is more at stake than just the Whitehouse, which is decided on by the EC not the individual voters. The Senate and House have important races at stake, Vote.
Click to expand...

yep, if the GOP holds the senate, that will curtail most of the idiocy I expect from Cankles. and I would expect they might keep a leash on TBHD as well
 
Gathomas88 said:
I'm seriously considering not voting in this upcoming election. The Republican candidate leaves much to be desired (to say the least) and the Democratic candidate is the worst in decades (which is saying something). Voting for a third party would be "throwing my vote away," and I don't particularly support Gary Johnson's ideology anyway, so I really fail to see the point in putting out the energy to go in that direction either.

I really don't see much in the way of other recourse here, but to simply abstain.

Anyone else feel the same way?
Click to expand...

I dislike both Clinton and Trump. Voting for someone else is not throwing your vote away. By not voting you ARE throwing your vote away. It will be a means of expressing your disgust with these two contenders.

If allowable why not write in your pet's name? That is a form of protest. Or write in "None of the above."
 
chromium said:
In a way, not voting signifies discontent with the political system. When i think how 90% used to turn out to vote even before many had cars, and now it's what 55%? That tells me the entire thing needs to be overhauled
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly. Not voting, if it results in lower voter turn-out, sends a message all by itself.

Will the establishment actually care? Of course not. However, they're not going to care if I vote for a third party candidate, who's only going to lose, either. It's a wash in any eventuality. :shrug:
 
Gathomas88 said:
I'm seriously considering not voting in this upcoming election. The Republican candidate leaves much to be desired (to say the least) and the Democratic candidate is the worst in decades (which is saying something).
Click to expand...

That should be enough for you to vote your party. But I do feel similarly...
 
Gathomas88 said:
My thoughts exactly. Not voting, if it results in lower voter turn-out, sends a message all by itself.

Will the establishment actually care? Of course not. However, they're not going to care if I vote for a third party candidate, who's only going to lose, either. It's a wash in any eventuality. :shrug:
Click to expand...

If it got down to 20% turnout the presidency will be viewed with absolutely 0 respect worldwide, and so then the oligarchs might care because we're talking loss of power. They will probably attempt what obama suggested, which is "mandatory voting." That however may lead to riots, especially if they don't first offer a carrot such as *longer* voting periods or electronic voting. They probably won't though because more workers voting is quite unpatriotically a partisan issue (fewer republicans elected)
 
I can't wait to vote Trump in my swing state with all my friends!! IDK who is conducting the polls but their are TRUMP signs EVERYWHERE!! Some monster ones..
 
Glowpun said:
I dislike both Clinton and Trump. Voting for someone else is not throwing your vote away. By not voting you ARE throwing your vote away. It will be a means of expressing your disgust with these two contenders.

If allowable why not write in your pet's name? That is a form of protest. Or write in "None of the above."
Click to expand...

Those get thrown out, unless someone with your pet's name just happened to file all the necessary paperwork to run for office.
 
Gathomas88 said:
I'm seriously considering not voting in this upcoming election. The Republican candidate leaves much to be desired (to say the least) and the Democratic candidate is the worst in decades (which is saying something). Voting for a third party would be "throwing my vote away," and I don't particularly support Gary Johnson's ideology anyway, so I really fail to see the point in putting out the energy to go in that direction either.

I really don't see much in the way of other recourse here, but to simply abstain.

Don't get me wrong. I live in a pretty heavily Red State to begin with, so I doubt it'll make that much of a difference. However, it would feel like doing to something to protest what's happening right now, which is better than nothing.

We'll just have to wait and see whether I change my mind before the actual election arrives.

Anyone else feel the same way?
Click to expand...

Couldn't vote because you made the poll wording incredibly narrow. I don't like the selection, I will not be blindly voting for my own party because I don't have one, I'll be voting for the best 3rd party candidate.
 
Jesse Booth said:
Those get thrown out, unless someone with your pet's name just happened to file all the necessary paperwork to run for office.
Click to expand...

Do you have any proof of this? If they get thrown out then they are violating the Constitution. There is NOTHING stating that you cannot vote for someone not even on the ballot. There IS a mandate to allow every citizen to vote. And a vote, regardless if its for someone on the ballot or not, is still a vote.
 
Kal'Stang said:
Do you have any proof of this? If they get thrown out then they are violating the Constitution. There is NOTHING stating that you cannot vote for someone not even on the ballot. There IS a mandate to allow every citizen to vote.
Click to expand...

I couldn't say who I heard it from, but I'm pretty sure it was somewhere on here. No link when they said it, I'll see if I can find anything on it tomorrow.
 
Gathomas88 said:
Voting for a third party would be "throwing my vote away,"
Click to expand...

Oh dear god!!!! :roll:

Dumbest thing ever.
You think voting third party is "throwing your vote away", yet you think NOT voting is a viable option????

Here's a novel, and rather AMERICAN idea:

Vote for the person you think would be the best at running the country for the next 4 years.
Forget what party they belong to. Just vote for the one you think would be best. Period.
If you do that, your conscience can rest easy.

Forget all this nonsensical feces that the only important vote is a vote for somebody that might actually be able to win. That's clap-trap nonsense and not at all
in the spirit of what our founding fathers wanted for this country.

Find the candidate that represents the largest amount of your views and ideologies, and vote for THAT person. Don't vote for parties. Vote for the person.

The ONLY time a vote is "wasted", is when it's cast for somebody you DON'T like.
 
Anyone who votes for a candidate they do not think will do at least a good job is a pathetic voter, IMO.

They also have no one to blame but themselves if their candidate gets into power and then sucks at the job.

Crap in....crap out.
 
Kal'Stang said:
Do you have any proof of this? If they get thrown out then they are violating the Constitution. There is NOTHING stating that you cannot vote for someone not even on the ballot. There IS a mandate to allow every citizen to vote. And a vote, regardless if its for someone on the ballot or not, is still a vote.
Click to expand...

he is talking about this:

Thirty-five states require that a write-in candidate must submit some form of affidavit and, sometimes, a filing fee at least one month before the election. In North Carolina, these candidates must circulate a petition. Then their names are posted on a list at the polling place, though not on the official ballot. All other write-in votes are tossed.
Click to expand...
Did you know that the Presidency could be won by a write in candidate?
 
Gathomas88 said:
I'm seriously considering not voting in this upcoming election. The Republican candidate leaves much to be desired (to say the least) and the Democratic candidate is the worst in decades (which is saying something). Voting for a third party would be "throwing my vote away," and I don't particularly support Gary Johnson's ideology anyway, so I really fail to see the point in putting out the energy to go in that direction either.

I really don't see much in the way of other recourse here, but to simply abstain.

Don't get me wrong. I live in a pretty heavily Red State to begin with, so I doubt it'll make that much of a difference. However, it would feel like doing to something to protest what's happening right now, which is better than nothing.

We'll just have to wait and see whether I change my mind before the actual election arrives.

Anyone else feel the same way?
Click to expand...

If you want to protest, vote Green! :mrgreen:
 
Gathomas88 said:
Voting for a third party would be "throwing my vote away,"
Click to expand...
That’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. Nobody votes for third parties because third parties never win because nobody votes for them…

It’s clear that no third party candidate can win the Presidency this election (and frankly I’m not convinced any of them would do a better job anyway) but the state of the two main candidates means this election is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate to people that they don’t just have to choose Democrat or Republican regardless of who is but up by those two parties. If significantly more Americans actively choose to vote for third party candidates this time around, it will attract attention. More people might start to consider it as a viable option and more (hopefully better) candidates will consider putting themselves forwards.

The one thing the US electoral system needs is the binary two-party system breaking down and you have the chance here to play a role (however small) in achieving that.
 
OP,

You offered too few choices in the poll.
None of those technically apply to my situation.

Yes, I will vote.
No, I don't have a Party, and I never have pledged allegiance to any one political Party.
I do not like the choices for President this time around.
Truly the worst two choices offered up in modern history they are.

That said,
I am voting against Hillary Clinton.
She's just too dishonest, crooked, and lousy to ever allow back into the White House.

I'll hold my nose and cast a vote for Trump, if only to stop Hillary.
:(
 
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