Should I be ashamed?

saracelica

saracelica

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saracelica
Registered voter. Didn't vote this time around... Just couldn't. Sure there was other topics and issues but I don't pay the property taxes so I didn't want to be the one to change the verdict.... The issues turned out to be landslides. The president well... I dunno. Talked to my mom and she was amazed I didn't. She cut the rest of the call off and said she just couldn't believe it. What say y'all?
 
I didn't vote and not ashamed at all. Couldn't stand either one and with either one, their affect on my life 4 yrs from now would be marginal at best.
 
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IMHO, your vote and your right to do with it as you please.
 
Every citizen has the right to vote, but you also have the right not to vote! A lady I work with registered and voted for the first time in her life, she's in her late 40's. Our local elections are more important to me than the national ones, so I try to vote every election. We have early voting which helps a lot!
 
saracelica said:
Registered voter. Didn't vote this time around... Just couldn't. Sure there was other topics and issues but I don't pay the property taxes so I didn't want to be the one to change the verdict.... The issues turned out to be landslides. The president well... I dunno. Talked to my mom and she was amazed I didn't. She cut the rest of the call off and said she just couldn't believe it. What say y'all?
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Many people have suffered greatly to give us, and maintain, the right to vote. It's an insult to their memory to not exercise the franchise. There is ALWAYS a "best" choice.
 
paflyer said:
Many people have suffered greatly to give us, and maintain, the right to vote. It's an insult to their memory to not exercise the franchise. There is ALWAYS a "best" choice.
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No. Forced voting is not freedom. Jury duty is required. Voting is not.

It may disappoint a lot of people, but not voting is a first amendment right.

The insult is to attribute a violation of the Constitution to those who swore to protect and defend it.
 
I've voted only once in my life. I am ashamed that I voted that year (2004) and wish I could have my vote back. that's the only shame I feel about voting
 
I agree that you should have voted. You could have been like our Governor and wrote in somebody like Mickey Mouse for President (he actually wrote in John McCain) and voted the rest of the ballot.

Your choice but I've voted in every election where I've been eligible to vote.

Cheers
 
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MAKG1 said:
No. Forced voting is not freedom. Jury duty is required. Voting is not.

It may disappoint a lot of people, but not voting is a first amendment right.

The insult is to attribute a violation of the Constitution to those who swore to protect and defend it.
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Where did I say it should be forced?
 
Not voting is a vote too. It seems this concept is lost in the news media today. By abstaining from voting, it illustrates your frustration with your own party and allows the opposition the ability to get more votes.
 
paflyer said:
Where did I say it should be forced?
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You are forcing it. Or rather trying to.

Voting is not a duty. It is a right. If one wishes not to exercise that right, that's part of what freedom means.

The Constitution guarantees a secret ballot. That ballot can be empty or absent, and it's not your business unless it's yours or is fraudulent somehow.
 
Ashamed? No. That said, nothing requires that all sections of a ballot must be marked. I have always found something on a ballot worth my time, particularly anything to do with taxes, fees, propositions, or amendments to the state constitution. I almost always vote not to retain judges since that system is such a racket. As for the windbag of the moment it's difficult to chose when most of the options are bad.
 
NJP_MAN said:
I've voted only once in my life. I am ashamed that I voted that year (2004) and wish I could have my vote back. that's the only shame I feel about voting
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Relax. It probably made zero difference.
 
LDJones said:
The only downside to not voting is you give up your right to bellyache about the results.
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First you tell someone their vote is unimportant then you come back with this?
 
I suppose I could tell you if I am ashamed of you or not. Only you know if you are ashamed or not. If you feel maybe you are, then vote next time. I am not ashamed of you by the way. I do wish everyone would vote. The right to do it is at the very foundation of what this country is about.
 
The OP is in good company.....Colin Kaepernick didn't vote either.
 
There may not be anybody you want to vote for, but you can usually find somebody you want to vote against.
 
My vote didn't count.

Literally, my state selected the candidate I didn't vote for. He won anyway but my vote didn't count for his win.

But if you want to hear a mandatory voting horror story, a friend of mine who Irish decided to move to Australia for several years, and even became a citizen. He decided to return to Ireland but they confiscated his passport at the gate and informed him that he owed roughly $15K AUD in fines because he never voted.

It turns out the government sent fine notices to his mother in Ireland for the last ten years, which was his address of record, and his mom never bothered to tell him. When he called to ask if she received the noticed, and why she didn't inform him, the answer was "you should have called your mom."

He was stuck with no passport and an expired visa, which meant he could neither leave the country or work. He ended up having to pay them through some sort of loan arrangement.
 
An individual vote is statistically insignificant in almost any race above township dog catcher. To think otherwise is to not be paying attention.

To affect an election, one has to convince very large numbers of other people to vote your way. Even if you have the money and the energy to do that, there is still no point in your bothering to vote.
 
airdale said:
To affect an election, one has to convince very large numbers of other people to vote your way.
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Very large numbers made up of individual votes.

I was eligible to vote in the 2008 election and the 2012 election. I didn't vote in either (or even local elections). I will be sure to vote in every election I'm eligible to participate in from here on out.
 
airdale said:
An individual vote is statistically insignificant in almost any race above township dog catcher. To think otherwise is to not be paying attention.

To affect an election, one has to convince very large numbers of other people to vote your way. Even if you have the money and the energy to do that, there is still no point in your bothering to vote.
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I get the point. My point is that in the instance I cited my vote didn't count at all, versus providing a statistically insignificant contribution.
 
saracelica said:
Registered voter. Didn't vote this time around... Just couldn't. Sure there was other topics and issues but I don't pay the property taxes so I didn't want to be the one to change the verdict.... The issues turned out to be landslides. The president well... I dunno. Talked to my mom and she was amazed I didn't. She cut the rest of the call off and said she just couldn't believe it. What say y'all?
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It's your right to vote, or not to vote.

But IMO you don't get to have/voice any opinion on politics if you didn't vote.
 
MauleSkinner said:
Fortunately the Constitution wasn't written based on your opinion.
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But it was written, and fought for, by people who would damn sure make their "opinions"' known.

The meek didn't have much to do with making this great nation, saying "what difference could I make" is pathetic, always do what you can, always fight the good fight.
 
There ya go...you can still make your "opinions" known even if you don't vote, thanks to the people who fought to ensure that right.
 
MauleSkinner said:
There ya go...you can still make your "opinions" known even if you don't vote, thanks to the people who fought to ensure that right.
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Correct, you can, you can also dress up like a 4 star general and walk around even if you never served, or even left your moms basement, however it's still pathetic and ill advised.

Point is, the words of men on the topic of politics and this nation ring hollow when one couldn't even pick up a pen to vote.


And what a insult to all those who fought to make this country when someone doesn't even vote! What do you think the founding fathers would say.
 
James331 said:
It's your right to vote, or not to vote.

But IMO you don't get to have/voice any opinion on politics if you didn't vote.
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That phrase has been around since I was in grade school. It didn't make any more sense then than it does now, and this election was the perfect example. So many people disliked both candidates. If you disliked them both equally... Even if you didn't, voting for someone you don't like and disagree with goes against the grain for many.

Just for fun, this also seems like a good thread to talk about the Electoral College. Sac's vote didn't count at all. Not one iota, and it never had a chance. He knew when he woke up Tuesday morning that it wouldn't matter if he went to the polls. He lives in a state where the vast majority voted for Candidate A. He voted for Candidate B. ALL of the (electoral) votes in his state went to Candidate A. It doesn't seem fair that his vote doesn't count at all, while his twin brother who lives in a state where Candidates A and B are closely contested...his vote matters.
 
There are usually local races, ballot propositions, and judgeships that will sometimes matter.

In local races, the winners sometimes only have 800-1000 votes.
Makes your vote more valuable.

Get informed, get involved , learn issues, learn to vote. It matters.
 
I'm almost 30 and have never voted for president. Theres just never been a candidate that i've felt would remotely represent me. I could do a protest vote #SMOD2016 but to me not voting is just me saying as strongly as I can "I support none of you" and reserving the right to say if these are your candidates then you've made your bed now lie in it.
 
James331 said:
Correct, you can, you can also dress up like a 4 star general and walk around even if you never served, or even left your moms basement, however it's still pathetic and ill advised.

Point is, the words of men on the topic of politics and this nation ring hollow when one couldn't even pick up a pen to vote.


And what a insult to all those who fought to make this country when someone doesn't even vote! What do you think the founding fathers would say.
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I don't believe dressing up like a 4 star general is legal if you aren't one, so probably not a valid comparison.

If voting in a general election was the only thing a citizen of this country could do to try to make an impact on the welfare of the country, THAT would be an insult to those who fought to make this country. What do you think hint the founding fathers would say about that?
 
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