Would you or will you, vote? If not, why not?

Flukey

Moderators: Not for Politics forum as aimed at people who might not go there. I am not a member of any party or pushing any agenda.


Some of you may be eligible to vote or will be in coming years. So will you use it? It is our democratic right. People who don't, give various reasons.

• I have no interest/It doesn't affect me.

Of course it affects you. If you live in this society decisions made by politicans impact on your everyday life You may not have an interest in listening to politicians, watching news or current affairs programmes etc., but what politicians do is very much of interest to you, because their decisions have all sorts of influences on your life.

• They are all the same.

This is not true. There are different parties out there with different views. Even within parties there are politicians with different views. Then of course there are the independents, who are not affiliated to any party. Looking carefully at the various parties and candidates you'll come to see that.

• None of them are of any use

This of course is not true either. Some are indeed hopeless and maybe in it to line their pockets etc.. but there are good ones too, who do look after their constituents. They have to do a certain amount to make people vote for them. If you think they are not any use you can look closer at them and find one that is better or if you can't you could stand yourself. That is your right too.

• My vote will make no difference.

Everyone's vote counts. It is your right and privilege to vote. Each vote cast is just one vote by an individual, like yours. Generally in elections only about 50% - 60% of people come out to vote. If much more people voted, a big difference could be made. Many who don't vote give out about the government and politicians generally, but do nothing about it. If they are not prepared to participate in the decision making process, can they really criticise? By voting they can make the difference, rather than just shouting from the sidelines.

A lot that do vote, just vote along party lines or along family lines. Because an individual has been an elected official for many years, it doesn't mean that the other members of their family will be good. A lot of people don't really think about who they are voting for, but just automatically vote a particular way. A lot of those that don't vote, were they to do so, might well think more carefully about who they vote for as they are coming from a sceptical perspective.

People can make a difference, but only if they vote. So if you think that politics is of no interest and it doesn't effect you, that politicians are all the same, that none of them are any use and that your vote will make no difference, think again and then use your vote wisely. What do you think?

Rabies

I'm 24 and don't vote. Have know real interest in it so don't bother.

dudara

I've voted in all referenda, however, I've never bothered to vote for a person. I've always spoiled it, as I believe it's my right to show I voted, but that I didn't want any of the above.

There should really be a "none of the above" option. You should have to right to show your disapproval as clearly as the right to show your approval.

D!ve^Bomb!

well i don't vote because at the moment i don't follow any political agenda's so i don't see the point in voting cos i won't have a clue what i'm voting for..

however if i could vote to bring car insurance down then i'd be there in a second!!!

angelofdeath

im too lazy

RobertFoster

I vote but I generally dont know who to vote for. I narrow it down to who I dislike the least - I start at 15 (or whatever the number of candidates there are) and work my way back to 1.

AngelofFire

Everyone should vote, its important to take part in the running of your country, of course anarchists, anarcho syndicalists, liberterian communists can be excused.

ferdi

AngelofFire wrote:

Everyone should vote.

for whom? none of the political parties represent my feelings or attitude in any way. why vote for someone you dont want to see in power?

Amz

Since I turned 18 I've voted in two referenda and the local/European elections. It is my constitutional right and I do have an interest in how the country I live in is run.

The people who sit on their arses and don't vote yet complain about their lot have, in my opinion, no right to complain as they made no effort to change things. Saying "they're all the same" or "my vote doesn't make a difference" is a total cop out and I've no respect for people with those attitudes.

If their right to vote was taken away from them they'd be some of the first ones to complain about it.

D!ve^Bomb!

i vote for the right not to vote and i also vote for the right to tell the people who do vote to shut the fúck up about people who don't vote... so there

nlgbbbblth

Flukey

You left out this one

- It's cool not to bother voting. Voting is for squares.............maaaan

Possibly the most inane reason for not voting.

radiospan

I won't vote. I did vote in the last thing we had (I can't even remember what it was for). I found that I was voting just for the novelty of it. I really didn't care that much about it either way.

"Vote or Die"

mike65

plazzTT wrote:

"Vote or Die"

Thats what they say in certain countries all the time...or is it "Vote and Die"?

Mike.

KdjaCL

Look at the choices on offer.

FF gangster or good thief
SF terrorist
Others not even worth mentioning.

I would spoil my vote or vote for green party or independant just so its not a wasted vote and its not a winning vote.
Therefore my conscience is clear.

kdjac

Peteee

I do vote, cos I think its horribly disrespectful fo all the people who died to give everyone the right to be ruled by whom they want to be ruled by.

When I do vote, I think of all the people who died in the two world wars protecting democracy, and all those who fought for independence

People who say they are too lazy to vote are ignorant a**holes

Just my 2c, take it or leave it. yes, it is a sweeping generalisation and I dont care

Nukem

22 and have never voted. I know the feelings people have about how people in the old days fought so we could vote but i think the politics in this country/world is a joke.And that is making a mockery of those people who fought for our right.
Alright not every politician is in it for his/her own sake but majority of them take advantage of the power they have and we/ye put them there.Sorry thats my view.Will vote for someone who inspires me and has a true cause for the nation/world not people who say "oh that party hasnt delivered on their propmise, vote us we will do it" - hah - been going on for years.

(cant belive im bitching about politics - sorry)

embee

I'm 24, and I've voted in every referendum and local, national and European election since I was eligible to do so. I've made a point to do it, because, as Amz said, I don't see how people who don't use their vote have a right to whinge and moan and complain about the way the country is run when they don't even let their voices count. My brother is 26, and never votes, which perplexes me, but he is one of the few people I know who doesn't whine and complain about the state of the country.

Amz

Why would anyone bother trying to represent you if there's a high possibility that not enough of you will get up off your asses and go out and vote for them?

NotMe

I don't vote. I'm not going to vote for X because my parents do or because I live in a certain area like a lot of people do. At the moment I don't think any of the main political parties are any "better" than the other ones. There's nothing I can do about that and voting isn't going to make a difference.

Stephen

I'm 22 and have voted in every election/referendum since I turned 18. Certainly a lot of the candidates are tosspots, but you're worse if you don't vote.

stagolee

i find elections depressing.
99% of candidates are just crooks in suits who smirk at you smugly as they live it up on the percentage of your pay that goes to tax.
when you find the one candidate that you think might be interested in making the country a better place to live in, you know that even if your vote gets them elected they will be powerless to do anything due to the deeply ingrained corruption in this country and the fact that the majority of politicians are out to line their pockets and wont let some upstart disturb the status quo.
that or your chosen candidate was just a better scammer than the rest, fooled you into giving your vote and is now lining up at the golden trough with the rest of the pigs

(sorry im in a cynical mood today, poxy f**king mondays )

alantc

I don't vote. Don't think I need to. I'm 20. Everything's going fine right now for me and I can't see any party particularly fukking anything up anytime soon (though I don't know much about politics).

Vote apathy number 1.

stagolee

there is something odd about asking people to vote in a poll entitled will you vote, if they vote no they've contradicted themselves by voting

skywalker

dudara wrote:

I've voted in all referenda, however, I've never bothered to vote for a person. I've always spoiled it, as I believe it's my right to show I voted, but that I didn't want any of the above.

There should really be a "none of the above" option. You should have to right to show your disapproval as clearly as the right to show your approval.

my mother rang up and asked about how this would be implemented in the new e-voting, and was told their was no need for an option to spoil you vote as no one ever does it intentionally :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Amz wrote:

The people who sit on their arses and don't vote yet complain about their lot have, in my opinion, no right to complain as they made no effort to change things.

hit. nail. head.

Blisterman

I'm gonna vote, but just for fun. I don't really care about politics.

Edit: Where DO I register to vote?

Beruthiel

Blisterman wrote:

Edit: Where DO I register to vote?

go to your local post office and ask for the form


I always vote
I cannot believe how many people couldn't be arsed - people have died in other countries trying to get this right

Blisterman

I mean a website or something. I live in England.

Flukey

Check here:

http://www.oasis.gov.ie/moving_country/moving_to_ireland/right_to_vote.html

jor el

In a democtatic society, the right to vote is very important as has been mentioned above. However, just as important but often forgotten or ignored, is the right not to vote.

When you go to the polling stations, you're given a list of the people in your area who are looking to be elected. What happens if they're all muppets? Who do you vote for?

You put in your choices 1, 2, 3, etc in order of preference, but I think you should be able to have a second preferential list of who you don't want to vote for. Then these negative votes could count against a persons positive vote count. This would show clearly to many useless polititions how bad they are.

But since it's elected officials who would change this policy, I don't think it will ever happen :mad:

I'd always vote in a referendum though, as you can give a clear yes/no answer, and not be forced to vote positively for something/someone you dissapprove of.

So overall, my answer is maybe. Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't. But I always exercise my right, whether it is to vote or not to vote.

As an aside, has anyone ever written Atari Jaguar on a voting slip to show dissapproval?

Mossy Monk

i make it my mission every time to help deal a blow to FF
sadly not everyone thinks the same way
imo anything can be better than them atm

SantaHoe

What about turning it into a Lotto draw... you're given a number of some sort when you've voted... I'm sure the chance to win 50 grand would sway some otherwise apathetic voters.
And once the mega-rich-tax-fiddlers start paying taxes, there's bound to be more cash floating around to fund this.
I think the lack of accountability for broken election promises makes people think "well why bother?" ... I mean they have laws against false advertising.

Kingsize

I do vote, cos I think its horribly disrespectful fo all the people who died to give everyone the right to be ruled by whom they want to be ruled by.

They also died for the right not to vote which is a basic democratic right.

I gave up voting a long time ago in my opinion its a mugs game & changes nothing.

Moriarty

I've used my vote in everything I was eligable for since turning 18. I don't pay particular attention to party politics and I had no idea who any of the local election candidates were in particular, so I voted by party as I have a rough idea of what they are for and against.

It was also a great opportunity to give everyone else a leg-up over the local shinners by placing them last in each of my votes, thereby marginally reducing their chances of getting in. Which was reason enough for voting in the local/european elections, what with the warm fuzzy feeling it left.

Moriarty

SantaHoe wrote:

What about turning it into a Lotto draw... you're given a number of some sort when you've voted... I'm sure the chance to win 50 grand would sway some otherwise apathetic voters.

Anyone who can't be arsed to vote without a cash incentive shouldn't be allowed vote in the first place. Their political opinions would be worse than useless.

skywalker

Kingsize wrote:

I do vote, cos I think its horribly disrespectful fo all the people who died to give everyone the right to be ruled by whom they want to be ruled by.

Kingsize wrote:

I gave up voting a long time ago in my opinion its a mugs game & changes nothing.

huh????????

steviec

I don't have a major problem with people not voting, I'd rather elections were decided by 40% of the population making informed decisions than have them being out-voted by an apathetic 60% who vote randomly, or even worse make protest votes for extremists. In an ideal world everyone would put proper thought into who to vote for but that's not going to happen in a successful society.

Yes, people risk their lives to vote in some countries, but that's when they are voting for a major cause. Whereas in Ireland, I know that whichever of the main parties get in power we'll be fairly safe in their hands, some are better than others but it's certainly not a matter of life and death.

pickarooney

I don't vote, because I don't have the right to here, and I don't know what any of the parties represent. I don't know if I could vote in Ireland, but wouldn't anyway as I don't live there.

But I don't whinge about the way the country is run, so that makes it OK, no?

[edit]actually, I do have the right to vote in the waterschapsverkiezingen but am afraid to vote for the wrong candidate and be responsible for the country drowning.[/edit]

SantaHoe

Moriarty wrote:

Anyone who can't be arsed to vote without a cash incentive shouldn't be allowed vote in the first place. Their political opinions would be worse than useless.

Well Flukeys original post suggested (at least in my mind) that there's no excuse for someone not voting and that everyone should vote no matter how stupid/lazy/uninformed they are... this would be one way to achieve it.
Whether or not this is a good idea or not is another question
It's no worse than the vote-for-the-sake-of-voting brigade, or the "well, I've always voted for X party" type... I think this energy would be better spent educating existing uninformed voters than trying to rally a bunch of new ones.

billy the squid

I have voted in every referendum, local, general, and european election since a turned 18. why, because it is my one opportunity to make a statement to the powers that be on how i feel about their policies.

Blisterman

Thats a good point. If I don't care about who I'm voting for, why bother. It could ruin things for other people. It's like entering a contest, where you don't want the prize.

ferdi

Amz wrote:

The people who sit on their arses and don't vote yet complain about their lot have, in my opinion, no right to complain as they made no effort to change things. Saying "they're all the same" or "my vote doesn't make a difference" is a total cop out and I've no respect for people with those attitudes.

my point from earlier still stands:

ferdi wrote:

for whom? none of the political parties represent my feelings or attitude in any way. why vote for someone you dont want to see in power?

Kingsize

so people who refuse to go to war deserve to go to prison then???
i dont vote i thought long and hard about it its not a cop out its a stance
Coke or pepsi? its all the same ,give me water anyday.
Parliamentary democracy is more dangerous than a dictatorship
dangerous because it gives greedy men an excuse to speak of their "democratic Mandate".


51% of the votes out of 49% the electorate is not a majority.

Kingsize

"I do vote, cos I think its horribly disrespectful fo all the people who died to give everyone the right to be ruled by whom they want to be ruled by."

it was actually said by someone else my original post was a reply to this apologies for any confusion i didnt include Quotemarks

dudara

We're all Irish citizens and being a citizen carries some responsibility. If we want to claim our nationality and the protection of our country when and if we want it, then we also have to perform our duties to the country. These aren't popular duties but they have to be done. (Taxes and voting, for example).

Having a vote is somehow not a right but a duty, that is, if you want to call yourself an Irish citizen.

Kingsize

i dont agree,The voters in the dail have a right to abstain & use it regularly.
its a democratic right not to be forced to vote.

A.S.H.

The idea that sitting on your ass and not voting is a stance is one of the silliest out there. What you have to do is go and spoil your vote. Now some will say that what is the point of voting if i'm going to spoil it but the fact is that it shows that you care enough to do something. if the 50 odd% who don't vote got up and went and spoiled their vote it would send a message. I don't believe voting should be a right it should be a law and if you don't like the people show that you don't.

my 1.5c

BolBill

Everyone should vote, just not for that blubbering idiot with his "A lot done, more to do" f-ing bulls*it.

Vote anyone but FF

SirIrish

I'm 33 and have never voted. Say what you will but it I have as much a right not to vote as I have to vote. I don't see the point in voting and before anything is said no I don't complain. I make my own choices and live with whatever the results.
However I will not say that I will never vote. Someday I might be tempted to vote for a politican or a party if they are held liable for their promises. ie you say your going to do something if your voted in . You get voted in and don't do it. You get your head blown off. Hmmm an honest politican.