Do you vote?

I really don't like to vote - but I do it. I generally will not vote if the election is local only. I have no clue what's going on in local politics and I barely care. State and National seem more interesting to me. The process of going down to vote is irritating and I generally feel like it was a waste of time after I do it.

Yup, I vote anywhere I can.
Do you know voting is the most important right in this country?

Provincial elections, not state. But yes.

I didn't used to as it felt like I was giving approval to something I disagree with. But there's often a third party candidate.

I've only voted in the school elections so far. But, no I'm not currently registered.

I know nothing about local politics where I live but I do vote for everything else.

i'm usually too lame to figure out the local elections. i do vote in the nationals

I've never voted and never will!

Yes, every chance I get, even in the city council elections last year when there wasn't even a mayoral election. Even in the city council PRIMARY! *** Tom Tomorrow, nom de plume (I assume) of whoever writes and draws "This Modern World," took on the notion that "I don't vote because I don't want to just choose between the lesser of two evils." He advises his readership to grow up; that, in his experience, most of adult life is choosing between the lesser of two evils: "I don't know whether to live with this painful toothache or get a root canal." "I don't know whether to pay this tax bill or go to federal prison."

I am 25 and have only voted once.

I don't vote in local elections 'cause local politics is incredibly corrupt. There are no good options, ever. ***Milktree: the problem with your argument is that you can't just vote someone OUT of office, you also have to vote someone IN to replace them. Sometimes there are no good options! I think it's someone's right if they don't want to vote for the lesser of two evils. ***steve: give me a break. The choices are usually WAY less cut and dried than the examples you've given. It's more like choosing between living with a painful toothache in this tooth vs the other. ***Milktree: I have never bought the "if you're not a part of the solution, you're a part of the problem" bit. There are too many problems in this world for each individual to work on all of them. You say anyone who is dissatisfied with the choices should stop complaining and run for office themselves...are you honestly saying that you never complain about any problems at all, then, without rushing out and personally devoting your entire life to fixing it? Also, you are making the basic assumption that things CAN get better. Some people (maybe Jaime included), do not believe that they can. I have also never bought the "as a citizen, it's your duty to vote" idea. It seems to me that this idea is pushed through commercials and to young people without ever including the accompanying responsibility -- it's your duty to make an informed choice, not to vote per se. That informed choice can include not voting.

I do not want to be attacked for being a horrible person, but I have never voted in any local or state elections and meant to vote once in a national election only I didn't realize how early I would have to get my absentee ballot.

Sometimes I vote, sometimes not. I'm not fanatical about it and often I dislike all of the candidates equally so it doesn't much bother me not to get my 2 cents worth in. It's a pain to vote when you have to use an absentee ballot anyhow. It's also rather hard to keep up with local and sometimes state candidates when you're not there. Voting when you have almost no clue of who the candidates are is pretty pointless. I guess I could do like I do with horse races... "Oh, that one has a pretty name..." Or not.

None of the Survey Central women vote in local elections? (as of April 14 at 8:00 pm) That's an interesting contrast to the national elections, where a higher percentage of voters are women. *** Jamie, do you seriously think that your vote does nothing to effect the behavior of the elected official? Seriously, why do you think George Bush was voted out of office? Why do you think Clinton got a second term? If doing exactly what they want is contrary to the wishes of the voters, they vote him/her out of office. If Politicians do exactly what they want, we damn well better vote one into office that wants to do what we want him/her to do. If you don't vote, really have absolutely NO right to complain about how the country is being run. *** You don't have to vote someone into office to make your displeasure known. If someone gets re-elected because he's the lesser of two evils, but he was only a little bit ahead of a toaster, that is very different than a total yard-ape having a landslide victory because the other person was actually a sociopath. If you don't like the candidates, run yourself, or find someone who you do like. Simply not voting means that you have no say whatsoever in who gets elected, and therefore, who runs the country. If you don't like any of the options, and you don't want to vote for Micky Mouse, then don't fill in the ballot, leave it blank. It is your responsibility as a citizen to vote as part of the democratic process. I hear people complain that they don't like the people running the country, and they don't like the laws, but then they don't vote because a decent solution wasn't handed to them. As a citizen you are part of the process, it is not "their" responsibility to give you choices, it is your responsibility to make choices. When you're a child the adults give you a small set of reasonable safe options, when you're the adult, you have to find the least bad of the current options, or find a way to make new options.*** I'm not suggesting that you have a responsibility to vote in all elections and on all issues no matter what, or that all problems are yours to fix. I am suggesting, however, that because we live in a democratic republic (we don't generally vote on issues, for the most part we vote for people to vote on issues) it is part of the social contract to participate in the workings of government. For some this means running for congress, for others it means voting. You can pick your level of participation, but don't for a minute fool yourself into thinking that the government has any responsibility to please anyone who doesn't care enough to participate. A representative government relies on the participation of the governed to function. It is only with the participation of the governed that democracy makes any sense at all. The fact is that most people who are reading this live in some state that has some sort of representative rule and therefore have an obligation to keep that representation an active part of the process. Of course I complain about the way things are run, but I also vote. I don't complain about issues I didn't vote on. (this isn't strictly true, I also complain about issues I couldn't vote on) There are issues I care about and ones I don't. If it's an important issue to me I try to convince people when I talk to them, if it's not, I just vote the way I feel, if I'm strongly ambivalent or if I feel uninformed, I will leave the ballot blank, because an "abstain" vote shows up in the statistics. Yes, I am assuming that things CAN get better. If they couldn't get better, why would you complain? I do believe that as a citizen it's your duty to vote. We have the most representative government in the world, we have the most freedoms, and with them comes the most responsibility, and we still have embarasingly low voter turnout. People fail to vote because of the weather, the TV lineup, because they forget, because they can't be bothered, and a whole host of weak reasons. You, as a citizen, have the power to effect the course of the country, take it! If I complained that it was cold in my house, but the window was open, you'd tell me I was a lazy fudge because I didn't go over and try to close the window. I'm not going to make it warm out by closing the window, and I might not even make the house any warmer depending on other aspects of the house, but it might make all the difference in the world. yes, you're right, voting without having any clue about the issues is perhaps counterproductive, but I don't think it's all that unreasonable to make a little effort to know what the issues are, and pick the ones that interest you. If you believe everything is perfect, then don't vote. If you see problems, then try to change them. *** Jamie: Fair enough, but there are way more laws than I can think about, which is why I have elected officials to do it for me. Also, the laws are interpreted by people who are appointed by the people we elect, or by the people we elect themselves. The world is way too complicated to have that level of control over everything. Tax law alone requires CPA's and H&R Block, I can't imagine trying to run the country on an issue by issue basis. I believe the world is too complicated a place to be run as a pure democracy, we have to rely on representation.

i am NOT gonna read milktree's entry. :)

Guilty as charged... I've never voted.

No...t yet! registration in process

I mostly only vote in local elections if they're staged at the same time as state and/or national elections. That's probably lame, but I grew up in a town with no elected officials and it wasn't something I thought about much.

National & state, yes. Local, no. Now that I have settled in a town (i've never lived in the same town for more than a year straight since turning 18), I might try to vote locally, but so far, after being here a year and a half, i know nothing about any of the local politicians or the decisions they have made...

Well, prepared for a radical thought? So... I don't vote for a good reason : Politicians do finally what they want, no matter the promises done. So, I don't want to give my permission for that. Remember, in democracy, if you vote, you accept the majority opinion whatever is your vote, and you must accept the results since the next elections. If we have in the future a better system, as voting on laws and not on people, I will want to vote. In any case, I'm sure not many people think as me, so don't worry, democracy is not in danger... and finally, to avoid some free comments, remember that I have the right to not vote, it's a valid option... *** Milktree : Yes, sure, all that stuff it's very nice, but to left blank the vote doesn't express my disagreement with today's democracy. If you want to read again my first comment, I want to vote on laws, not on people I don't know... laws are texts I can read and understand, so I can agree or not.

I vote every four years, but I vote in all offices which are up for election. I would vote in state and local elections, if I were more aware of the candidates and what to expect from them, but I usually don't take the time to do so.

...when I don't forget to register. (Sigh.)

I'd like to vote in state elections, but I find it a lot harder to educate myself about who's running.

I've voted every time I have been eligible. It's a pain in the neck (you can only vote for a couple of days, and the consulate is only open inconvenient hours) but I consider voting a responsibility of every adult. (And I do believe if you do not vote for N consecutive years, you should lose the right to.)

For elections back home... see lelles response : ) I cannot vote in the US

I am not sufficiently informed to vote intelligently. Better to leave it to people who care enough to do the research.

I vote, write my representatives and even attend town meetings. Too many important things go on with few people caring about them.

My country's elections are sideshows.

I believe voting is everyone's responsibility. we are given the opportunity/privilige, we should use it.

Also in primary elections. I sometimes change parties to vote in the most contested race regardless of party.

vote early, vote often

How about a catagory for those of us who are socially responsible and vote in every election!!!! Voting is not a privilage it is right that many of us in the U.S. take for granted. True, while many of our voter pamphlets could take a liking to a"poll" freindly approach to voting, we still need to get out there and voice our beliefs, opinions and demand action. For crying out loud, what are we doing right here at this very site???? BRING BACK THE DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY PEOPLE!!!

I really think the voting age should be lowered to 16 or 17. People of these ages have to live with the decisions made by the elected candidates, so I think it's a fair idea. Under 16 may be a little too young though.

If you do not then you deserve what you get.

I second everything Milktree says and wish I could add more, but he
seems to have said it all.
GJW7

I tend to stick to bigger elections, which is kind of stupid because my vote is probably more impacting in the local elections. I've been to a town meeting, where we did voice votes. Horray for a loud voice!

Yes, I have been given the right and I exercise it. Besides I love giving my opinion.

Some times..depends on who is running.

I always, always vote.

Having been elected on to the local Council I found it was the weirdest thing finding your own name on the ballot paper. The second weirdest thing is seeing the votes being counted and thinking "I wonder who that was who voted for me - and why?!"

Haven't missed a single election since I was 18.

I cannot vote...I am not a US citizen

I wanted to ask "Well, can't you vote absentee in British elections?" Then I thought "But if she doesn't have an address in England, what district would she vote in?" Then I thought that when an American citizen has no US address, they don't vote in state or local elections, but they can still vote in national elections. And then (and here's where it got interesting to me) it occurred to me that you might not even HAVE national elections in Britain, because of that whole parliamentary thing. Is that true? Is there no one that has to campaign nationally in order to win their seat?

Even if they do hold elections in Britain and even If I was eligible to vote in them...I have absolutely no interest in
doing so....I have lived in the US since I was 8...I completed my schooling here....I work here...pay taxes here and I
am legally allowed to live and work here 'til I croak....and I do plan on becoming a US citizen sometime in the
future..then I'll be in the voting booth regularly.

Yes, in international (EU), national, and local elections.