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Ask HN: Do you vote?

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Re: Ask HN: Do you vote?

#51
post #47

No. I've never voted, not once. I do not believe I live in a democracy, even though that's what we're calling it. I believe that by voting I'm validating a broken system. Who are all these people making calls about everything and setting rules, while knowing relatively little on the subject matter? I personally think a democracy would be every eligable person being able to contribute to the decision of (ie. voting on…

Honestly, if you don't have time to form an opinion for what each party (or at least main parties) stand for, then how will you have time to vote on each individual issue? According to this website: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/statistics there have been over 10 thousands things those people have input one per year. (sounds insane to me as well) You don't want to micromanage each little decision, and you ca…

You're right of course, I definitely do not want to do that. But I know I would vote individually on the issues that I care about.

For example, if everybody had a say, SOPA wouldn't have gotten as far as it did. I would have voted it out, as would everybody else. But instead we had to sign a petition once it was nearly through. We could all be pro-active about... well, everything! But instead, we're kept on our toes being reactive to it all. (opt in not out, people!!! This ideal should exist everywhere but instead it's nowhere to be found).

If everybody did that, I believe that each of us would have more of an effect on the country than electing somebody who is never going to agree 100% with my beliefs, but is the best fit. That's insane! There will always be compromise. In England, a party can promise to change x and y if you vote for them, but once they finally come to power they might go back on their promise. Okay, so what did I vote for then? Nothing. And there's no accountability. This system is thoroughly broken and I refuse to acknowledge it by 'playing along'. And the worst thing about this is that nobody seems to notice, or care that picking the best out of a bad bunch is how we should make our country work.

Vote Waldo.

Re: Ask HN: Do you vote?

#52
I have voted in most elections I have been eligible for. Many people say they don't think their vote matters, but we were just a few votes away from avoiding the whole Iraq war mess[0].

The times I feel I have had much more impact though is when I wrote letters to my elected officials. If you have an issue you really care about then write to your representatives in the weeks leading up to a vote. I have always gotten a reasonable response when I sent a personalized (not form letter) note, and in at least one case I think I really helped make a difference in how they voted.

[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_election_recount

Re: Ask HN: Do you vote?

#53

Yes, I usually vote and I've even run for public office before ( Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, 2008, as the Libertarian candidate. I wasn't elected). That said, I am somewhat ambivalent about voting and democracy. I think democracy is basically just a euphemism for "mob rule" and find that whatever systems you put in to try and prevent the "tyranny of the majority" never really work. And if you're on the los…

I agree. I'm libertarian with a lower case "l" and not too big on democracy. I don't want my town voting on the best way to do heart surgery for me. Why do I want the masses voting on other issues that are equally important. The U.S. is so divided right now, it seems like we could stop it all by returning to more local, or at least, state governments being in charge of most things. No need to enforce rules on a gigantic number of people who are all so different.

Re: Ask HN: Do you vote?

#54

I have voted in most elections I have been eligible for. Many people say they don't think their vote matters, but we were just a few votes away from avoiding the whole Iraq war mess[0]. The times I feel I have had much more impact though is when I wrote letters to my elected officials. If you have an issue you really care about then write to your representatives in the weeks leading up to a vote. I have always gotten…

Really? I have sent a number of letters to elected officials - I've only ever gotten what appears to a form letter back. Glad you've had a different experience.
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