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Remind HN: Vote

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Re: Remind HN: Vote

#111

Post by jswinghammer »

cabalamat wrote: post #93
jswinghammer wrote: post #72

I won't be voting. I am a libertarian so my vote doesn't matter anyway. Plus I feel that not voting sends a stronger signal about how I feel about our system of government. If more people don't vote it will be harder for them to pretend they have a mandate to raise taxes, give money to the banks, and start wars. The government is long beyond saving. If you vote you take some responsibility for the next war, the next…

> If more people don't vote it will be harder for them to pretend they have a mandate to raise taxes, give money to the banks, and start wars. No it won't, they'll just say people who didn't vote were apathetic.

I'm hoping that if enough people refuse to pay attention they'll just go away on their own.

Re: Remind HN: Vote

#112

Post by mkr-hn »

jasonlotito wrote: post #105
mkr-hn wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not making that assumption. I think most people are fine with the system. The only thing we're lacking in is voter education (both fundamentally and on issues). Fix that, and the system works perfectly. The populace is so poorly educated that researching candidates and issues is an enormous strain on them, and most people can't make themselves do it. Asking someone who got a poor education to read through a bill…

> I'm not making that assumption. Yes, you are (at least for the question), here: > How will voting change the system if no candidate is willing to change it? You have to make the assumption that people are willing to make the change for that question to be valid, otherwise, it reads like thsi: "How will voting change the system if no candidate is willing to change it and voters aren't willing to change it?" So yes,…

It should be enough for me to say "I'm not making that assumption." Rather than call me a liar, you could assume that either you misunderstood, or I misspoke and decided correcting it wasn't worth spending text on.

Maybe I just assume too much of people. Was this little diversion really necessary?

Re: Remind HN: Vote

#113

Post by robryan »

axod wrote: post #52
epo wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because, like it or not, that is the system and you can only change the system from within. "I disagree with the system" is intellectually lazy and in my experience merely a cover story for apathy.

I guess you could move to another country, or you could try and overthrow the government and change popular opinion, but that's a pretty big ask. The vast majority of people believe that one person per vote is 'fair'. Probably because it's simple for them to understand, and they've been taught that everyone should be 'equal'. So if you disagree with that premise (That one person per vote is fair), what should you do?…

It's not so much the people you describe voting for candidates for reasons as silly as their hair, it's the candidates attempting to appeal to these people which I feel is the biggest issue.

In the recent Australian election by election day each party had summarized there policies/ attacks into a few dot points which they had talked about over and over again hoping I guess to impart at least a few dot points on people before they vote.

Re: Remind HN: Vote

#114

Post by drakep »

jdietrich wrote: post #18

If you don't vote, you have no right to complain about the next set of assholes. Here in the UK, the British National Party (a far-right fringe party) got two seats in the last European Parliament elections simply because turnout had fallen so low for the main parties. A lot of people are rightly ashamed at not bothering to vote. The only people who benefit from apathy are extremists and demagogues who can reliably r…

Who the fuck are you to tell me what my rights are? I can complain all I want, regardless of my voting activities.

Re: Remind HN: Vote

#115

Post by philwelch »

jdub wrote: post #54
cletus wrote: post #7

In Australia voting is mandatory. If you're registered to vote and you don't you can get fined. If no one is registered to vote at your address you'll tend to get lots of mail about it (but ultimately, staying off the electoral roll isn't difficult). I used to think this was a bad idea as it forced people to vote who didn't really care. In recent years I've come around to the opposite point of view based pretty much…

Plus, we vote on Saturday. Weekday voting is incredibly disenfranchising.

I voted on Saturday, too. Some of the more enlightened states in the US allow voting by mail.

Re: Remind HN: Vote

#116

Post by philwelch »

mzl wrote: post #60
paradoja wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

«The biggest problem with voting not being mandatory is that a lot of people don't have the opportunity because they can't get off work. If you made voting mandatory (or at least made election day a paid holiday), this impediment might be alleviated.» An alternative, as it's done in Spain, is to give everyone the right to leave their jobs in order to vote. To alleviate things for businesses, all elections happen on S…

Another alternative is to have advance voting. In the recent elections in Sweden about one third of the votes cast were cast in advance, IIRC.

In Washington and Oregon (soon California) this is done by mail.

Re: Remind HN: Vote

#117

Post by philwelch »

mbreese wrote: post #19
nikcub wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always believed that not voting is also a vote, but you are fined in Australia if you do not show up and cast your ballot. The only way to say 'none of the above' is by filing an informal vote. This is a de-facto way of saying that you don't like any of the options, and at least in Australia this informal vote is tracked and parties take notice of it. In the USA if you vote to not vote, Washington bundles you in wi…

Option B would be pretty interesting, and might provide a decent incentive for people to vote. However, if people aren't likely to vote anyway, why would they care how much representation they have in Congress? We effectively do have a "none of the above" option: don't select anyone and still cast the ballot. However, it would be better if there was an explicit "No vote" option. The biggest problem with voting not be…

Nevada has an explicit "none of the above" on the ballot.

Re: Remind HN: Vote

#118

Post by jasonkester »

jozo wrote: post #108
jasonkester wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. You vote out of solidarity to the group of people who share your situation, faith, occupation etc. If you felt strongly about something you would want others who agreed to also take part. Please don't do that. If you're going to vote, do it about things you care about after having considered all sides, and without first checking whether it's the way everybody around you is voting.

I clarified a bit what I meant in my post before I realized you had replied. I'm not talking about asking your friends what they want, but representing your perspective based on your situation, education, background etc. As an example, most people here have a unique perspective on technology based on those factors. I'm not very familiar with how elections work in the US, but if possible I would rather people here vot…

I think we're clear on what you're saying. And I still think it's a bad thing.

Vote on a case-by-case basis, without bias from your group or political party. Or please don't vote.

Re: Remind HN: Vote

#119

Post by steveklabnik »

mbreese wrote: post #28
axod wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if you disagree with the system of giving everyone a vote being a valid way to decide things?

What's the alternative? I can't think of one that is morally acceptable.

Funny, I can't bring myself to vote because I can't find participating and legitimizing this morally acceptable.

Re: Remind HN: Vote

#120

Post by nicksergeant »

Uneducated voters who vote just because people tell them to piss me off more than people who just plain don't vote.

Politicians in our country are worse than salesmen. That's why we have such little voter turnout, not because people don't feel obligated.

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