"flip a coin, cast a vote"

Ok...Maybe this sounds silly..But I'm in that kind of mood.
Just make sure you read this all the way to the bottom, ok?

When you get to the polls on election day..
Pull a quarter from your pocket..Flip it...look at it closely.
Then cast a vote...

Flip it again..
Cast another vote...Repeat until your ballot is finished...

Walk away smiling...maybe give someone, even a stranger a "high five" offer to loan him or her your coin...

Multiply that by the number of ATS users..
Then, if they tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on..You get the idea..

If enough people do this, across the nation..It may become a newsworthy item. Go to your polling place, with a few friends..Flip OUT!

A mild form of Protest, yet a point is made..

Think of look on your fellow citizen's face..When he takes a look at you.
"randomly choosing" your own fate, and maybe HIS fate..

I'm doing it. I challenge other members to do the same..

FLIP for America!!!!!

(make sure you ACTUALLY vote your choices, I'm just going for the illusion here.)



[edit on 23-10-2004 by TrickmastertricK]

Your post raises an interesting point about how much effect your vote has.
At the local level, your vote is quite important,
and basing votes on coin tossing is a real shocker.
For the larger event such as Senator or Governor and President this does not apply.

The truth of the matter is that your vote (for president) does not select a president.

It does add weight to the arguments of who you vote for.

Consider H. Ross Perot, for example.
He did not win the presidency but the votes he received
� impacted the Democrat-Republican behavior for years afterwards.

There are many other examples, but the best latest is Nader.
His 2.74% in 2000 has inspired an effort all out of proportion to this level.
Just think - if you voted for Nader in 2000,
� you are in part responsible for
� an accelerated collaborative effort between Republicans and Democrats
� to suppress third-party presence in the United States.

A vote like that had a weight of 1 in 3 million,
� as opposed to the pathetic 1 in 50 million weight a Gore vote had.
Your Nader vote had much more effect on later events than a vote for Gore.
Gore was relegated to history, whereas Nader inspired,
� along with electoral suppression, more awareness of corporate villainy.

Ultimately, a vote for the winner is a vote with no significance whatsoever.
With a weight of one out of 50 million it is less than useless for being a voice of change.
The victor never pays much attention to campaign promises anyway,
� whereas he pays an inordinate amount of attention to what drives
� support levels for his opponent.


In closing:
Waste Your Vote !


>...X...

Teknik,

First of all thanks for replying...
I thought I had a decent idea here..
Will you be flipping coins?

I totally agree with you, on Perot's impact and on local voting.

I think people might be uncomfortable just NOT voting at all..

Maybe a statement could be made by the tossing of coins..

Great Idea!

Vote for WHO you want but make a statement in HOW you vote.

I suggest humming a tune...

Oh! Canada? ... or the French National Anthem?

How about Hail to the Chief?

Personally I like the Barnum and Bailey Circus theme song!

.
Aggregate Random selection = zero effect
Active selection = 1/105,000,000 = 0.000000009523809523

0.000000009523809523/zero = infinitely more input

think of it this way so many people voting for so many reasons becomes somewhat aggregate random effect.

now think of how many close races/states there were in 2000,
you think your vote doesn't count? it could be the 300 or 500 votes that decide an entire state.

Your vote [unless you are in somekind of landside state] could be one of those few hundred deciding votes.

additionally it expresses an opinion, even if you are on the losing side it helps to keep it from being a 'landslide' and therefore from being considered a 'mandate' to office for the winner.

A voice however small is still a voice.

Plenty of time to be silent when your are dead. Make your noise while you are alive.
.

slank,

Did you read, all the way to the bottom of my post?
I see what you are saying..Thats why it's just for show...

Space

My vote will count for nothing in this election, but I'm considering long-term strategy with my vote.

I really don't want to vote for Kerry, and I'd vote for Bush when hell freezes over.

Since I live in Utah, and Bush will no doubt win the electoral hands down, and the popular will be in his favor by at least 65%, I've decided to write in McCain in hopes that it will help support his nomination in 2008.

I think there are probably more than a few people that will write in McCain, and he has had a lot of publicity this election cycle. I think he's looking good for the Rep. nomination in '08.

If not, then at least I have voted my conscience.

HI spacedoubt,

Yours is a great idea easily misinterpreted - I did as well.

I will definitely Flip Coins (while Wasting My Vote).

Pass it on.

If you are gonna waste it anyway why not vote a third party?

Send those idiots in washington a message.

The Libertarians are on every ballot but 1 or 2

The greens are on most of them.

Send them a REAL message flipping a coin STILL gives your vote to the ones that screwed you to begin with

Amuk,

Thats precisely what this is about...
Not much to choose from, so you flip a coin to decide...(not really)

Do I need to reword my post?

Someone help me out here...

I think that a lot of folks on the Board, from all sides , of all the fences, could get in on this...Remember, it's just a show...You aren't a slave to the COIN!!!...

LOL

Originally posted by spacedoubt
Amuk,

Thats precisely what this is about...
Not much to choose from, so you flip a coin to decide...(not really)
LOL

So you would rather give your vote to one of the big two parties rather than make a Real statement?

or am I missing something?

My vote counts, I know it does. But it has been diluted over the years by ineligible people being allowed to vote in U.S. elections.

A person can vote in U.S. elections if they --

1. are U.S. citizens (no illegal aliens!)

2. are a citizen of the State they vote in (no voting in a State you don't live in, or "vote swapping" across State lines!)

3. are over the age of 18 (no children!)

4. are not a convicted felon or committed to a mental institution (no criminals or insane people!)

I was watching CBS News tonight, and there was a report on the lawyers lying in wait around the country's polls for the Presidential Election. A Republican lawyer said, "We want all eligible voters to vote." A Democratic lawyer, on the other hand, said "We want everyone to vote, and the Republicans don't."

I thought to myself, "Of course Republicans don't want everyone to vote -- no illegal aliens, children, criminals, or the insane should be voting at all. Also, those who commit voting fraud should have their ballots invalidated!"

Semantics? Perhaps. But what those lawyers said in passing on that news report spoke volumes to me.

Originally posted by Amuk

or am I missing something?

Amuk it's a lark.

Like I said above...vote for WHOMEVER you want just make a statement by freaking out the people around you.

Seriously... humming the theme song to the Barnum and Baily Circus while flipping a coin would be hillarious to see at a polling station!

Gools,

Yeah! a lark.....
Barnum and Baily song.....not sure...Is that "entry of the gladiator"?
I think thats the right song....I used to actually play it at work, when things would get crazy, always had it handy!

I really wish a lot of people would do this coin flipping thing...Might turn some heads, you know?

I know that my vote counts somewhat in the Presidentail election..But, it would be nice to have a wider range of choices....Thats why the TWO sided coin...Two candidates, Heads or tails..

Amuk, How about a 3 sided coin? One extra side for Libertarian?

I'm still considering the Mickey Mouse approach.....might even start an animist campaign for the next election.......if there is one. The idea is simple. My vote for president doesn't mean too much, not being from NY. Unless hell freezes over before the election, NY will go democractic, or it's electoral college will at least. So, since the one I am hoping will win (the least of two evils in my opinion) NY well, why not throw my vote away and try to make a statement as I do it. And, well, there's alot of unhappy people in NY at the moment. We found out that our legislators had found a way around their laws and have managed to put us billions in debt over the past 7 years....borrowing money for good photo ops of them bringing the bacon home to their communities......things like a million dollar replica of Pataki's home...
Well, everyone around here wants to make a statement.....I'll pass the coin-flipping idea out there, who knows, some may like it......

Me, I'm for Mickey Mouse.....who knows, maybe he'll be a leading contender in the 2008 run!!!

Would be a good picture for the scrapebooks.....some minumum wage earning in a Mickey Mouse outfit, taking the oath for the Presidency....
hey, I bet after that, the parties would straighten up their act.....they'd be the laughing stock of the world!

Gee - the misinterpretation continues.
Is there some sort of global comprehension disorder breaking out?


So much for subtle sarcasm.
Let us just spell this out for everyone before anyone else stumbles along
� and reads yet another spin on what this thread is all about.

It started with spacedoubt's excellent suggestion that as you are voting
� you simulate tossing a coin to make your choices.
He meant you prepare your choices before entering the polling place
� and toss the coin and magically show how your choices arise from the coin toss.

(I personally like the Wizard of Oz melody, "if I only had a brain")


It continues with my mild exposition that a coin toss is a duopolistic metaphor
� for being restricted to a choice between two sides of the same coin.

The point about Wasting a Vote does not mean your vote is actually wasted.
If you follow the links (those colored words lead you into source material)
� then you will read more about how a vote for 3rd parties is
� arguably more potent than a vote for a mainstream candidate.

The bottom line is that the "Wasted Vote" propaganda is propagated by
� those who want you to flip a coin - Democrats and Republicans only.

How many more misinterpretations can we squeeze out of all this?
Next !

>...X...

It occurs to me that flipping a coin is rather useless due to the fact that the result would be pretty close to the current situation, a 50% split. A protest vote should cause an impact to the result or what's the point.

This is the worst possible scenario anyway since it will cause the election to drag on (worse than the Florida debacle last time as there are now a handful of states that are lined up for legal challenges). It will also cause half the country to continue to think the election was stolen and the wrong guy (no matter who wins) will be in office.

Personally, though I have a problem with casting my vote on a candidate that stands no chance of winning, I have to side with Amuk this time. If you truly don't care which of the major party candidates win (because neither are acceptable to you) then the only way to cast your vote in protest is to vote in one unified block for the third candidate appearing on the most ballots, and I do think this is Badnarik.

No true impact or statement is achieved by voting a coin toss. Most people who witness this will not get your point (look how this thread is confusing people) and many will just consider your actions ridiculous.

Originally posted by Relentless
It occurs to me that flipping a coin is rather useless due to the fact that the result would be pretty close to the current situation, a 50% split.

I would argue that the "50% split" is an illusion maintained by the men behind the curtain.
The truth is if you vote Democrat or Republican you are voting for both,
� as they are colluding as a single monolithic entity.
The only way out is to vote for someone outside the duopoly.

The Democrats and Republicans in charge are merely hacks who choose
� the trappings of appearing Democrat or Republican.
They are indistinguishable, and most of what they actually do is in support of one another.

Hence, coin-tossing as a form of polling-station satire/protest.

Disclaimer for those who for whatever reason cannot read my sig:
Although I am 'Wasting my Vote' on Badnarik,
� I will still respect others who choose to 'Waste their Vote' otherwise.

>...X...

This may be a minor point, but when voting for the President and vice president-you are not actually voting for them.

Your votes are tallied and-in theory, based on the numbers; the "electoral college" gives its votes to the candidates.

These are the votes that count towards who will win the presidential election.

OK...
I understand the voting process, as it exists now...
This is why I had the idea...

Like Teknik said...YOU STILL VOTE FOR WHOMEVER YOU WANT!!!!!!

THE COIN TOSS IS FOR SHOW...

You are making a statement, about how you FEEL about your VOTE!!

IMAGINE...Other people see you...FLipping a coin and voting...I think it's a mental picture that these people will carry around with them, and probably tell OTHERS..

"Hey, I saw this guy flipping coins, and voting"

Wouldn't you remember that?

And again like Teknik said....You prepare your sample ballot AHEAD of time,
with your REAL choices.. THOSE are the choices that end up on the ballot,
Not the choice made by flipping the coin!!!

It's the Imagery, we'd be going for...!!

Who's in?