Do Not Vote Because Your Vote Does Not Count !!

Originally posted by FissionSurplus
Wow....such pissiness coming from the "everybody should vote" crowd.

Their argument seems to be premised on the guilt factor. NOWHERE in their argument do they address the things the non-voters are concerned about: The manipulation, the computers replacing paper ballots, the counting of the votes, not in public view, but in secret, and the fact that we resent being told we only have two choices, when we know darn well there are more than two.

If we say we are going to vote third party, then we get the "you're wasting your vote", or "you're going to give the election to X, because you're taking the votes away from Y"...etc., etc., blah blah blah.

If y'all are trying to get people to vote based on guilt, it won't work.

Can somebody on ATS give a succinct, truthful, and heartfelt reason why those of us who are angry and disenfranchised should vote, without the nastiness and pettiness this thread has brought out? I would welcome something intelligent. Saying the system works, while we see the sorry state everything is in, and the past election frauds, won't cut it.

Bring it on, pro-voters. Explain to me why, knowing what I know and feeling as I do, why I should participate in something that is basically already pre-determined, secretive and manipulated?

edit on 4-10-2012 by FissionSurplus because: (no reason given)

G'day FissionSurplus

Agreed

i like your posts very realistic mate

they need the paper ballots and maybe the ink finger for a while i think and the head of the snake is the fed and media ownership

Once the system collapses, I would love to see the face of the last naive sheeple who still believe in this scam.
Only then you'll realise how badly you have been duped.
In the mean time, go ahead and vote, the cliff is still a few feet away!

Oh ya the four year madness, there was even a thread around here some weeks ago about voting for cthulhu as it would be better off then voting for the lesser of two evils and this whole dog and pony show.

In fact here is the link, just in case somebody may get a kick out of it.
link
Disclaimer: Not that I am indorsing cthulhu, and truly there are some other entities feeding of this whole voting process thing in what it ultimately is. But I do not think even 6 something odd billion humans souls screaming in unison would make cthulhu blink.

But anyways, moving on. The thread title is a lie it is not the whole fact, or even part of the fact, or even half the fact. I would say its something like a quarter fact, and the fact is your vote does count...It just does not count for you usually. And there in lies the problem.

And if you are not asking yourself why should you support a system that really does nothing for you, and in fact seems to be making things worse, and even worse its just used by others as a way of siphoning energies both the $$$ kind and others. Well then, what really is the point? I mean it's not even a good show, there are better dramas out there on the tube and the people they got arguing about things really you would think that with all the money they spend on writers and all of the bells and whistles, that they would do a better job. Its like there not even trying and just regurgitation the same old points over and over.

And the people you get to chose from every few years are not even all that great or bright, really it is literally a dog and pony show. Can I put my ballot in for the "not impressed vote" and concede to move this whole thing on over till we get something that is better? Or at least can we get some more qualified "candidates" or aka "puppets" as there known in the oh so hush hush conspiracy sections. What the hell happened to that one Ron Paul dude? Or did I miss that part of the show were he got kicked off the island.

Oh ya people should be angry, they should definitely be demanding and looking into really changing things, and not this fake change that we seem to get every four or so odd years. Really they should expect results, as of yet I have seen a lot of talking, but very little results.

I one thousand percent disagree. Its a defeatest attitude. If all the disillusioned millions got off their butts and voted for someone other then the two clowns on tv we wouldnt all be walking the tight rope to survive, ie gary j.

If you believe that your vote doesn't count because the election is rigged, (Which we have all seen the posts and what not on the numerous scandals,) How much easier will it be for TPTB to manipulate your vote for you? Especially since you didn't take the time to AT LEAST go out and write someone in? You could wake up the day after the election and find you voted for someone you truly NEVER wanted. They've used the dead to stuff ballot boxes, shouldn't be that hard to hijack the vote you didn't make.

is this one of those posts where they expose how the electoral votes work and how some states technically do not count? .. and how elections are only won by pandering to certain percentage of some states?

Just to let you all know that the last Presidential election I voted for Ron Paul. I am a registered Democrat but I changed who I wanted to be the next president. Needless to say when I pulled the lever it didn't registered. How I know this is because the person standing on the outside said that he (I) was voting Republican and they have to reset the buttons again. How how did he know that I voted Republican unless they knew that would happen if you changed parties. I didn't say anything to them after I voted but I sure gave them a look. I am sure they saw me and they didn't look to me after I left. Something very fishy and I am sure the same will happen this election as well. The votes are rigged. Yes indeed.

I say Vote if you want, it works on the local level sometimes at least. But dont place all your hopes and dreams in a politician or party, youll end up disappointed. Live your life the best you can with what you have. Get a hobby, get some excercise, learn to play music, travel, get a dog, whatever floats your boat. the worlds full of too many crazy interesting things and theres only so much time to see them.

vote if you want but dont place your hopes and dreams on politicians. Live your life the best you can with what you have. Get a hobby, travel, excercise, learn to play music, whatever floats your boat. Theres too many crazy interesting things in the world to worry about politics all the time. Life could be worse

Originally posted by happyzodiac
Just to let you all know that the last Presidential election I voted for Ron Paul. I am a registered Democrat but I changed who I wanted to be the next president. Needless to say when I pulled the lever it didn't registered. How I know this is because the person standing on the outside said that he (I) was voting Republican and they have to reset the buttons again. How how did he know that I voted Republican unless they knew that would happen if you changed parties. I didn't say anything to them after I voted but I sure gave them a look. I am sure they saw me and they didn't look to me after I left. Something very fishy and I am sure the same will happen this election as well. The votes are rigged. Yes indeed.

You can declare yourself an independent voter which gives you an unaffiliated status.
There is a form that you need to fill out beforehand. You also have to check and see what your
state allows in Write Ins, as not all states allow it or have rules regarding the process.

An independent voter, those who register as an unaffiliated voter in the United States, is a voter of a democratic country who does not align him- or herself with a political party. An Independent is variously defined as a voter who votes for candidates and issues rather than on the basis of a political ideology or partisanship;[1] a voter who does not have long-standing loyalty to, or identification with, a political party;[2][3] a voter who does not usually vote for the same political party from election to election;[4][5] or a voter who self-describes as an independent.[6]

en.wikipedia.org...(voter)

reply to post by Bodhi911


1 - I LOVE that episode of Southpark. Voting on a new mascot .. both choices stink.

2 - My voting tells the delegates who to vote for. I voted Gary Johnson on my absentee ballot last week and I'm sure that in the louder noise of the (D) and the (R) it will get unheard, but the fact that I was able to enter my protest vote does count. And enough protest votes could make a difference ..eventually.

reply to post by Bodhi911

I see.

I think.


So...you are proposing...that since democracy is actually an enemy disguised as an ally...that we would do well to focus our efforts on defeating it with a war of attrition?

Or...are you saying that democracy is broken and the only way to 'fix' it is...to no longer participate in the voting process?

Or...thirdly...and most probable at this point (and I must admit hopefully...for me, that is)...I need more coffee before I get friendly with my computer keyboard?

Instead of not voting, maybe you should vote and look into fixing the "vote does not count" bit.

Its an interesting conundrum.

Not voting is defeatist. It only shows up in low turnout figures and nobody cares about those, easily ignored.

What you should actually aim to do is get the turn out way up, but with people spoiling the ballot on purpose.

That way you are exercising your civic duty by going to the station but proclaiming that neither candidate is worthy of support. Write in 'none of the above'.

If with a high turnout the number of spoiled ballots exceeds the votes for the 'winner' it would be hard to ignore.

Not being american i'm unsure whether the electronic system allows 'spoiled ballots', the UK paper system still does.

I've been writing on this topic extensively over the past several weeks, and I'd very much like to summarize my feelings on the matter here:

I do not plan to vote.

When one's vote lends credence to a system whose policies have continually led to the degeneration of human rights and the murder and exploitation of innocents-- both foreign and domestic-- how can one justify the act of voting? Feeding into such a system while acknowledging its tremendous faults is not only unconscionable, but morally reprehensible. To be involved is essentially to dab up a bit of the blood with one's own hands.

The platforms of the two major candidates are strikingly similar once you've looked past their superficial differences. They're both war-mongers and statists. They both support laws that will further strip us of our rights and will likely embroil us in more pointless, foreign wars. They both support the terrorist nation of Israel and will continue to fund their campaign of terror even as the rest of the world sits aghast at their obnoxious sabre-rattling. And that's just naming a few.

Voting for the 'lesser of two evils' is the stupidest thing one can do. You're still casting a vote for evil and, furthermore, by voting, you're giving your consent to this oppressive, corrupt establishment. by NOT voting however, you withold that consent, effectively telling the governement that enough is enough. If only 5-10% of the electorate showed up to vote in any given election, the powers that be, as well as the rest of the world, would take notice. Only in diminishing the legitimacy of the current, bloated, ineffectual government can we hope to ever replace it with something even remotely like Democracy.

I wish that casting a vote could change things. I wish that there was indeed a candidate who could look out for the interests of the people and lead our country in a nobler, more prosperous direction. There was a time when I once believed that it was possible. During the last election, my first, I actively campaigned for Obama, hoping with all my heart that the state of my country would improve after the Bush years and believing all the while that I was doing good in the world. Thankfully, I'm no longer so naive. Candidates of such a great caliber don't exist, and I feel confident that such a candidate will never emerge from either of the established political parties, who are worn through to their very core with corruption. In the terrible framework of modern American politics, I'm doubtful that even a strong independent candidate could affect much change in office-- much less win. The powers that be seem determined to keep independent candidates out of the picture, which makes it much more difficult to "work with what we've got".

The system is broken. Don't play the game. Don't vote in 2012 and do your part to delegitimize this joke of a government. Casting a vote at this point, whether it be for either of the major candidates or someone else, is only prolonging the madness. Stop feeding the beast and exercise your right NOT to vote. We deserve better than this. We deserve a leader who won't engage in activities of questionable legality (drone strikes, detaining American citizens indefinitely for no good reason) and who won't yield to the influence of major corporations.

Originally posted by justwokeup
That way you are exercising your civic duty by going to the station but proclaiming that neither candidate is worthy of support. Write in 'none of the above'.

Voting is NOT a duty. I have no duty to vote for a candidate who will go on to strip me of my rights. I am not required to give my consent to individuals who would use it for the purpose of proliferating terrorism under the guise of righteousness.

Where it may have once been considered a duty, I might remind you that the current political landscape is far removed from that of 1776. Things have degenerated; our vote means less than it once did, as the candidates are all burdened by corruption.

All votes count in the grand scheme of things, but voting for the lesser of TWO EVILS will yield you exactly THAT LESSER EVIL! If you spend $3.50 for orange jouice why would you complain then?

There are more than two parties and people need to do research. By being negative and feeding more negativity into the system, the negativity recycles itself. Obviously the system is intentionally rigged so that democrats and republicans get 95% of the airtime. THIS is what needs to change so that people do not have to spend many hours on the internet trying to figure out what the heck is going on.

A solid example of this is that this month many candidates have been invitited to participate in a debate, but the big parties have failed to commit themselves. Gee, I wonder why!

Be a positive change in america. Go get a libertarian banner and put it in your signature. Nevermind socialism, I understand you hate it with maximum passion.

reply to post by Bodhi911


YOU ARE SUCH A LIAR! YOU'RE LYING!!! Your a conspiracy nut job! My vote DOES count! My vote will decide who's president of the you-es! They take the voting machine right to the white house, then they separate the votes from the voting machine and my vote they take and place it in the pile of my candidate and they place a talley on a chalk board. That's exactly how it works!!! Honestly!! What you think I don't know??? Then whoever has the most talley's and largest pile of votes gets to be president. And this is Especially true since I"m a Canadian citizen. Ya, I hack into your system and I decide who your president is. So I've already decided it's gonna be mit romknee cuz he hates gays and so do I. ha ha j/k

Agreed that the presidential election is rigged to make people think they have ANY kind of power or choice in the matter.

Local elections are, however, very important as you can have direct influence. This year, for example, my state has an...er...medical proposal... which I'm certain will bring voters out in force, as a similar ballot issue did in 2008.

Let me make it as clear as possible

THE LIBERTARIANS ARE ON EVERY STATE BALLOT!

That means you DO NOT have to write in any candidate. That also means you DO NOT have to purposefully invalidate a ballot.

No more stupid excuses. You should feel pitty for the really small parties that only have ballots in 1 to 10 states, which means they have zero chance of success.