Voting

[Nipponmaru]

Actually, I believe you really can not influence anything by voting. A single vote will not influence anything if the voting population exeeds a certain limit. Still you can postulate a moral resposibility to vote.

Often it is said that if nobody did vote, democracy would break down. This is stupid. It annoys me every time I have to read it. You have to take soziology into account here. Somebody who thinks about not voting belongs to a small minority of people willing to think about their voting behaviour. The majority of people does not think about voting in such a way and never will. Either they are uninterested or they are firm in their opinion to vote.

However, you can influence the outcome of a election by influencing other people. If you propagate the ideas of your party, even among your friends, you could theoretically start a snowball like prozess, that influences enough people to make adifference. It is highly unlikely, but it is somethin everybody can do without becoming a politican.

So I say, a little help for your party is what you should do if you feel a responsibility to democracy.

[The Romulan Republic]

Why should one vote in an election?

Its one more way to express your political views.

It's not as if your vote matters; as the results of an election become more important, the number of votes cast grows and grows, and the odds that your vote will be the decider shrink to zero. Does participation in the democratic process matter? I don't see any reason to believe that it does; I'm perfectly capable of appreciating the gravity of democracy without voting, and of understanding the issues insofar as I have time available to study them. Why would actually voting increase either of those? What have I missed?

As already pointed out, if everyone follows that line of thought to its apparent conclusion, their is no voting. Its a system that requires group participation to function. That does not make it invalid.

You might vote just because you want to, and that's fine. I don't want to. I have no interest in the physical act of voting; it sucks up the better part of a day that almost certainly would be better spent doing something else.

"The better part of a day?" How long are the lines at the polling stations where you live?

You might say that if I don't vote then I don't get to complain about the results. I don't understand this: even if I did vote it wouldn't have changed the outcome; there is no difference between the two situations except that in the second I spent four hours standing in line.

Again, group participation. That doesn't mean your vote is invalid.

I do think the people who say "you didn't vote so you have no right to complain" are acting like utter fools, though. Everyone has a right to complain. That too is an important part of democracy.

Why do you vote, or not vote?

Because I can, because if somebody has to vote or the system breaks down, and because I have some tiny say by doing so. I have little enough representation in government. I'm not giving up what small influence I have.

Do you think that voting should be compulsory?

No. Incidentally, I also believe it is ok not to vote when one has deep moral objections to all candadates, which I suppose is always possible.

[JarVik]

Why should one vote in an election? It's not as if your vote matters; as the results of an election become more important, the number of votes cast grows and grows, and the odds that your vote will be the decider shrink to zero. Does participation in the democratic process matter? I don't see any reason to believe that it does; I'm perfectly capable of appreciating the gravity of democracy without voting, and of understanding the issues insofar as I have time available to study them. Why would actually voting increase either of those? What have I missed?

One person, one vote. Apathy among the potential voters just makes it easier for a smamll minority of intrests control your politics which will affect much of your life.

You might vote just because you want to, and that's fine. I don't want to. I have no interest in the physical act of voting; it sucks up the better part of a day that almost certainly would be better spent doing something else.

Voting usually takes me about 5 min, hardly most of my day. The worst line I've ever had for voting might have been 15 min. Though i've heard it can be hours long in the US, that strikes me as by design, not by accident. You should vote to spite them.

You might say that if I don't vote then I don't get to complain about the results. I don't understand this: even if I did vote it wouldn't have changed the outcome; there is no difference between the two situations except that in the second I spent four hours standing in line.

If you and the REST of the apathetic types voted it would make a difference. One of the things you should demand is a better vote system that includes a paper trail. Its dirt simple to get the vote tallied within hours of the polls closing, even without computer ballots.


Why do you vote, or not vote? Do you think that voting should be compulsory?[/quote]

I always vote Federally, Provincially and often for municiple stuff but I miss some of those. I don't think voting should be compulsory, but I think ease of access to your vote should be (no crazzy hour long vote lineups, thats so third world).