do you vote? would you vote?

[tielan]

A curious question from someone living in the only one of the few western democracies with mandatory voting.

If you are American and of voting age:

Will you be voting in the next Presidential election?

Will you be voting in the next Congressional election?

Obviously, those under 22 will not have had the chance to vote in a Presidential election, and those under 20 won’t have had the chance to vote in a Congressional election, but if you are of voting age this year, will you vote in the Presidential? Will you vote in the next Congressional election?

And are there qualifications to your decision to vote? (ie. “only if my preferred candidate is the nominee for my party” “only if opposing candidate needs defeating”)

I'm not asking about your political leanings - I don't actually want to have that discussion here. I'm just curious whether you would vote, and what conditions are placed upon your willingness to vote.

Comments

[scribblemyname]

yes to presidential, maybe for congressional

[tielan]

Do you have reasons you're willing to explain for the maybe on the Congressional?

[scribblemyname]

It's actually harder to remember in the off years and take the time off work to go do it. There's all these lovely reminders and directions in the 4-year elections that keep me on target to do it.

[scribblemyname]

which is a long way of saying, I am not the kind of person who does things outside of my routine without big reminders to do so.

[tielan]

TBH, most people aren't. :)

Thanks for answering, though!

[kittydesade]

Wandering through from Network to say I and my uncle and my aunt will all vote in the next Presidential and Congressional, because we are all in the habit of regularly voting and generally remind each other to do so. Also it was emphasized in my family when I was growing up (I get the feeling it's not so much for most people) that voting is something you should do always, whether for a "big" election or a small.

[tielan]

Thanks for responding! I'm just curious after reading an article that talked about voting patterns in the US and discontent with what the president can/can't do - particularly over the last 7 years.

[cereta]

Yes and probably, for the same reasons mentioned above.

[tielan]

So you wouldn't vote if your preferred candidate wasn't running?

If you don't mind me asking, are you in a position to influence that? For the presidential elections, I know that the registered members of the party in question get to vote in the caucus (?), but I'm not sure about Congressional reps. Do you get a say in who represents you locally?

[cereta]

Oh, sorry, I meant the "don't remember to" reasons ;). That said, I have sometimes justified not voting (to myself) when I don't care for either candidate, but that in an of itself would not be reason enough.

I don't really have any influence now over who runs. I could, get involved with the local party, volunteer, although I'm limited financially, which limits my influence, if only in how much I can help a candidate run. And practically, my responsibilities and health make that hard, although I could make time if it were a serious priority. I put my political energies into my job, trying to teach my students to think critically.

[tielan]

Ah, okay. So it requires being involved in the political process at the party level, much the same as things are here.

(Here, if you want any voice in who's the representative in a state or federal election, you have to be involved at the party level.)

Teaching people to think critically would be an excellent use of time, I think! And if it were a serious priority, maybe our societies would be better off...

[theladyscribe]

To answer your questions about local elections: yes, federal Congressional elections and state congressional elections do have primaries which are the same/similar to the presidential primaries. Depending on which state you reside in determines who, precisely, gets to vote in those primaries. Some states require you to be a registered member of X party to vote in that primary. Others, like my home state, have you select which party's primary you're voting in on the day of the primaries. And then there are places like Iowa, whose primary is a caucus, and I don't know enough about it to tell you how it works.

So this year, when the presidential primary rolls around, I'll have to tell the volunteers at the voting station whether I am voting in the Republican or the Democratic primary. They'll key in the correct code for me on the booth, and I'll get to place my vote for Stephen Colbert (whom I have written in before, though he has yet to be elected). When the actual presidential election happens, we can vote for anyone on the ballot, regardless of political affiliation.

[tielan]

I'll get to place my vote for Stephen Colbert (whom I have written in before, though he has yet to be elected

:D

In Australia, I believe we call that a 'donkey vote' which is where one defaces the ballot paper (we still use papers, not machines) for any reason.

Thanks for the info!

[theladyscribe]

Oh, it's not a defacement! We actually do have a space for write-ins! If enough people banded together, he could actually get elected. (Of course, he could also decline the seat, but I'm not sure what happens if he does. Possibly the runner-up takes his place?)

[thothmes]

I ALWAYS vote. Otherwise I am letting my fellow Americans choose for me, and some of them have dubious taste.

I don't always vote in the primaries, because within my party I don't always have strong feelings about which candidate is superior, but if I do, then I will turn out. The general election is different. I cannot recall an election when I did not care who won.

[tielan]

So, follow-on question: how much of your voting for the candidates within your party is related to their policies?

And since I'm presuming you vote for one party ("my party") every time, do you just generally agree with their policies or are you generally against the policies of the other side?

I guess that question is more about the resolution of "I like my party but I hate what they're doing" withing yourself and your voting habits, since most people tend to drop out of the voting process when they like their party but hate what they're doing.

[thothmes]

You know, I don't know if I've ever faced that situation. I am not, as a rule, a single issue voter, where one stand on one issue will make or break my vote. Nor am I so hide-bound that if my party were putting forth a horrible candidate, and the other party a reasonable one, I would not cross party lines with my vote. I've done that with some frequency in local elections, but never had to in national elections. The classic answer to the dilemma here, one which my daughter used in the last Presidential election, because she could not stand to vote for Romney, but also disliked Obama, is to choose to write in a candidate. Chances are high that your vote will not change history in any meaningful way, but your protest will be noted as such, and you will not soil your conscience by supporting someone you cannot, in good conscience, support.

With any candidate, there will be policies I disagree with, as I disagree with the current administration on its use of drones, but by and large it's the bigger picture I focus on. No candidate I have ever voted on has been OMGperfectI'dvoteforthispersontobeGod! ever. But yes, I do have a party. Two of my state's Senators, who got my vote, have run as Independents, one because he had always felt that both major parties were too beholden to special interests, and the other because his party leaders had made promises to him, and then broken their word, and he felt he could no longer remain in the party after that. What I tend to focus on are environmental, educational, and social issues, and if that means voting counter to my economic interests, well so be it. I suppose this may be, at least in part, because my husband is a physician, and we can afford to, but my dad did it too, and he was on an ungenerous professor's salary. Some things are more important than money.

[havocthecat]

I pretty much always vote. Except for the day I had diarrhea. I, um. Decided standing in a long line that day was a bad idea. But I am very much a proponent of voting in all elections.

[tielan]

I think that was a wise decision that day.

It's been interesting seeing all these people who are civically minded in my flists and dwircle. I'm not sure I would be if voting weren't mandatory here.

[havocthecat]

I think I'm terrified about feeling any guilt or blame about the direction the politics in the country are going if I don't vote and someone I disagree with makes it into office. (Even if I voted against them and they win anyway.)

[snippy]

Via network, and yes I always vote. No qualifications. It's easy in my state because we have mail ballots-that is, the ballot is mailed to your address. It's a reminder to vote and lets you consider the issues and candidates at home-it's not due back for usually 3 weeks, although you can mail it any time so long as the elections office receives it by the official election day, or you can hand-deliver it to many drop-off points on election day.

[tielan]

Mail-in ballots would make it a lot easier to do and remember. I've had several people note that this makes it easier for them (and one or two note that it does make voter fraud easier to perpetrate).

Although I recall one year I was overseas during a federal election, and so I had to get to the nearest Australian Embassy and put my vote in. (I was in London, so it wasn't too terrible!)

[ladyjax]

The only year I didn't vote was when I was going to college in another state and didn't think to get an absentee ballot so I could vote that way. Other than that, I haven't missed an election since I turned 18.

I don't think we have congressional seats up this year but I could be wrong. In any case, this will be the first time in my life that I will not cast a vote for the president. Which is a weird and uncomfortable feeling because I've done the "hold your nose and vote" move but this time I can't. I just don't believe anyone running right now deserves the job.

And I'm more than a little tired of having certain supporters of certain candidates try to school me on how important this election is. I usually answer that with "I lived through the eighties when we were two steps from getting blown off the planet. Spare me your panic especially if you didn't vote in the midterms."

I always have to remind them that just because I don't cast a vote for president doesn't mean I won't vote the rest of my ballot.