• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

Reasons Americans Don't Vote

Ouch. My bad. Delete or move.
 
That first graphic looks like electrical wires in those movies where a guy is trying to cut one of the wires before the bomb goes off.
 
A lot of people have no knowledge of the issues and where the candidates stand on those issues. Arguably they are performing a public service by not voting.
 
Washington: Healthy just don't care
Wisconsin: Want to, but sick as fuck
Colorado: I was gonna vote that election too, but then I got high

And apparently New Jersey has THE WORST weather in the beginning of November.
 
simosfrostyone said:
A lot of people have no knowledge of the issues and where the candidates stand on those issues. Arguably they are performing a public service by not voting.
Click to expand...

I worked with a midterm congressional campaign in 2010 for an incumbent blue dog Democrat in Alabama (who actually voted with the Republicans more than the Dems, but hey, you take a 40% Democrat in Alabama if you're the white house). Every phone call I made, I would have to say I was with the Alabama Democratic Party. Almost every call, after listening for 5 - 10 mins minutes about why Obama and the liberals were awful, I'd ask them what they thought of my congressional candidate. 90% of the time they would say they loved him. Our entire strategy became simply reminding people not to vote straight Pub ticket. Come November, my Dem candidate lost by less than a point to a congresswoman who wanted to privatize all schooling. I always think back to that election, and have made a conscious effort to at least briefly acquaint myself with any candidate I check a box for, all the way down the ticket. My candidate rode in on Obama's wave, and, like so many that year, rode right back out on it in the midterms.
 
Last edited:
simosfrostyone said:
A lot of people have no knowledge of the issues and where the candidates stand on those issues. Arguably they are performing a public service by not voting.
Click to expand...

Agreed. We should make it harder to vote so that only those who bother to educate themselves on the issues go to the trouble of voting.
 
knowell said:
Agreed. We should make it harder to vote so that only those who bother to educate themselves on the issues go to the trouble of voting.
Click to expand...

That's extremely anti-democratic.

Also the ways we make it harder to vote don't necessarily exclude the people who know less about the issues.
 
Sometimes you have to go against the prevailing winds.
 
And despite changes to the Constitution, those are still the prevailing winds.
 
PhDeac said:
And despite changes to the Constitution, those are still the prevailing winds.
Click to expand...

Nah, today we want everyone to vote. Whether they have any idea who or what they are voting for is irrelevant.

We say the most important thing you do is vote. We should say the most important thing you do is educate yourself about the issue before you vote.

Don't remember that message on MTV (or am I dating myself).
 
Who gets to write the tests?

"Obama is a Muslim? True or False"

The answer would be different in different places.

knowell, the prevailing wind is restricting voting. That's why SCOTUS is ruling on all these voter restriction laws.
 
knowell said:
Agreed. We should make it harder to vote so that only those who bother to educate themselves on the issues go to the trouble of voting.
Click to expand...

there should be a test - they give you the policies each candidate holds but does not tell you who it is. You check all the boxes that you agree with. At the end it shows you the candidate you should vote for. You don't have to vote for that candidate at the end ( although you should ) but at least you know what you are voting for.
 
PhDeac said:
Who gets to write the tests?

"Obama is a Muslim? True or False"

The answer would be different in different places.

knowell, the prevailing wind is restricting voting. That's why SCOTUS is ruling on all these voter restriction laws.
Click to expand...

even the idea of a test is racist to you. its crazy
 
PhDeac said:
Who gets to write the tests?

"Obama is a Muslim? True or False"

The answer would be different in different places.

knowell, the prevailing wind is restricting voting. That's why SCOTUS is ruling on all these voter restriction laws.
Click to expand...

Voter ID is not restricting voting no matter how many times it is said. Nor is it disenfranchising voters.

The test would be restricting voters. I like it in theory, but there would be no way to make it impartial. You would have to restrict it to questions that both side agreed to. It would get really dumbed down. Maybe you could have a test and the higher the score, the more your vote would count. Even the least knowledgeable voters vote would count something, but a more knowledgeable voter's vote would count more. This would never happen and probably should never happen, but it could solve some of the problems we have a people voting with no knowledge of what their choice represents.
 
Deacs89 said:
there should be a test - they give you the policies each candidate holds but does not tell you who it is. You check all the boxes that you agree with. At the end it shows you the candidate you should vote for. You don't have to vote for that candidate at the end ( although you should ) but at least you know what you are voting for.
Click to expand...

That's an interesting way to do the test. Even then, politicians lie and it may be hard to say exactly what their positions is.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top