Why vote?

[Tungtvann]

Can someone tell me the point?

I have several issues against voting, but seemingly none for.

Firstly, I disagree with the voting system, FPTP is useless and unfair. If I'm in a Tory stronghold, my vote counts for nothing by voting someone else. According to one of those 'does my vote count?' websites, it's worth about 0.1 of an actual vote in my area. So straight away why should I bother if my vote has no effect.

Secondly, do I overlook my moral objections against some of the practices of most of the parties, just because one has a few policies that I agree with slightly more than another? I feel like I'm condoning everything that members of that party do by casting a vote their way. Do I vote Green because they seem like nice people, but are actually are a bunch of clowns who couldn't run a bath, or do I vote Tory because they seem pretty good at the whole economy thing, but are all rich, posh idiots furthering social divides and the class system?

Why is there an illusion that voting gives you some sort of say? Why do people say 'well, you didn't vote, so you've given up your right to complain about things'. Well, what if I did vote and my vote literally went in the bin?

All the major parties, in my mind, are either scum or a joke. Some are both. Tory and Labour: scum. Lib Dems and Greens: joke. UKIP: scum and a joke.

Can anyone give me another aspect of voting which I have missed? At this stage, I'm going to draw a massive wang on my ballot paper with a big 'screw the system' on the shaft.

What are your views on voting?

[-]

I doubt there are any voters who 100% agree with any one party.

There must be one party who you dislike the most, in that case do what many others do and use your vote against them. There isn't one party I agree with as a whole, but there is one party I really don't want to win. My vote will go to the party most likely to keep them out.
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[Old Git Racing]

Point is a lot of people died over time to give us the right to vote. Like you none of them represent me now, that is what I have written on every ballot paper for the last few years and spoiled it.
Pointless? maybe to others but not to me. If enough people who felt disenfranchised did that then maybe something would change. Not bothering at all is worse.

OGR
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[Tungtvann]

[Moo.]

I'm not really politically interested, so i don't really read into it much, but the general gist i get is everyone lies to get your vote and then does whatever the hell they want. I remember a few years ago the green party came into my 6th form so try and sway voters. They got laughed out..

But all the other parties seem pretty much the same, with a little splash of difference. I get the feeling most politicians are disconnected from the rest of us
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[Lord Percy]

38Degrees had a hugely popular petition which they sent to the government, requesting that a 'None of the above' choice be put on the ballot.

They were given a panel discussion thingy where a load of important government people interviewed the leader of 38Degrees and he put forward a million valid points for why there should be a 'none of the above' option in elections. The whole thing was videoed so you can see how well he performed. All the points he made were good and valid, the panel asked good questions and were quite receptive of what he had to say. It seemed quite promising.

I can't find any information about it because 38Degrees, being an activist kind of website, is blocked in China. So you'll have to google it yourselves if you're interested.

Not surprisingly, it didn't hit the mainstream media and nothing ever came of it...

Politics is stale and they all want to keep it that way.

Until things are drastically reformed, I'll be spoiling my vote every time.

I saw mentioned somewhere the suggestion, "If you don't vote for any, then how about standing yourself as a politician." I think this is a silly attitude because really there will only ever be a few major parties with huge funds and huge political clout. By not voting, it shows you want change, and they need to adapt to the desires of the people in the country they want to run.

[Ste]

Do a dump in the voting booth to express your displeasure rather than spoiling your ballot.

[Tungtvann]

[Ste]

If voting by post, send your vote with these fine people. www.shitexpress.com

[Rogerborg]

[Tracey Suntan-King]

[Robby]

The chances of any person wholly agreeing with a single political party are slim. This is generally because a set of policies that fit one person perfectly would generally be a shit set of policies for everyone else.

So you vote for who you agree with the most, on the understanding that any particularly adventurous idea they put forward is something that won't happen. For instance, around election time the conservatives make noises about raising the motorway speed limit and stopping benefits for long-term scum. This doesn't happen, but they do ensure that police forces don't have the budget to do much motorway patrolling in unmarked cars, and they squeeze all benefits a little.

I would avoid the mentality of tactical voting - whilst you vote labour to avoid getting conservatives, another person votes labour to avoid getting lib dem, and you end up with labour, which neither of you want. Vote for who you want. You may think you live in a safe seat, but this time round a lot of safe seats are going to change (labour in Scotland, lib dem anywhere).

[-]

[Suntan Sid]

[Pigeon]

As a nation, we had the chance to move over to proportional rep.....well, a version of it, but we rejected it!

You could still vote for your chosen candidate/party, but also put 2nd, 3rd etc So as a voter, I had nothing to lose. I could still vote for my favourite. AND if I chose to, vote for 2nd, 3rd etc

And the UK said no, we are happy with our shitty, un-democratic democracy.

[lihp]

[Tungtvann]

I know what people voted for, but why? It seemed like it was either 'ooh, AV, that makes sense' or 'I don't understand, stick with the current system'. Does anyone who really understands both methods actually think FPTP is a better way of doing things?

[smegballs]

The AV vote was a load of shite. Considering there are about 8 major voting systems, and we got the choice of two then to be told 'it looks like the UK wants FPTP', it was a rigged game from the start.

It should have been a simple referendum of 'should the uk have electoral reform'. If the answer was yes then various voting styles could have been assessed and compared and the choices narrowed down for further voting.

Instead what happened was....

'Would you like A or B?'

'I'll take A please'

'A it is then old chap, you clearly don't want B,C,D,E,F,G etc etc'

[angryjonny]

Who has a reputation for always voting? Pensioners.
Who is about the only demographic that hasn't found themselves raped by the current government's fetish for austerity? Pensioners.

Your vote doesn't matter. You are one in tens of millions. And if you're like me you live in a safe Tory seat and you can't change that. Stop flattering yourself by thinking you are anything other than a tiny cog in a massive machine in a massive misery factory. But, if a significant demographic (large enough to swing some marginal seats) gets known for always turning up at the polling station, they will find themselves crapped on less than the politically inactive ones. Winter fuel payments, anyone?

This is why you should vote.

Also, if you don't vote you have no right to moan about the cocks in Downing Street.

[angryjonny]

[Tungtvann]

So I think the solution here is to cull the old.

[angryjonny]

[Suntan Sid]

[RedPanda]

https://www.zeldainformer.com/images/articles/douche-turd.jpg

Nah.
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[angryjonny]