This thread is continuing from a friendly disagreement on the PYT thread, and is open to anyone. Should you abstain from voting, and will this improve the power of the citizen / is this the best way to decorrupt our democracies? I would like to invite @AcousticToker to present his arguments as to why you shouldn't vote (copypasting your arguments from the thread is fine by me my dude)
Here is the c+p, I'm interested in reading your rebuttals. Also might be of worth to note the rich/poor division lines between the majority of those who vote and of those who don't. Perhaps the above may be a tad cynical, but currently there isn't much Great about Britain, it must be said.
I think abstaining from voting can be quite powerful if done on a larger scale. I think on an individual basis, abstaining from voting can be damaging. But given global politics of today, it is understandable. Sent from my SM-N910V using Grasscity Forum mobile app
I think voting is one of the few things that keep a country fundamentally a democracy, and allow the people some will over rule. The problem isn't the idea or the system depending on your nation. The problem is the individuals elected corrupt the process and put systems in place to keep them there. The U.S. is experiencing this, and people are starting to realize they have been screwed, especially conservatives who rightly feel betrayed by their party. You want a real democracy then you need to eliminate parties and remove sponsors, Create an election system using money from tax already earned, Guarantee voting days off, and remove laws designed to suppress voting. Also remove closed primaries to further deconstruct the party system. Voting does work. The problem is that you are not given full clear representation of your running candidates. You are given the republicans and the dems. and good luck seeing an independent or lesser party give a speech on tv. Abstaining from voting would only cause them to nominate themselves to hold vacant offices. Being an American I am referring to our system of democracy and I am aware that other nations do have different processes. Sent from my VS985 4G using Grasscity Forum mobile app
I think if you are not going to vote you should at least spoil your ballot instead of just not showing up.
I don't vote.. and it's not because I don't think voting doesn't work. My problem is that I just don't give a damn. The reason that I don't really care is because the vast majority don't care/vote how it should be done. The masses of people think that they can come out once every 4 years and have their voices heard.. or ignored and then bitch and moan. I just want to be like "mother fuckers.. voting just for the president isn't going to do shit.. if you want change, you have to be active on the local level". Not enough people hold their local politicians accountable.. they don't take the time to look into them.. all they focus on is the president. Thing is.. the local governments are more or less the foundation of our government, and anything with a shitty foundation is going to be shitty throughout. Without incentives to participate on a local level, the majority of the people won't.. I'd like to think 'monkey see, monkey do' would apply, but it doesn't. That's why I don't vote.. I don't want to be like all the other yokels who think they can make a difference by participating once every 4 years.
Fair point. But I think you should be voting for precisely this reason. Smart informed voters are becoming rare. Most people go with who their favorite celebrity chooses or one sentence on tv. We don't need more of that. It is in this exact context that every vote matters, and we really need you voting. Sent from my VS985 4G using Grasscity Forum mobile app
I wasted $3 on a bus ticket in 2014, just to vote for a party that didn't even get 5%. That $3 could have gone toward my savings.
I always vote, but I'm not political. I honestly can't stand listening to politicians speak. At all. Any of them.
Good, bad or irrelevant. It's a system that works well within a small community where you ACTUALLY know people and are EASILY held accountable. It makes sense to use such a form of choosing in this society. It's a disconnection, as is all we are fed. Sent from my SGH-I257M using Grasscity Forum mobile app
I don't think it makes much of a difference either way, to vote or not... sure on a more local level it could count... but not so much as far as the presidency goes... But I still think it's best to vote... If you don't vote at all, you are pretty much saying you don't care... thus the establishment has no reason to even consider changing their ways... That's why I always say to vote third party... if you vote for the lesser of two evils, then you are still voting for who the establishment wants you to vote for... you're saying that at least one of the goons they've tapped is acceptable which again tells them that they don't need to change their ways... So vote third party which says you care yet are not falling into their trap... they want you to not vote or care, or vote Red or Blue... if you don't toe the party line, then the establishment knows that at least one person isn't falling for their shit. Just my two cents.
The majority will always vote I reckon. Even in "low turnout" elections, more than 50 percent of registered voters do vote. I'd say to vote, but don't feel compelled to vote for one of the two main parties. That's the problem, that people feel like their votes are "thrown away" if they vote Green, or Libertarian, or whatever.
By voting, you are giving your expressed consent to be ruled by whoever wins regardless of whether or not you voted for that person. You are also saying that you fully endorse the state using violence against anyone who has a different opinion and chooses to live their lives a different way than you do. Yaaaayyyy democracy! Mob rule!
So I gave my consent to be governed when I decided that my parents should have unprotected sex? I didn't know I was around for that.