Do you vote?

[haysi]

Are you registered to vote?

In the UK we need to be registered to vote, we are entered onto the voters/electoral roll at age 17 and are eligible to vote at 18.

I think that voting should be made compulsory. There is a downward trend in the turnouts for local and national elections. I think that a fine should be imposed if you do not register your vote - I think that the voting system needs to be reshaped and that not only the parties that are standing for election are on the ballot paper but also 'none of the above' should apply. That would give a good indication of peoples distrust of all parties rather than simply spoiling a ballot paper or not voting at all.

Or am I being too simplistic?

Hx

[meadow]

i still need to register to vote here but i've voted in just about every election since i turned 18. i was pissed that i wasn't old enough for the '88 elections.

i'm not sure how long we'll actually be here but i'm probably going to do it when i get my Texas driver's license.

[Yogi]

What would be the difference between not registering to vote and choosing "none of the above" They both have the same effect, do they not?

[bermbits]

Ever since I was old enough to vote, I have... in virtually every election... even when there were no contested slots. I don't feel I have the right to complain if I don't vote, and lately, complain I do. I have to confess in a few elections, I wrote my own name in, but I am still unelected. Maybe I will run for real in a year or two. I did run once for town library trustee as there were no candidates, but another lady did the same thing. I lost but received many congrats for doing so well against a "local" name. The outcome was something like 350 to 260 +/-.

[Bedford]

One of the first things I did when I turned 18 was register to vote, and I rarely miss a vote, although I think I missed a general while away to college.

Personally, I am not worried about a lack of voters. If people are ignorant who to vote for, they shouldn't vote.

[AJRC_CS]

I just missed out on the 87 election as i was only 17, but have voted in every general election from 1992 to 2005.

I honestly don't think people should be forced to vote, if you vote it should be because you want to not because you have to. If politics just doesn't bother you then don't vote, if you strongly agree/disagree with a political party, then vote to get them in/out. But forcing people to vote is bordering on the tyrannical.

I remember a online game where you could create your own nation with it's own politics, forgotten the name of it now. One of the choices was to have a 'None of the Above' choice on the ballot paper.

"It's a simple matter really," says left-wing activist and former rock star George W. Jones. "Sometimes when you're voting, all the options suck. Why then should people be forced to hold their nose and vote for the lesser of two, or even three or four evils? Adding 'None of the Above' to the ballot would ensure that the people have a choice at all times, even if that choice is to reject the choices they have been given!"

[haysi]

Thanks for your comments,I feel that there is a distinct apathy in this country at least with regards to voting. I do wish that there was a way to encourage people to vote and perhaps compelling them to do so would not be the right thing to do!

I know thought that if you added additional options to the ballot paper then the political parties would see why people are not voting i.e. none of the above meaning that none of the parties are the preferred choice.

I always vote and encourage everyone around me and at work to do so but a lot of people dont bother as they dont think that their vote can make a difference - I think it can.

Hx

[meadow]

AJRC: it was "Nationstates" and was based on a novel called Jennifer something or other.

i'm not yet registered to vote but i will. i feel that if you don't vote, you can't complain. and i love to complain. :P

[haysi]

i'm not yet registered to vote but i will. i feel that if you don't vote, you can't complain. and i love to complain. :P

Really? I hadnt noticed that about you Meadow

[meadow]

i know! i'm the shy, quiet, reserved type really. i tend to love to be in the background about politics!

[Flawless]

I voted in the 2004 elections. I need to register to vote again once I get my missouri license.

[haysi]

In the UK you remain on the voters roll at the address you are initially registered at and then you need to inform them if you move address. Unfortunately a great deal of people do not do so. I think that it is really important to be registered to vote and more important to use it at an election.

[van]

Kia ora Haysi

Compulsion achieves nothing, for there are ways to circumvent the system
A lack of interest in voting can often be traced to a dissatisfaction with the system
Since our system here changed from 1st past the post, 2 party system, voter turn out has risen markedly, at least in National elections
Local body still has a poor turnout however

Arohanui
Shalom
Bill

[googie egg]

Yes, at every election. Its more than a right, its a responsibility.

I think that people who are over 18 and do not vote should have their citizenship suspended. You country asks very little of you and voting is a 10 minute job once in a while (all up, on average about once a year.) If you don't think that ten minutes of your time is worthy of your country, I'm not so sure that your country is worthy of you.

You can always spoil a ballot if you don't like those on offer. Those votes are also counted (although they have no bearing on outcomes) and I believe if there were enough "spoiled/informal/improper" votes there would be a clear message to the government/other politcial parties in that as well.

[van]

Kia ora Googie

I think that people who are over 18 and do not vote should have their citizenship suspended

So where would you send them?
Big bro would never contemplate such an action as they want to keep tabs on all living in the country

Arohanui
Shalom
Bill

[googie egg]

You don't send them anywhere. You treat them as if they were permenant residents.

But they don't get a passport, they don't get any tax concessions/grants that citizens can get, they don't get any citizenship benefits at all until they complete and pass a citizenship course. Then if they miss the next vote they have to do it again.

[emanresu]

If I believed in honest elections, I probably would vote. And as for my country asking so little of me, maybe that's why I have so little. Also, there used to be such a thing as the draft here. Maybe it was little too, since a lot of the people I used to know traded everything to get their names on a wall.

[jakimbro]

Yes, I vote- but since I live in Florida, USA- nobody counts it.

[dargla]

I think serving your country in some capacity should be mandatory, and voting be a privilege which can only be earned by those who do.

[Skinjob]

dargla,

I agree.