# Voting sucks!



## Deleted member 56686 (Nov 8, 2016)

Ah, yes, the day that everyone in the US waits for every four years. Election day.

And what a day, it was. It started cheerfully enough. There was only one person hawking for the candidate of his choice. Unfortunately it was for a former mayor that already lost an election bid in the primary. This lovely guy wanted everyone to write her in. When he asked me if I would, I told him, "After she tried to take our house? Hell, no." 

" Well she will save the city," he defended. Yeah just like she did when she was mayor. (By the way; she tried to pull eminent domain on us when she was mayor on behalf of a certain corporation, so I guess that one is a little personal). Well, you have to give her credit; she doesn't give up, even when everybody hates her.

So I got past that one obstacle and was surprised to find the doors were locked. As it turned out I had to wait in a rather long line which, as I noted in derail, may be a good or bad sign (which side is actually coming out from the depths of despair- or at least their basements?). 

So, I'm in this line for maybe fifteen minutes when a guy comes cheerily down to say some of us were in the wrong line if we were in a different precinct (this school covers two precincts, don't ask me why). Of course I was in the wrong line, so I had to find the line I was supposed to be in. On paper it looked like the shorter line, but even so, I was in that one for well over an hour. While I was waiting people kept coming around to announce that some of us were in the wrong line. On occasion, they even got as far as the voting booth to be told they were in the wrong precinct- imagine having to wait for over an hour in two lines. People were confused, half of the voting officers didn't know what they were doing. The person in charge of the voting announced there was a special machine that could get you through faster. Of course, by then I was about to do my paper voting like everyone else,"Gee, thanks, Lady," I thought.

Anyway, after all of that I got my vote in. I won't tell you I voted against (I didn't vote 'for' anybody), but those of you that really know me can guess who it wasn't. 

So, I guess even in this godforsaken election, I can say I did my duty as an American citizen. I hope the rest of you Americans did too


And please don't turn this thread into a personal shouting match or I'll close this thread faster than you can say Abraham Lincoln. That is all :icon_cheesygrin:


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## midnightpoet (Nov 8, 2016)

I voted at the courthouse - when I went in there were two voters; one, a grizzled farmer type in overalls with a straw hat and white beard; and one lady voter finishing up.  There were three ladies behind the counter, probably talking about each voter after they left - "Did you hear about...?" 

The machine was the problem, a new one computer one where you turned a knob and chose by pushing a button.  It took me several minutes to figure it out.  Most of the candidates were running unopposed, which wasn't surprising.  I held my nose and voted.

In a town of 1000 people, forty miles from any size town,where deer wander downtown and buzzards walk across main street, none of this surprises me.  No one was toting heat, though.


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## Bishop (Nov 8, 2016)

I got up at 5:45am today to vote and still had to wait an hour in a line at a church where I'm sure glad I didn't burst into flames by walking into it...

Used a touchscreen pad, which was nice, but I was without a doubt the youngest person there save one just-turned-eighteen looking kid. Maybe 27 is the youngest a person can be while being willing to get up at 6am to vote when you don't have to be at work for another three hours after that.


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## Winston (Nov 8, 2016)

Got my first absentee ballot when I was in the Marines in the mid 80's.  Voted by mail ever since.


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## Sleepwriter (Nov 8, 2016)

Touch screens here.   In and out before my burger i left in the truck got cold.


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## dale (Nov 9, 2016)

i don't vote. voting for bill clinton when i was young taught me it was a fool's game.
i am damn amused with the results tonight, though. lol. i'm damn near doing snoopy dances. ha ha


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## Olly Buckle (Nov 9, 2016)

I'm with you, dale. The novelty got me out first time I was eligible, not since, it only encourages them. See how elated they get at a high turn out and how depressed by a low one, think what would happen if no-one voted; "No-one wants us", total panic


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## Sleepwriter (Nov 9, 2016)

I will say I have correctly predicated the winner in EVERY presidential election since I started voting.  Whoever I have voted for has lost every time.   Hmm, maybe I'm bad luck.  Maybe next time I will hold off my vote and see if we get a tie.


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## Terry D (Nov 9, 2016)

mrmustard615 said:


> Ah, yes, the day that everyone in the US waits for every four years. Election day.



I think this is one of the problems, too many people only vote when there is a presidency on the line (and I have traditionally been one of them). In reality it is the off-year elections, and down-ballot choices we make that shape the future of the government. If we don't express our will by selecting the right congressmen and senators, then there is no way to change the faces that end up running for President. If we choose wisely in the down-ballot races and off-year elections, we can start seeding the field with people who better represent us. One of the many lessons I learned from watching the year's debacle unfold (and it would have been a debacle no matter who won), is that I need to pay more attention to the smaller races.


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## Olly Buckle (Nov 9, 2016)

Sleepwriter said:


> I will say I have correctly predicated the winner in EVERY presidential election since I started voting.  Whoever I have voted for has lost every time.   Hmm, maybe I'm bad luck.  Maybe next time I will hold off my vote and see if we get a tie.


No,vote for one,  bet on the other, you would have got great odds on Trump not long ago.


> One of the many lessons I learned from watching the year's debacle unfold (and it would have been a debacle no matter who won), is that I need to pay more attention to the smaller races.



Pygmies for senators? 

No offence meant to another country's system, but the best way to deal with a debacle is to mock it, take it too seriously and you join in.


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## thepancreas11 (Nov 15, 2016)

I vote every time there is an election. Doesn't matter what for. I voted for the MTV Awards last year, I think. If it comes across my computer screen and asks for an opinion, by gum, I'll opine!

I do think it's quite tragic that about half of eligible American voters actually exercise the one limited part of control we have on the United States, the government, the entirety of what effects our lives, and the variety of people we will have to hear for the next however-long-their-term-limits-are. It makes no sense that we have to work on that day, too. Give us a day to all get out and do about two minutes of work (after an hour of waiting). At least don't put it on a Tuesday, which might be the most difficult day for us to actually vote on.

Alas, I'm one of them...social crusaders. Don't listen to me. I'll try to sell you flowers and tell you they're for helping the environment or something.


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## Olly Buckle (Nov 15, 2016)

Voting for one patrician over another is pretty meaningless, but when the proletariat decide not to vote for patricians any longer they lose the vote.


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## sigmadog (Nov 18, 2016)

It happens every four years. The stink gets so bad you realize something needs to be done.

That's when I call the pumper to clear out all the shit in my septic tank.

It helps me keep the whole "voting thing" in perspective.


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## Winston (Nov 19, 2016)

thepancreas11 said:


> I vote every time there is an election. Doesn't matter what for. I voted for the MTV Awards last year, I think....



Reality check on the value of your vote:

One of my regular customers received an MTV award back in the 1990's.  His surfboards and skateboards are prominently displayed.  He's got a bunch of framed photos of himself posing with members of The Who on the wall of his study.  I often see a team detailing his 1962 Plymouth Fury and 1964 Lincoln Continental.
Where is his MTV award?

It lays on the floor, propping the door open to his garage.  That little silver astronaut is a flippin' doorstop.  And that is what your vote is worth.


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## ppsage (Nov 19, 2016)

Voting is the justification principle of participatory democracy. Legitimacy based on making everybody equally to blame. Useful for quelling social unrest and maybe that's reason enough. It's the lessor of political evils. So far. Might be about time to give ol' Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer a shot though.


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## escorial (Nov 19, 2016)

imagine living in a country were you cannot vote.....and as you say you done your duty...and that is worth so much dude..


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## dale (Nov 19, 2016)

ppsage said:


> Voting is the justification principle of participatory democracy. Legitimacy based on making everybody equally to blame..



this is basically why i believe it's such a scam. at  least  in a monarchy or a dictatorship, the  people know exactly who to point the
finger at when everything turns  to shit. in a  democracy? we all point the fingers at eachother and the ruling elite laugh their  asses
off at us  as they rake in our  earnings.


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## midnightpoet (Nov 19, 2016)

In my voting booth, the only real choice was for President. Really, 99% were either unopposed or the other choice besides Republican was Libertarian (and damn few of them). It's the same on off-years.  Not a single democrat other than President. We here in Texas are single-minded (however, the state wide vote was closer than I anticipated - things changing?).


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## ppsage (Nov 19, 2016)

> at least in a monarchy ...


The rationale behind seeking leadership through inbreeding always escaped me.


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## dale (Nov 19, 2016)

ppsage said:


> The rationale behind seeking leadership through inbreeding always escaped me.




not me. no more than the pedigree breeding of dogs for certain purposes escapes me.


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## ppsage (Nov 19, 2016)

dale said:


> not me. no more than the pedigree breeding of dogs for certain purposes escapes me.


I think the 'pedigree breeding' was based on something besides desirable genetic traits.


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## escorial (Nov 19, 2016)

i can recall my queen crying when the royal yacht was being decommisioned..brings a lump to the throat that..bless


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## Olly Buckle (Nov 20, 2016)

It might help if politicians had some sort of qualifying criteria. On feeling ill one wouldn't take a vote on who should give diagnosis and treatment, the qualified doctor wins hands down evry time; I want a wall, I look for a bricklayer, not a master  pastry chef. So how about some exams and qualifications for politicians?


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## Phil Istine (Nov 20, 2016)

Olly Buckle said:


> It might help if politicians had some sort of qualifying criteria. On feeling ill one wouldn't take a vote on who should give diagnosis and treatment, the qualified doctor wins hands down evry time; I want a wall, I look for a bricklayer, not a master  pastry chef. So how about some exams and qualifications for politicians?



I saw an interesting short video recently on Facebook about the Canadian government.  Apparently, the minister for health is a doctor, minister for sport - a paralympian, minister for science holds a degree in the subject - etc.
Sounds a much better idea than awarding everything to the biggest sycophant.


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## Winston (Nov 20, 2016)

Phil Istine said:


> I saw an interesting short video recently on Facebook about the Canadian government.  Apparently, the minister for health is a doctor, minister for sport - a paralympian, minister for science holds a degree in the subject - etc.
> Sounds a much better idea than awarding everything to the biggest sycophant.



The main problem is that "slippery slope" between a Meritocracy and Oligarchy.
Sometimes the best specialist in their field has not one lick of common sense.  I'm not a Populist, but I get their thinking.


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## Olly Buckle (Nov 20, 2016)

letting politicians have controlover something like the health service is a bad mistake. Politicians want tangible results, a percentage improvement in the number of cases successfully treated for example.  Anyone in the health service knows the vast majority of lives saved by medicine were saved by preventative medecine, no cures, no results you can point at, just millions ofpeople having a longer,better quality life. The same sortof arguments can be made about education.
Let the politicians deal with the things there are no experts on and we are split about; should the extremes of low  life we can no longer afford to incarcerate or reform be hung quietly or drawn and quartered publicly for our entertainment


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## dale (Nov 20, 2016)

Olly Buckle said:


> It might help if politicians had some sort of qualifying criteria. On feeling ill one wouldn't take a vote on who should give diagnosis and treatment, the qualified doctor wins hands down evry time; I want a wall, I look for a bricklayer, not a master  pastry chef. So how about some exams and qualifications for politicians?


as long as the qualifications aren't..."have you ever been a politician"? that's fine with me.


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## Olly Buckle (Nov 21, 2016)

dale said:


> as long as the qualifications aren't..."have you ever been a politician"? that's fine with me.



Obama was a sociallawyer, Trump runs a profit making company, both things that might help, but does either have a degree in politics? Any special negotiating skills? A deeper understanding of the cultures of others they deal with? They are 'commander in chief', but do they have any understanding of the utility of force, what it can achieve in a particular situation? I know they have advisors, but advisors have their own agenda quite often, and advice can be contradictory, are they qualified to  judge which to accept and which to ignore?

Ask a politician why you should vote for  him/her and they usually start 'I believe ...'  So what? We all have beliefs, most are half cocked. I want people with knowledge to lead. In old style societies you rarely had one chief who dictated everything, there were a series of chiefs who were good at their own speciality, warfare, agriculture, hunting, etc. and took over for the duration of the time they were needed, then stepped down. A bit like Ancient Greek Dictators who were elected in times of emergency and then stepped down when the emergency was over, that twentieth century German did us a real mis-service getting dictators a bad name


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