I vote in every election, even if it's only one race that is being decided in my district. I took advantage of early voting (a week ago Sunday) and the line wasn't bad at all. I can't believe anyone would ever consider not voting.
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
Do you vote in elections?
- Thread starter AbbysMom
- Start Date
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2005
- Messages
- 14,604
- Purraise
- 1,702
Women were first allowed to vote in the Presidential elections in 1920. I believe everyone should vote, especially women because there was a time when they could not vote.
- Joined
- May 8, 2005
- Messages
- 9,234
- Purraise
- 254
Yep, vote or be fined. I'd vote anyway though, and don't disagree with it being compulsory
I think it should depend on the felony. DH has a felony and can't vote. He dated a girl for 7 years (who worked out of town for a few years) and during that time cashed checks that she told him to sign so he could come spend the weekend with her, or buy groceries or get money to take her out. He had a job, but it didn't pay as much as hers so it went to rent and utilities. It was a bad relationship, and when DH broke up with her due to her cheating on him, she filed forgery charges. He couldn't say he didn't do it, because he did (although she told him to) so he now has a felony and can't vote. I agree, he broke the law, but I did the same thing with an old boyfriend and didn't think anything of it since he asked me to. I know a lot of women that would sign their husband's name on their paycheck to cash it to pay bills. So, that's slightly different than a felony like murder or rape.
Back to the original question, yes I vote. I was pleasantly surprised it was only a 1/2 hour in and out affair, but I was afraid stopping after work would take hours. The only hold up was everyone ahead of me in line fell between A-L for their last name. If I had kept my maiden name, I would have been out in 5 minutes! lol
Last edited:
I know you didnt bring up the issue originally but it is actually not true that all convicted felons are automatically disenfranchised. Rather, it is a state by state determination. Where I am felons are allowed to vote so long as they are not incarcerated, on probation or parole.I think she is referring to the fact that convicted felons are not always given the right to vote -- so they may WANT to vote, but they might not be able to legally.
Personally, I don't get the whole "no voting for convicted felons" thing. Yeah, they've committed crimes, but does it justify taking away their participation in the government? It's not as if there's a bunch of pro-felony candidates out there for them to vote for.
I went to the polls with my best friend who is a felon. We had no problems- it's his right same as everyone else's.
I didn't say they were automatically disenfranchised. I said they are not always given the rights to vote.
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2005
- Messages
- 910
- Purraise
- 21
When I was younger- I never really gave it any thought. I know I didn't vote right away when I first registered to vote.
I did yesterday. And as one of my facebook friends said "I wanted a sticker that said I voted today and stood in a VERY long line to do so". It took me an hour and a half. But I shouldn't complain, there were areas around me where they had to wait 3 hours to vote.
The line I stood in was very cordial. We wound up snaking around the hallways of the local middle school. Stood for 45 minutes in the gym, the parents who had little kids there were happy b/c the kids ran around the gym. I saw a whole bunch of neighbors, church people. And the lady in front of me has a sophomore at the high school that I think dd knows- the mom looked really familiar.
Dh didn't have the same experience. He got there when the polls opened. The election officials at the school didn't really know what to do with the long line snaking around the outside of the school. So they tried moving sections of the line inside the school b/c it was cold outside. - People got mad b/c they said they were losing their place in line. What. A. Mess.
Cheryl
I did yesterday. And as one of my facebook friends said "I wanted a sticker that said I voted today and stood in a VERY long line to do so". It took me an hour and a half. But I shouldn't complain, there were areas around me where they had to wait 3 hours to vote.
The line I stood in was very cordial. We wound up snaking around the hallways of the local middle school. Stood for 45 minutes in the gym, the parents who had little kids there were happy b/c the kids ran around the gym. I saw a whole bunch of neighbors, church people. And the lady in front of me has a sophomore at the high school that I think dd knows- the mom looked really familiar.
Dh didn't have the same experience. He got there when the polls opened. The election officials at the school didn't really know what to do with the long line snaking around the outside of the school. So they tried moving sections of the line inside the school b/c it was cold outside. - People got mad b/c they said they were losing their place in line. What. A. Mess.
Cheryl
Turns out taxation WITH representation isn't so hot, either! I voted early, since Tuesday is the day I'm almost always gone. Before early voting became common, we used to vote absentee, until I discovered that many jurisdiction don't count absentee ballots if there aren't enough to change their local election, because counting them (and verifying them) can be a real pain.
Last edited:
There is no such thing as an innocent convicted felon. By definition, if you are convicted, you are guilty. Just as OJ was innocent of murder, because that's what the jury said. If you are subsequently exonerated for some reason, your record should be expunged and you are no longer a convicted felon.
Some states re-instate voting rights, although often only after the full sentence has been served, even probationary time.
And just as an aside, there is no right to vote in the constitution. Amendments have been added that mostly solved that, but the founding fathers felt that those who didn't have a stake in the ownership of the country didn't have enough motivation to vote responsibly. Having seen what some of the early elections looked like, I'd have to say that is a dubious assumption.
I told you the legal definition. How it works out in the real world is largely a matter of how good your lawyer is, or who is willing to take on your cause.
I never said innocent people were never convicted. I just said that if you're convicted, you are, by the definition of the law, no longer innocent.
In this case, she was convicted on what prosecutors thought was good evidence. She got the verdict reversed, went to retrial, and was exonerated. She is no longer a convicted felon. But she was, up until the second trial and exoneration. See how it works? Being convicted (or, for that matter, exonerated as in the case of OJ) is merely stating a fact about a court.
Do you know if this lady got her voting rights back, by the way? I would guess the answer is "yes."
Last edited:
My impression is of how it works out in the real world is you are guilty until proven innocent unless you have the $$$ for a lawyer. The more $$$ you have, the more likely you will be found innocent.
I did vote though I admit I am becoming very jaded about it. I voted more out of habit than anything else.
Does voting actually serve anything for president?
No, literally nothing so long as there is an electoral college.
EDIT: The electoral college is supposed to vote based on who their constituents choose, but there is no law that says they have to. In theory, 100% of the country could vote for candidate A, but the electoral college could still vote in candidate B if they felt like it. The only thing keeping them "honest" is that they themselves get elected, but the worst thing that would happen is they don't get reelected. They still would have voted in a president that the vast majority of the country didn't vote for.
Last edited:
Exactly! We vote by mail here in Oregon but I do miss going to the polls. It's so satisfying to cast one's vote!
I know you didn't. I tried to disclaimer that at the beginning but realize I didn't explain myself well. I just used your post because it was the one that most touched on the issue that I wanted to respond to. Sorry if I was unclear and implied that you said something you didn't say!I didn't say they were automatically disenfranchised. I said they are not always given the rights to vote.
Stealing thread. Can't help myself, but check this out from today's news:
http://gma.yahoo.com/man-jailed-1962-murders-freed-230010818--abc-news-topstories.html
The criminal justice system is so effed and desperately in need of reform - and it it really bugs me that issues like foreign policy take precedence at election time.
http://gma.yahoo.com/man-jailed-1962-murders-freed-230010818--abc-news-topstories.html
The criminal justice system is so effed and desperately in need of reform - and it it really bugs me that issues like foreign policy take precedence at election time.
I vote only in the Presidential election.
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2006
- Messages
- 3,152
- Purraise
- 86
I feel like I can have more influence in local elections, where it matters more if you come out and vote. Local politicians and elected officials have more immediate effects on the lives of the people in my community, anyway, and it's often possible to talk to them directly or get a personal reply to a letter or a phone call, if you really want to get information about them. Picking somebody for the school board or deciding whether to raise property taxes to pay for road repairs is something I feel like I can get a handle on and understand. The big-shot politicians in Washington... all I know about them is a bunch of campaign rhetoric, media coverage, and political promises.
I do vote in Presidential elections, but it's not something that makes me feel like I have much power. A single vote goes much further when you're one of a thousand votes than when you're one out of a few hundred million.
I do vote in Presidential elections, but it's not something that makes me feel like I have much power. A single vote goes much further when you're one of a thousand votes than when you're one out of a few hundred million.
Yep, it is possible. They are called "faithless electors". It usually means the end of their political career, if they meant to do it and didn't just make a mistake, because electors are chosen for their loyalty, and making them an elector is often a way of honoring somebody. But it is rare. A US election result hasn't been changed by faithless electors since 1836.
Last edited:
