I had a weird conversation with someone yesterday. They claimed to be a conservative, a trump supporter and more... but then they said they don't vote and never had. "Because my vote doesn't count."

Uh, well, sir... Here in MA your vote may well be overwhelmed by lib/dems. But the real reason it doesn't count, is because you think it doesn't. Makes me wonder how many conservatives in MA don't bother voting, and where we'd be if they did.

How do you even start to change someone's mind on this point? Now, if you meet someone on the left who doesn't vote, maybe you don't bother prodding further.

But really, if you'd like to hold an opinion about how the state or country should be governed, you best vote. If you don't vote, I'm not sure why your opinion should matter to me, if it doesn't matter enough to you to put on a ballot.

If you're under 20, then you're likely to have all kinds of ideas about how voting doesn't matter. Because that is just one of the ideas children often hold. If you're over 25, and you don't vote, get your shit together, you're allegedly an adult now.

I'm as cynical as the next guy about voting. Certainly, one vote has little power. That's why we do it together. Sure, you can take various actions like donating to causes, volunteering, etc. But where the rubber meets the road is who gets elected. From the local all the way up.

If you don't believe your vote matters, you're right.

If you believe your vote matters, you're right.

No, I do not not vote.

Those people are lazy sacks of shit who just want to bitch about getting screwed over by Da Librulz. Fuck them. Fuck them in whatever hole they find most objectionable until the Sun burns out, and then fuck them for fifteen minutes more.

quote:

Originally posted by airsoft guy:
Those people are lazy sacks of shit who just want to bitch about getting screwed over by Da Librulz. Fuck them. Fuck them in whatever hole they find most objectionable until the Sun burns out, and then fuck them for fifteen minutes more.

^^^^ All 100 million of those POS.

They're right- Your vote doesn't count if you don't vote.

You're right- Their opinion doesn't mean anything to me if they don't vote.

I vote, last few election cycles I know it's a worthless vote, but I still do it. It is your civic duty to do so and it's super easy to do. If may not sway an election, but it can help keep the other side in check. If the Dem wins in your area by 30% they are emboldened to do what every crazy socialist progressive shit they feel like. If they win by 3% they are likely to be more centralists, at least in their public statements.

Tell you friend he is wrong he may not elect a R by voting, but he may be able to slow the progressive agenda just a tiny bit if they D has a bit of fear he could lose.

For much of my early adult life I was a disenfranchised voter. I was a Republican in Massachusetts. I still voted every election. Those that don't vote give up the right to complain about their government IMO.

When I lived in NJ, I always voted, even though my vote was always overwhelmed by others. Yesterday, when my family was getting ready to go to early voting, my kids asked me why I had to vote. They wanted to know why it was important enough to interrupt our day. I told them many good people have died so that I can have the right to vote. This is what I was taught, this is what I teach my children, and this is what I believe.

Ask someone whose family has paid the price for our freedom. Freedom is not free.

I always vote.

I have a friend, probably 60, that has never voted in the 25 years that I have known him. His excuse was jury duty was pulled from the voter registration. (It is now pulled from the driver license database)

We spent the entire obama administration having the same conversation.

He would start to bitch about it.
I would ask him if he voted.
He would say no.
I would say shutthefuckup, you don't vote you don't get to complain.

He has become a voter.

This is one of my pet peeves and gets my blood boiling. My coworkers bitch and complain about issues but then tell me they have never voted.

On election day I announce in our morning meeting that it is election day and "make sure you vote today, let me know if you need time to go vote" and 99% of them don't know it is election day and they don't vote.

I've always stressed to my daughter that not voting is a vote for the other guy.

"All it takes for evil to triumph…"

Voting is the most powerful and loudest single form of practicing the First amendment one has, in the quietest and calmest fashion.

some people's kids. dress'm up, send them to school...

I tell people that if they don’t vote they can’t complain. They have abdicated their voice to the other side.

Probably too long for most to read.

I am not big on politics. To me they bring out the worst in most. People lose their minds when it comes to politics or religion.

When I could first vote I did. At that time, I felt I had to.

Then for years, I didn't vote. I didn't vote because I didn't feel the information on the candidates was true. I also didn't want to take the time to hunt out the truth. I believed one should be an educated voter. Because I didn't vote, I never really complained either.

For the past 3 cycles, I started voting again. I still believe the information shared about the candidates is less than honest. I still believe one should be an educated voter. I still have yet to figure out a source to find truths instead of smears. I started remembering past decisions on topics rather than recent choices made by candidates.

While I have my personal set of values and beliefs, I find those who vote strictly party lines to be part of the root of the problem. It is my belief one should vote for the best candidate no matter the party. Though I also realize sometimes one must just hold their nose and pick the lesser evil.

People complain that things never change. Voting strictly party in my opinion partially causes that. People want limits but instead of voting for the newbie, they pick the familiar. If you truly want change, vote change. Vote anyone who hasn't ever been there before. You'll have to decide what terms you think are realistic.

I don't think much change can be made in anyone's first term. Most of their time would be spent figuring things out. One would think though that someone in a position for 10+ years who has done little isn't going to suddenly become the great mover and shaker they claimed to be.

My $0.02 is that when you go into that booth and make your selection(s), you should choose the best candidate for the position(s). It is your personal choice and opinion who that is. Make the choice. Turn and leave the booth and keep your decision(s) private.

Too often everyone feels the need to share every detail of their life given the shift toward social media and the psycological sham that "likes/shares" = popularity/relevance/importance

I always vote, but I'm a conservative in a heinously liberal area, so it's rare anyone I vote for ever wins. So, yes, sometimes it feels like a waste of time.

I vote, have voted and will continue to vote. As others have pointed out, lots of folks died to give me the right to do so.
But I hate it. It makes me feel as if I am a party to the insanity that our elected "representatives" involve themselves with. It has gotten to the point that I view anyone who desires to become involved with politics with a great deal of skepticism.
And the old saw, "if you dont vote, you cant complain"? Bullshit. Paying taxes gives me the right to bitch all I want!

I have always felt that voting, if nothing else,gives me bitching rights. Years ago ago I watched my Dad at a neighborhood party get into it with a liberal. My Dad asked if he voted: he said no so my Dad told him to shut up. That always stuck with me.