Joy and Austin 24

[HerNameIsBuffy]

Just a reminder that there is an entire Quiverful of Politics many of you might enjoy.

I'm not trying to get subvert the thread drift, just pointing it out for some who may not be aware.

[TatertotAsserole]

@Beermeet

The reason my sticker looks different is because I moved recently and the county accidentally sent my ballot to my Century City address (I live in Venice now). So, I had to go to the early voting location to pick up my ballot in person. That being said, other than the 10 minute drive, I was in and out with my ballot in 7 minutes. California makes it super easy to vote. 

[Alachantal]

2 hours ago, singsingsing said:

The only reason you live in a free and democratic society and have the right to be left alone is because of voting. Yes, you have the freedom to choose not to vote, but frankly that's a really shitty choice. Take a few hours and familiarize yourself with the candidates running and the main issues. Decide what's most important to you and who reflects that best. Then take an hour or two (or often far less) out of your day and just vote. It's very easy and it's incredibly important. Your vote absolutely makes a difference. Even if you only do it for purely selfish reasons, if you like your life and the freedoms you have now, please vote.

I'm glad you feel as if my choices are "shitty". Fortunately, that makes absolutely zero difference in my life and definitely does not encourage me to take time out of my busy schedule to vote. I'm glad you believe in voting just as much as I am happy I am not obligated to do so. 

If you don't vote, you don't get to bitch. So I'll bitch until Trudeau gets voted out of office and then I'll go back to not caring - unless they can find a suitable candidate that leans the way I do, of course, although that is incredibly unlikely. 

[Beermeet]

25 minutes ago, TatertotAsserole said:

@Beermeet

The reason my sticker looks different is because I moved recently and the county accidentally sent my ballot to my Century City address (I live in Venice now). So, I had to go to the early voting location to pick up my ballot in person. That being said, other than the 10 minute drive, I was in and out with my ballot in 7 minutes. California makes it super easy to vote. 

We totes have the same sticker! ??

I was just curious if you had gotten the nice vote by mail packet. I seriously don't remember getting this packet with a sticker even!  Venice is great, cute houses, artsy and good food. I live in Redondo ?

[Beermeet]

5 hours ago, Alachantal said:

Nah, not mad because I didn't get a sticker. I said I felt disappointed about not getting one.

Sure, the guy I wound up voting for seems great, yes. I did like that instead of ringing the door bell he would comment on IG that my cat was adorable, and that questions could be asked/answered online via social media. Perhaps I would have voted for him a second time, but unless he decides to move 13 hours away and run here that isn't possible.

I didn't like that I felt forced to vote. As in I was told we're going to vote and this is who you're going to vote for, and that on the way over he said he'd wished we did the vote by mail in my name so he could've just cast his vote under my name and mailed it in. 

 

 

This. This seems the real issue. Correct me if I'm off base.  Sounds like this ex was not a pleasant man to be with.  He made you feel some kind of way about voting and you.  I'm sorry. That sucks. I hope you can move past that and realize that even though you are not super into politics ( me neither but, I do enjoy that freedom and my voice being heard in that way).  I looked people up for local election on Google and got a general idea of what they are about and voted according to my preference. Same with measures and propositions ( not sure if they are called the same in Canada) It didn't take long and I did the best I could informing myself.  That guy was wrong to treat you like that and say those things like you didn't matter.  I do hope you can see the value in voting how you see fit.  

Edit: my WTF reaction was for how your ex treated you, not for your words. 

[Jigsaw3]

3 hours ago, Alachantal said:

I'm glad you feel as if my choices are "shitty". Fortunately, that makes absolutely zero difference in my life and definitely does not encourage me to take time out of my busy schedule to vote. I'm glad you believe in voting just as much as I am happy I am not obligated to do so. 

If you don't vote, you don't get to bitch. So I'll bitch until Trudeau gets voted out of office and then I'll go back to not caring - unless they can find a suitable candidate that leans the way I do, of course, although that is incredibly unlikely. 

As a fellow Canadian, I would very much urge you to vote. We might not have Trump, but some of his disciples are just waiting for Trudeau's eclipse for their chance at maple flavoured megalomania -- Doug Ford is a case in point.

To quote Taylor Swift, "We may never find a candidate or party with whom we agree 100% on every issue, but we have to vote anyway."

[KeshetParparNesicha]

Aw, they send you stickers with the mail-in ballot? That's adorable.

[SapphireSlytherin]

59 minutes ago, Jigsaw3 said:

We might not have Trump, but some of his disciples are just waiting for Trudeau's eclipse for their chance at maple flavoured megalomania 

Exactly. Look what just happened in Brazil. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-46013408

[Beermeet]

12 minutes ago, KeshetParparNesicha said:

Aw, they send you stickers with the mail-in ballot? That's adorable.

It really is!  I was opening the packet with full intent to vote this way for the 1st time and was thinking " but, I want my sticker!" And there it was.  So cute!  Post paid even!  Like, thanks guys ?

[HurricaneBells]

On 10/28/2018 at 10:39 AM, Someone Out There said:

There are also websites that indicate where there will be democracy sausages, and schools tend to use voting as a fundraising activity (hence the sausages and cake stalls, the cake stall food was almost out by the time I got there for the Federal election and the people on the Sausage Sizzle had needed to stock up on more sausages).

One day they will put two and two together and starting having the polling booths at Bunnings... I cannot believe we havent yet thought of or implemented this. Pauline, you let us down. LOL

As for voting or not voting... hmm im on the fence about this. Maybe because we never end up with the person we voted in so its kinda.... meh #scomo LOL. In fact,  aussies are fined if we dont vote (to elect the person who will next be stabbed in the back and dethroned) so not a lot of convincing to be done to get people to polling booths, probably more needed to get them on the electrol roll to begin with. What it does mean though is that EVERYONE votes. Even the people who shouldnt, dont know anything about it or simply dont care. All of this assumes you believe in the value, officials and ethics of your government to begin with and I dont think anyone should judge other people for not doing it. We had to pick between the worlds most arrogant man, a racist and a walking penis at the last election. Choices choices. its only the best of the worst being elected... 

[DarkAnts]

I love mail in voting here in Oregon. I was able to vote in my pajamas while drinking my morning coffee. I even had internet access at hand if I had questions.i dropped it off the same day.

[CreationMuseumSeasonPass]

I just cannot comprehend why people feel ambivalent about voting. It is your civic duty. Ask yourself what matters to you the most in this life. Find the candidates who most align with you. Vote for them. It's not rocket science.

One of my favorite childhood memories was our elementary school holding a presidential election in 1992 for Bill Clinton, George Bush and Ross Perot. Then, when we went home, all of the neighborhood kids gathered in our basement to hold a neighborhood election. We used our PlaySkool chalkboard to tally the votes.

If you're curious, Clinton won both.

As for real voting, I was so excited to finally legally vote in June 2016. It didn't matter if it was a primary. I was doing my civic duty. And I still remember the exact date of my first real vote, it was 6/6/06. I like to tell people I voted on 666.

So yeah, I wear that "I VOTED" sticker proudly.

[AliceInFundyland]

9 minutes ago, DarkAnts said:

I love mail in voting here in Oregon. I was able to vote in my pajamas while drinking my morning coffee. I even had internet access at hand if I had questions.i dropped it off the same day.

We don’t get a sticker though. I do love a sticker,

[HerNameIsBuffy]

6 minutes ago, AliceInFundyland said:

We don’t get a sticker though. I do love a sticker,

Not snarky at all, genuinely curious...what is that people like about the stickers?

I never knew anyone cared about them until this thread, I just saw them as another example of government waste.

I've always declined...and one year some over zealous old lady stuck one directly on my jacket and I gave her the biggest wtf look ever as i peeled it off and left it crumpled on her table.  Don't sticky people against their will!

Anyway, I'm curious as to why so many here love them so much.  

[AliceInFundyland]

Well, I like stickers as a collectible memento. I tend to buy them and have a few  memento type boxes that are covered with them.

I do like voting as well. So I don’t need it.

I think it’s just that old motivational psychological thing. We give out stickers in our society. Everyone likes a little compensation for their time.  

Maybe it helps when the families go with kids too. They know stickers are rewards for positive behavior.

ETA: Why look, a link

http://time.com/4541760/i-voted-sticker-history-origins/

[Beermeet]

3 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

 

I've always declined...and one year some over zealous old lady stuck one directly on my jacket and I gave her the biggest wtf look ever as i peeled it off and left it crumpled on her table.  Don't sticky people against their will!

Lol!  Agree. Sticky's are only fun if you are having fun!

Um, IDK, the act of taking part in democracy with the whole US and those little stickers does something for me. It's like a more common pared down ash cross on the forehead for Ash Wednesday.  A declaration.  And, just sticker. My mail in sticker was different,  much bigger. I liked it! I wore it while making dinner after chasing down said mailman.  I'm not sure I answered anything.  #stickers

[HerNameIsBuffy]

14 minutes ago, CreationMuseumSeasonPass said:

I just cannot comprehend why people feel ambivalent about voting. It is your civic duty.

I understand it.  I believe we should vote, especially now as picking the lesser of two evils has never been more important - but I resent the fuck out of having to participate in a broken and corrupt system.

I think it's a politicians civic duty to refrain from being narcissistic liars but they fail in that duty time and again.

Again, I vote so no witch hunts, but I don't feel good about it at all.  I don't like having to choose the one whose personal agenda and lobbyists most closely line up with my own and hope they do something they promised by the end of their term.

No, I don't think my vote matters.  At all.  

Yes, I believe in many cases elections are bought and sold and have fuck all to do with people who schlep down to the polls.

And no, I don't think you have to vote to have a right to bitch.  There is no right to bitch - people can bitch about whatever they want.  Because I vote for some politicians I don't particularly like doesn't mean I have any more right to complain than someone who washed their hands of the whole charade.

I vote strictly as a fuck you to the opponents I hate more than the ones I voted for.

I don't vote out of civic duty - I vote out of spite.

[DarkAnts]

38 minutes ago, AliceInFundyland said:

We don’t get a sticker though. I do love a sticker,

Spoiler

 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

4 minutes ago, DarkAnts said:

  Hide contents

 

Okay...you melted my cynical cold heart!  Awww

[SassyPants]

OMG have we cycled back to the adult sticker talk? LOL.

My husband is sitting next to me on the couch, voting!

[SapphireSlytherin]

4 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

OMG have we cycled back to the adult sticker talk? LOL.

Apparently. The people I work with would still  be appalled if I handed them out. lol

 

[KeshetParparNesicha]

1 hour ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

Not snarky at all, genuinely curious...what is that people like about the stickers?

I enjoy signaling my righteousness to the world?

[Someone Out There]

5 hours ago, HurricaneBells said:

One day they will put two and two together and starting having the polling booths at Bunnings... I cannot believe we havent yet thought of or implemented this. Pauline, you let us down. LOL 

As for voting or not voting... hmm im on the fence about this. Maybe because we never end up with the person we voted in so its kinda.... meh #scomo LOL. In fact,  aussies are fined if we dont vote (to elect the person who will next be stabbed in the back and dethroned) so not a lot of convincing to be done to get people to polling booths, probably more needed to get them on the electrol roll to begin with. What it does mean though is that EVERYONE votes. Even the people who shouldnt, dont know anything about it or simply dont care. All of this assumes you believe in the value, officials and ethics of your government to begin with and I dont think anyone should judge other people for not doing it. We had to pick between the worlds most arrogant man, a racist and a walking penis at the last election. Choices choices. its only the best of the worst being elected...  

I have said to people at work, and I will say it here, for the last few elections (ever since Gillard was stabbed in the back) my preferred election outcome has been for the two priministerial candidates to be voted out of their positions (a la Howard).  I do have a party preference, however I would say that both main options are about as bad as each other.

I do think there are definate benefits to compulsary voting though in that it helps weed out some of the more extreme characters (at least in the house of reps, the senate is a whole other issue though the system does have its pros and cons).  Ultimately there is no perfect governmental or voting system.

[SorenaJ]

Honestly there should be a mini test before being allowed to vote. A lot of people have no idea what they're even voting on, and what it means. 

[bal maiden]

47 minutes ago, SorenaJ said:

Honestly there should be a mini test before being allowed to vote. A lot of people have no idea what they're even voting on, and what it means. 

Case in point: the mass increase in people in the UK googling ‘what is the EU?’ the day AFTER the referendum... not sure if sitting a test is the way to go, particularly since the way the test is phrased could be used to lead votes in a particular direction. But I’m sure sure what the answer to an ignornant plebiscite is either. 

 

I disagree wholeheartedly with the whole “no vote, no right to complain” attitude. There are many other things that make a modern democracy a democracy, apart from voting, such as citizenship, ie taking an active role in politics and civic life. Yes, you may vote, but do you protest? Do you write to your representatives, or your local newspaper? Do you take part in local politics and civic groups? Do you actively hold your politicians to account? All of these things are vital parts of a democracy, but no one is saying “if you don’t campaign, you don’t get to complain”.

Voting is the bare minimum of participation in the democratic life of a country, why does checking a box once every couple of years earn you a right to complain, when you are not doing anything else?  Frankly, I don’t see how such an action that is largely inconsequential, in many places, (thanks to the electoral college, FPTP, or take your pick from imperfect electoral systems) suddenly means you can complain, whereas the person who was disenfranchised, or the person who is disenchanted, is supposed to stay quiet, even when their vote would have done jack shit. I believe that all who live under a government and rule of law which has a monopoly on the use of power and force, have the right to complain about that power.