Current Events > ce talks a lot of politics, but those >18 do you actually vote?

(+) Yeah! (+)

it's pretty obvious many millennials have something to say about politics but rarely actually go out and vote in the general/midterms. the numbers are even lower for choosing political candidates within a party or participating in local elections. what elections do you actually participate in? do you just like to sit online and voice your political ideas without voting? and if you do, why?

this is mainly in regards to people in the us but feel free to chime in even if you're not.
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I've voted in all Presidential elections since turning 18 (first one was 2008), and am trying to make an effort in being more active in the smaller elections.
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Everyone on CE is a felon.

Yes. Used to volunteer as an election judge too.
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I have voted every opportunity I have had since I reached legal age to do so.

In my opinion, you don't get to bitch about politics if you aren't willing to put your 2 cents in when it actually matters. I've actually stopped people mid-conversation because they said they didn't vote on the election/school levy/whatever that they were arguing about and told them that their opinion is objectively irrelevant because they chose not to be represented.

If you aren't willing to put your voice in, then you can't be mad when your voice isn't heard.
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__aCEr__ posted...

Everyone on CE is a felon.

Irrelevant, considering most felons can vote as long as they are not currently incarcerated. And I have a hunch most federal prisons don't allow GameFAQs access...
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I've voted in every Presidential election I could (3 of them now) and one midterms.

I will be voting for this years midterms for sure as well.
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FUCK voting. If I actually got what I wanted in the votes, I and everyone else would have NOTHING to complain about. Not voting gives you the ultimate power to throw around your opinion as if it's vast and potent.
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i've voted in every midterm, presidential primary (for my party), midterm and general presidential election since i've turned 18. i don't participate in local elections unless they're going to be on the previous ballots for the most part. i may change that in the future.

most of the major state constitutional amendments/local tax levies are usually thrown in with primaries, generals and midterms though.

in ohio it's really easy to vote early, i just fill out a form and mail it in before the election and they send back a ballot to fill out which i mail back in. it's pretty forgiving, you can submit a mail in starting 90 days before elections so usually i've voted well before everyone else. as an added bonus these are actually counted before any other ballots casted on the election day and i don't have to get off my ass and stand in a line.
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Godnorgosh posted...

Aristoph posted...

I have voted every opportunity I have had since I reached legal age to do so.

In my opinion, you don't get to bitch about politics if you aren't willing to put your 2 cents in when it actually matters. I've actually stopped people mid-conversation because they said they didn't vote on the election/school levy/whatever that they were arguing about and told them that their opinion is objectively irrelevant because they chose not to be represented.

If you aren't willing to put your voice in, then you can't be mad when your voice isn't heard.

If you participate in direct action through protest, organizing, etc. you absolutely have a voice and have already proven you care more than someone who just checks some boxes once every four years.

Is this your way of telling us that you don't vote lmao
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electoral politics won't save us it's foolish to think they will
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Solar_Crimson posted...

I've voted in all Presidential elections since turning 18 (first one was 2008), and am trying to make an effort in being more active in the smaller elections.

This.
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Paper_Okami posted...

electoral politics won't save us

So you don't vote either? Is this a trend with CE's teenage communists or are you just too young to vote?
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ASithLord7 posted...

Paper_Okami posted...

electoral politics won't save us

So you don't vote either? Is this a trend with CE's teenage communists or are you just too young to vote?

i voted for obama in 2012 didn't vote in 2016, because who gives a fuck i live in Mass which is the only state where trump didn't win a single country

Just because i said electoral politics won't save us, doesn't mean i don't vote, but go off.
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I've voted in 2012, 2014, and 2016.

Electoral politics will not save us. They cannot be the be-all and end-all of your politics.
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In everything below the presidential election. Voting in the presidential election is a waste of time because Missouri's days as a bellwether are long behind it and my vote means nothing now.
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I vote for everything

local elections, state election, federal elections

anytime they got something for me to vote on I go vote
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I'm not even registered.
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Godnorgosh posted...

If you participate in direct action through protest, organizing, etc. you absolutely have a voice and have already proven you care more than someone who just checks some boxes once every four years.

I think you misunderstand the definition of "direct" action. Voting is the direct action in this case.

Protesting is very indirect, as it doesn't actually do anything other than put pressure on someone else to do something. If you protest and you don't vote, you and your opinions are meaningless. Period.
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I do.

I voted for Trump in the primary and general, both in a State that he won each.
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Godnorgosh posted...

Aristoph posted...

I have voted every opportunity I have had since I reached legal age to do so.

In my opinion, you don't get to bitch about politics if you aren't willing to put your 2 cents in when it actually matters. I've actually stopped people mid-conversation because they said they didn't vote on the election/school levy/whatever that they were arguing about and told them that their opinion is objectively irrelevant because they chose not to be represented.

If you aren't willing to put your voice in, then you can't be mad when your voice isn't heard.

If you participate in direct action through protest, organizing, etc. you absolutely have a voice and have already proven you care more than someone who just checks some boxes once every four years.

This attitude is why Republicans win elections.
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Aristoph posted...

I have voted every opportunity I have had since I reached legal age to do so.

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No but in fairness I don't contribute much/anything to political topics so I think I'm safe from a hypocrisy standpoint
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After my first election in 2010, when the California governor was up, I didn't pay much attention to later elections, even though I'd still vote when my ballot came in.

I'm paying attention this time.
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Yes. Not this last presidential election though. It was already a cluster fuck by time we had primaries here, and I didn't want to vote for either loser in the general.

But I plan on voting in the November election. I want to see if there are any socialists running in my area I'm not sure if that info is available yet.
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Nomadic View posted...

This attitude is why Republicans win elections.

You're right. Major elections are every two years, when you consider congressional seats (and you absolutely should). There's even more than that once you consider local politics, whose influence often trickles up in to statewide and then nation wide politics. It's bad enough that the only people voting in those downballot elections are mostly older people with the time to rot on their couches watching F&F for several hours each day. But to skip out on the major general elections every four years too? Damn.

At least Republicans understand that eighty percent of this shit is just showing up.
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Aristoph posted...

I think you misunderstand the definition of "direct" action. Voting is the direct action in this case.

It is not

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_action
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There's room for both. These things aren't mutually exclusive. Just like the Far Right has learned to push it's moderates further to the right, the left needs more and more actors willing to do the same within establishment politics.
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I don't know shit about politics, so I neither talk it nor vote.
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I'm aware of the term. Hence the quotes. Direct Action is a misnomer. It is, in reality, almost the definition of indirect.

There are two ways to go about making change happen. You can scream and yell until the person in power changes his mind by protesting, or you can say "This guy wants what I want, so I'm going to give him power instead" by voting. One of these relies on someone else willingly changing their minds. One of these does not.

If you protest, but you don't vote, then you are a literal waste of time in any elected official's mind. The only reason protests are effective is because, occasionally, an elected official believes he has a better chance of being re-elected if he does what they want. That doesn't happen when the people protesting don't vote.
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yes I vote in anything I can
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Aristoph posted...

I'm aware of the term. Hence the quotes. Direct Action is a misnomer. It is, in reality, almost the definition of indirect.

There are two ways to go about making change happen. You can scream and yell until the person in power changes his mind by protesting, or you can say "This guy wants what I want, so I'm going to give him power instead" by voting. One of these relies on someone else willingly changing their minds. One of these does not.

If you protest, but you don't vote, then you are a literal waste of time in any elected official's mind. The only reason protests are effective is because, occasionally, an elected official believes he has a better chance of being re-elected if he does what they want. That doesn't happen when the people protesting don't vote.

so you don't think that the Stonewall riots, where black trans women threw bricks at police cars, yielded any positive results?
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I've voted in every election I've been able to since turning 18.
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Basically, what Godnorgosh is alluding to by mentioning "direct action" and the Haymarket affair is political violence / domestic terrorism in order to achieve things.

The Haymarket affair (also known as the Haymarket massacre or Haymarket riot) was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on Tuesday, May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago.[2] It began as a peaceful rally in support of workers striking for an eight-hour day and in reaction to the killing of several workers the previous day by the police. An unknown person threw a dynamite bomb at police as they acted to disperse the public meeting. The bomb blast and ensuing gunfire resulted in the deaths of seven police officers and at least four civilians; dozens of others were wounded.

InstaReturns posted...

I don't know shit about politics, so I neither talk it nor vote.

How? Everywhere is infested with it. I cant even play WoW without /4 arguing about Trumps action of the hour.
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Never voted for anything because there's no point, I'm part of the lower class, and nobody in power has ever cared about what we want or need.

We're just peasants to be ignored by the aristocrats.
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Inferno Dive Dragoon posted...

Never voted for anything because there's no point, I'm part of the lower class, and nobody in power has ever cared about what we want or need.

We're just peasants to be ignored by the aristocrats.

while I dont disagree with you, there is a party that cares about you astronomically more than the other party
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Nomadic View posted...

InstaReturns posted...

I don't know shit about politics, so I neither talk it nor vote.

How? Everywhere is infested with it. I cant even play WoW without /4 arguing about Trumps action of the hour.

My coworkers and small group of friends are also not heavy into politics? Idk, I don't have a large circle
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