Blind Voting

I get what you are saying and while I believe everyone should vote there are some people that I know that don't vote and I am actually relieved. Not only are they uninformed, they are so willy-nilly. They hear half a sentence taken out of context from a what would be a multi-paragraph statement in an the opposition's commercial and believe that half sentence out of context statement to be the full truth. I am sort of glad they don't vote BUT people not voting can make or break an election and while the person that didn't vote has no right to complain they are not blameless in the outcome.

Well, even if you haven't researched thoroughly surely you at least have an opinion? Vote based on your opinion. Exercise your right to vote. Think about how long and hard the women before us had to fight to get us the right to vote and be counted as equal citizens. What's the phrase... use it or lose it? If you DON'T vote and you're registered then THAT is making a mockery of the voting process.

I don't even care who you vote for, as long as you perform your civic duty and vote.

It's not even J. about voting for President. You do realize that your local and state elections are occurring today too, right? State Senate and U.S. Senate elections are taking place. Congressional elections are taking place. State Representation is taking place. There may also be town issues being voted on, such as funding issues. There's much more at stake than the Presidential election, so please make the effort to get out there and vote even if you don't vote in each category.

Snobby M.: I wish there were competency tests for voting. :)

As someone who cuddles up to the voter's pamphlet and does the research for myself, my husband, and a senior friend who sometimes needs help understanding the issues (and who takes the time to ask for help, which I love and appreciate about her)... my answer is that I would prefer if we were a nation of truly well-informed voters. Not informed through social media or our friends or the pulpit, but if people actually sat down and read through candidates platforms, their goals and visions, and the ramifications of each measure on our ballots.

I do believe it does more harm than good, and not J. when the result is that we elect someone I voted against. Often, people can be excited about candidates for all the wrong reasons, and then this results in a political jadedness which insinuates itself into other elections. I don't believe any candidate is a superhero who can actually deliver on every single promise. In the case of the presidential candidates, much of this depends on the willingness of the House and the Senate, and their ability to move forward together. One person can only do so much. I try to temper my own feelings with those realities when I cast my vote. No one is perfect, no one is solely going to be responsible for getting our country out of the mess it's currently in. It has to be a TEAM effort.

When people (on either side of the political spectrum) get dogmatic and forget to elect the more centerist team players, nothing gets done. I'd like to think our nation will get past being a nation of single-issue voters, but I am not encouraged that this will happen. (I say this as a very personally progressive socialist type who does vote for candidates who lean more toward the center. There are my personal preferences, and then there's the reality of what's reasonable. It's good for people who are drawn to extremes on both sides to be aware of that. It only works for everyone when we can meet in the middle.)

If you are not voting for a person for a reason, I say - skip that one. :)

For example - I did not vote for the Soil and Water commissioner today. I'm sorry but I can't make a qualified choice for that position - and I couldn't find ANY information on the folks who were running.

EVERY other public office though, I was able to find some info on the people and to make a choice based on that.

Voting is a civic duty. There are men and women overseas fighting for us to keep our freedoms right now, which includes voting. Do your research and go vote. I encourage you to look at more than one issue. This election is not only about women's rights, illegal immigration, energy, or any of the other important topics...it's about all of them. Find the candidate you align with and vote.

I think its better to vote always because 9/10 there is at least majority of topics people know about and can vote well on. I think not voting is a disgrace and it really sickens M. when people who have the opportunity and freedom to vote, don't. Its horrible!

I will always take an uneducated vote over a NO VOTE.

Get informed and then vote. If you don't know enough about the judge to vote him in again, then don't enter anything for that person, but do vote where you have an opinion. I easily found all of the people on our ballot at the website for our state elections, and was able to do some research on the people I didn't recognize. Have a clue, at least on some of the candidates.

no one has no opinion on something.
I have a big issue with people that don't vote.
Many non voters have big opinions on issues and they voice them then they come back and say well I don't vote. Well if you don't vote you don't have any right to complain about anything cause you did nothing to change it. You J. flap your jaws and do nothing to change things that aren't the way you want. ( not you specifically ,"you " as in those that do that)
Women especially, I don't understand not voting.
Our grandmothers , great grandmothers and their mothers struggled and fought for decades for women to get the right to vote. They were jailed, beaten , tortured and who knows what else and when you don't vote you are mocking that struggle. You are throwing away that sacrifice.

I'm sorry--the candidates are so polar opposite on every issue in the election on ALL issues and EVERY aspect of media has been so saturated, I can't imagine someone being completely uninformed!
Pick an issue important to you, research it and VOTE!

Updated

I'm sorry--the candidates are so polar opposite on every issue in the election on ALL issues and EVERY aspect of media has been so saturated, I can't imagine someone being completely uninformed!
Pick an issue important to you, research it and VOTE!

Most people I know have an opinion of a couple people or issues so I don't think any vote is truly blind.

How is it that the choice is between blind voting and not voting?

This isn't J. about election season. We live in the world, we should be staying informed about what is going on around us.

To answer your actual question, I don't know. I guess both are pretty crappy options. If you REALLY are that uninformed, I you shouldn't vote but I do think you have a responsibility as a citizen to get informed and get to the polls.

I only vote for things I have an opinion about...but I always take part in voting on the overall ballot. I left a few boxes "blank" during this election because I didn't know enough about them. I say blank because I J. drew a long line through the section so no one could go and fill in for M.. J. a little worried about some of the sticky hands out there with a pen willing to fill in votes for the "uninformed".

I feel it is a responsible civic duty to vote for only the things you are informed about. But that is J. my opinion.

Happy voting day!!

I voted today, but did not vote on quite a few things. I wanted to make sure that I voted for president, R74 (gay marriage), and governor. Didn't care too much about the other stuff, so I found that I left some stuff blank. Sometimes I do vote along party lines.
L.

I always go back to my high school civics teacher who told us, "If you don't know enough to vote for either candidate, vote for yourself."

We have a duty to vote, and we SHOULD vote. If you don't vote, don't bother to tell M. your opinion.