Voting (a non-political view on the mindset of voters)

[Terin]

Ever notice that when there is a third party candidate for President people don't even take them seriously because they're of the mindset that "they can't win"? It makes me so angry because Voting isn't about picking who you think will win. This isn't the superbowl. You're supposed to let your voice be heard, and vote for who YOU think is best for the job, not who everyone else thinks. I've been dipping into this year's election, and I'll admit that I'm supporting a 3rd party candidate. Guess what? If he doesn't win, I'll still know that I voted for who I believed in, while someone who decided to vote for who they thought "the lesser of two evils" were will have 4 years of shame in the back of their mouth. If you're going to vote, get informed, and choose who you think will be the best president, regardless of whether or not you think they can win.
-T

[Ming]

What I find funny is the hypocrisy that is apparent in this country when it comes to voting. The people who are telling you that your vote on a 3rd part canditate is a waste are the same people who turn around and tell you how important it is for you to just vote.

Interesting anecdote about voting...I'm registered as an independent, because I think that a 2 party system is ridiculous. The trade off is that I can't vote in primaries....which is fine because I choose to not pledge allegiance to one group. So I hear all the nonsense from the parties about how important voting is because it's our Constitutional right, because each and every vote is important, and it's just important to get out there and vote, regardless of who we vote for.

So I'm in town hall one day, in the voter registration area, and there's a sign on the wall. It says make sure we register for a party, otherwise it's like our vote only counts as half. Screeching halt....WTF? How can you sit there and tell me how important my vote is (regardless) and then tell me that it's not really important unless I show support for a party?

Hypocrisy FTW!

[Terin]

That reminds me, I need to get to the DMV to register.
-T

[Silver Adept]

The electoral system in the country biases hard against any "third" party candidates, because it requires you to win majorities in places to get seats in the halls of government, and it gives no option for anyone to rank their choices. Both major parties have successfully turned this lack of ranking into "vote for us, or you're voting for the other guy to get into the office". I suspect, given the chance to vote for the person they actually preferred and to make sure the person they really hate gets the shaft, more people would vote for third party candidates as their first choices. Add into that something like Instant Runoff, where the lowest-garnering candidate is knocked out, and the second choices of all those who voted for him/her are then tallied into the remaining candidates, and it wouldn't be a problem at all for people to truly vote their conscience and still be halfway satisfied when their third/fourth choice gets the requisite majorities.