Voting...

[denny]

I've been reasonably quiet about the imminent election, but I feel the need to say just one thing - which hopefully doesn't need saying to most who read my journal, but anyway:

Please don't waste your vote.

The only way to waste your vote is to not use it. Voting for the rank outsider independent candidate (should you believe in their policies) is not wasting your vote. Spoiling your ballot is not wasting your vote. Sitting at home saying "it doesn't make any difference, they're all as bad as each other" is wasting your bloody vote. Don't do it.

If you can't think of anyone you want to vote for, turn the problem around - think about who you want to vote against. Eventually you'll either work the list down to the least bad candidate, or you can decide to spoil the paper.

Comments

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Heh :-) I still don't know whether I'm going to vote, but I'll certainly be down the polling station :-)

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

*applause*

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Just looked up the local figures on that site wechsler mentioned on Saturday, and it looks like my area is as safely Labour as yours - 60% of the votes in the last two elections.

What really annoyed me was the drop in overall turnout rates... 80% in 1992, 73% in 1997, 57% in 2001.

[nullstr.livejournal.com]

If the candidates in your area are difficult to tell apart, there is always the option to campaign nearby for the anti-war candidate:
http://www.j-n-v.org/Voting%20Anti-War.htm

A legit way of (in effect) voting more than once - by getting other people to do it for you ;)

Then the effect of your single vote is less important.

[zotz]

Absolutely.

[mejoff.livejournal.com]

Well said, sir. Well said.

[fellcat.livejournal.com]

I'm glad we agree. All we need to do is persuade the rest of the country of this.

[djlongfella.livejournal.com]

I must agree with the don't wastr your vote thing.

Without going into the policies and with no dis respect to the Greens, If I am undecided as to which of the majors to vote for, I vote Green. I know they have no chance of winning, but a few votes from the undecided, means they get a bigger stick to prod those who do get in power. I'm by no means a " Tree Hugger " but I where possible try to respect the planet and feel thqat although a little extremist in their total policies, it is in my humble opinion the Greens are often a thorn in the governing parties side, which in some small way keeps industrialism aware that people are concious of how we treat this planet...

I'm off to pick daisies and run naked through the forest now....

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

I've voted Green at almost every election to date, for very similar reasons. Once you start reading their policy documents you realise that they're actually a lot more together than people give them credit for :)

This time I'm going for LibDem though... I think they're doing a good job of that 'thorn in the side' thing recently.