Should everyone vote?

[OnePimpTiger]

to answer the original question.....I think everyone should vote, and if you don't know enough to vote, you should take the nessessary steps to inform yourself (like I said before, watching news makes a world of difference)

I agree with that as well...that's what I do. I try to do the research to at least have a general knowledge about what each candidate stands for...and there are plenty of websites now to help you with this, which I think is absolutely great! It's so easy now, there's really no reason to not educate yourself other than just general laziness and apathy. But, for example, with our last primaries, I did not take the time to research the candidates and really didn't know who or what to vote for. So I didn't vote...I would rather my voice not be heard than to say the wrong thing, which I think is the sentiment Jamming felt as well when she posted this topic.

So let me pose a question. What about people who do not take the necessary steps to inform themselves and know very little about what they're voting about (which I think is a large number of people)? Should they decide themselves not to vote based on their limited knowledge? Or (obviously this won't happen) should they not be allowed to vote or be required to pass a general quiz before voting? Or, like a lot of people say, should everyone that can vote do so, despite the fact they know very little about what they're voting on?

[garnett_21]

In our primaries, I didn't vote either, but that's cuz I couldn't get to where it was (10 miles away)

To answer your question: I can't. lol....no, seriously, I can't answer that....I think everyone should vote, but I also think everyone should be informed as to who the candidates are. So, I guess if I had to pick, I'd have to say have only people who are at least somewhat knowledgable about who the candidates are should vote....I guess I'd rather have someone in office because people have thought about who they want in office, rather than having someone there because a bunch of people who don't know any candidate except Mickey Mouse choosing.....

Man, this is a tough question to answer!

[OnePimpTiger]

Yes...very tough. Luckily it's not one we actually have to make a decision on because I don't think limiting who votes is a realistic possibility any time soon. Like I said before, if you limit who votes, then it's not a true Democracy any more. But if you want a true Democracy, then dumb and/or uninformed people are going to be allowed to vote....There's always a catch!

[garnett_21]

Like your parents have always said, if it's too good to be true, it is!

There's always a catch!

[jberry630]

But if they were to have mandatory voting, they should probably run tests or something to assure the country of responsible and logical people. Because I'm a 14 year old freshman and I know more and care more about politics than most of my 18 year old senior friends. They don't seem to care at all and have no clue what is going on msot of the time, unfortunately.

[haybierman]

as soon as something like that happens, then it's not Democracy any more.

Pure Democracy is a silly concept. Capitalistic authoritarianism is where its at.

[WilyWestbrook0]

Yeah..the thing is, I've been trying to keep up as much as possible by watching the news each night, reading up online, checking stated platforms, etc., but when I see other people discuss politics, they seem to know so much more about it. Either that or a great number of people pretend this knowledge and can really guise it well under a facade of massive confidence. I don't have great confidence in most areas of life except personal matters, which is the complete and total opposite of most people (I'd say most are confident in their impersonal opinions and not with their personal lives). As such, I don't want to place an intractable vote. This approach could be construed as overly cautious, but I'd rather not vote when I am not 100% certain of the legitimacy of my choice than put one in just because it's "expected."

[OnePimpTiger]

Yeah..the thing is, I've been trying to keep up as much as possible by watching the news each night, reading up online, checking stated platforms, etc., but when I see other people discuss politics, they seem to know so much more about it. Either that or a great number of people pretend this knowledge and can really guise it well under a facade of massive confidence. I don't have great confidence in most areas of life except personal matters, which is the complete and total opposite of most people (I'd say most are confident in their impersonal opinions and not with their personal lives). As such, I don't want to place an intractable vote. This approach could be construed as overly cautious, but I'd rather not vote when I am not 100% certain of the legitimacy of my choice than put one in just because it's "expected."

Completely understandable, but also very responsible...like I said before, I would rather my voice not be heard than to say the wrong thing. I think you hit the nail on the head, though...they're not necessarily pretending, but most people actually think they know a whole lot more than they really do. I'd say if you do the things you mentioned to keep up with it, you're light years ahead of most people....they're busy voting for American Idol or or watching people "search for true love" on the Bachelor or checking out totally hot Trent on The Hills...OMG! So if you're just making an effort, be confident that you're doing more than most.

I do prefer to use (supposedly) objective websites that compare the candidates and their positions rather than TV news...whether intentionally or subconsciously, most newscasts/channels sadly tend to have a bias in one direction or the other.

[garnett_21]

Ok, so I watched the intro to American Idol specifically to see how many people voted, so we could chat about it.....

get ready......

it's a doozy......

it's more than all people living in Canada, Spain, Austrailia and Ireland......

nearly 97 million

thoughts/opinions?

I think if you read my earlier posts, you can figure out what my opinion is lol

[OnePimpTiger]

I weep for the future