Agreed! They need to get rid of the straight ticket, make people spend a minute or two to fill out the ballot. If they want to card all their votes for one party or another, that's fine, but fill out the entire ballot.

 

Who is "they", the government? The government needs to tell me how to vote ? No thank you. Again just because it isn't your preference doesnt give you or I the right to dictate other people's voting preference.

Why is it silly? Why is asking someone to read each line and vote for each person too much of an inconvenience. I know you are a contrarian but I don't understand why you feel this way about this.

 

What if I have done my research on all the candidates, and I know I'm voting for all Democrats? Why does it make a difference if I push one button or ten?

Kindly disagree. I do not believe the right to vote includes anything about making it "convenient" to vote for a particular party. If you want to vote along the party lines, then go for it. I'm not saying you shouldn't or can't. All I'm saying is that if you want to vote for the entire party, then you can take the few extra moments to go down the ballot.

 

What is the point in making it less convient other than a few people self righteous stance that it is bad for America.

 

Sorry much bigger issues to handle than worrying about this.

^ I agree with you being ah isn't the straight ticket. As you pointed out some seem to have thought that if they also voted for the D for judge executive that it would override the straight ticket for that race. Then someone on here said that some think the straight ticket is asking what party you belong too.

 

It's silly to think that requiring people to take an extra minute or two to fill our a ballot is an inconvenience.

Eliminating straight-party voting most certainly is part of the GOP's voter-suppression strategy in some of these states with all-Republican state legislatures -- along with reducing number of precincts (code for creating longer voting lines) in college towns. And moving early voting sites to the end of the bus line.

Speaking of paranoid right-wingers cracking down on college kids voting, read a story a couple weeks ago about same occurring in Berea, Kentucky, of all places. Right in our own back yard!

Hung up on the bus transportation issue. Although debunked months ago in that thread, you still believe it. Classic.

 

As for the straight ticket lever, while it's available, it doesn't preclude one from selecting individuals in each race.

 

So, since 36 states don't have straight ticket voting, what is the excuse in those states if the D's lose in your opinion? Bus route manipulation again? Long lines to vote? (because it's obvious only D's vote in areas with long lines)

 

I'm surprised you haven't found some new material.

I started this thread and the reason I started it is because the Democratic Candidate that ran for Judge Executive locally believes that many people that voted for him had their vote cancelled if they also voted straight ticket. I brought this up because, I felt he could be right and that straight ticket could have hurt his chances to be elected.

 

The straight ticket vote was around 5000 for the GOP and around 1500 for the DEM in our county. If I was just worried about it from a politics stand point I wouldn't have cared that the Democrat could have been shorted votes...I just see no reason for a "straight ticket"

In Kenton County, I have to fill in boxes on a paper ballot with a black ink pen. Believe it or not, it takes a while to fill in a box with a black ink pen. (Don't color outside the lines!) I'm sure many people get frustrated and decide to just fill in one box (straight party) rather than 20 boxes. Used to be much easier to cast split ballots when we had voting machines.

Eliminating straight-party voting most certainly is part of the GOP's voter-suppression strategy in some of these states with all-Republican state legislatures -- along with reducing number of precincts (code for creating longer voting lines) in college towns. And moving early voting sites to the end of the bus line.

 

Speaking of paranoid right-wingers cracking down on college kids voting, read a story a couple weeks ago about same occurring in Berea, Kentucky, of all places. Right in our own back yard!

 

Let's not go off the deep end on one of the few issues we agree on.

Who is "they"' date=' the government? The government needs to tell me how to vote ? No thank you. Again just because it isn't your preference doesnt give you or I the right to dictate other people's voting preference.[/quote']

They as in it shouldn't be on the ballot. Many places have phone in and computerized ballots, so you are already being told how you can cast your vote.

 

No one is telling you who to vote for, so it's not dictating voting preference. You could still vote all D or R.

Used to be much easier to cast split ballots when we had voting machines.

But with voting machines you had no paper trail.

What if I have done my research on all the candidates, and I know I'm voting for all Democrats? Why does it make a difference if I push one button or ten?

 

It doesn't, but you would be in the rarity for both parties. Elections are already dumbed down to the lowest common denominator...voters should be able to give an extra two minutes every other year to cast their ballots.

 

There are and have been great candidates from both parties (especially in local elections) that never stand a chance because people get so caught up on party affiliation. I'd like to see party affiliation removed as well from the ballots.

Edited November 13, 201411 yr by Jumper_Dad

The bottom line is, and it's sad, that many people consider it an inconvenience to vote.

I find myself in the rare position of agreeing with Lipton Bash.

 

But the argument that it would "require" people to "educate themselves" or "think about their vote" is bogus. I have voted for people in lesser known races simply because I like their name, they're female, and even sillier reasons. As an Independent I can't vote straight ticket. So sometimes, on the back of the ballot, I'm just trying to exercise my right. :lol2:

Voter intimidation in Berea, Kentucky

 

BEREA, Ky. - The Kentucky Attorney General's office confirms it has received a complaint of alleged voter intimidation of college students. The Attorney General's communications director, Allison Martin, says the office is "actively reviewing the situation."

 

At the heart of the complaint is an anonymous, full-page ad placed in last week's Berea Citizen newspaper. The vice president of Berea College Student Government, Jacob Burdette, says he was "shocked and disappointed" by the ad.

 

KY College Students Claim Voter Intimidation / Public News Service

Voter intimidation in Berea, Kentucky

 

BEREA, Ky. - The Kentucky Attorney General's office confirms it has received a complaint of alleged voter intimidation of college students. The Attorney General's communications director, Allison Martin, says the office is "actively reviewing the situation."

 

At the heart of the complaint is an anonymous, full-page ad placed in last week's Berea Citizen newspaper. The vice president of Berea College Student Government, Jacob Burdette, says he was "shocked and disappointed" by the ad.

 

KY College Students Claim Voter Intimidation / Public News Service

Yes, he was "suppressed" because they wanted to verify that because he's from another state, that he's registered to vote in this one because he's a student. Crazy right wing bastards.

The bottom line is, and it's sad, that many people consider it an inconvenience to vote.

Mail every registered voter a paper ballot. Give them two weeks to investigate the candidates, fill out the ballot and send it back to the elections office. Oregon does this and gets up to 80 percent voter participation (vs. the low 30s for Georgia in the recent midterm).

 

Voting systems in most states are so antiquated, as is the idea that the major elections have to be on a Tuesday in November, rather than, say, a Saturday-Sunday.