Add "None of the above" to the voting booth ... (1 Viewer)

[hammernnails]

Fixed it for ya'

That thread will live forever.... I actually had to buy bottled water the other day when the Subway lady refused to give me a cup of free water.....what is the world comming to??

 

[hammernnails]

Bring back write-ins!!!!

It's still legal, as far as I know.

It is still legal....I guess I will prolly write in Ron Paul...

 

[Pure Energy]

That thread will live forever.... I actually had to buy bottled water the other day when the Subway lady refused to give me a cup of free water.....what is the world comming to??

...that was no lady, that was my ____________.

Sorry Hammer...I just couldn't resist.

 

[varanook]

None of the above sounds good. I am just going to try and not vote D or R.

 

[geauxboy]

It's called "don't vote".


For some reason the assumption gets made that if you don't vote, you must not be uninformed. Not voting doesn't necessarily mean a lack of familiarity with the campaign, it means you just don't care. And that's often the product of an over-familiarity with the campaign (or at least the process).

This is the boat I have been in since I have been able to vote. Not satisfied with any of them. It's the same pattern of smiles, promises and strategies broken election after election and I can't stand it.

I refuse to be relegated in a democracy to choose the lesser of two evils. It's a defeatist situation in which I feel is helpless until, we the people, get up and express our true democracy and do something about it. Until then, this cycle will continue as long as the sheople are eating the grass provided to them.

 

[Saint77]

There really does need to be a none of the above, and it needs to be a law for all states. it send the message that, we the people do not like the candidates you have set forth, and we will not settle for who the majority voted for, or the lesser of two evils, or a vote to keep out who I like the least. Present us more or different candidates.

As it sits now, I think non votes are not a legally counted demographic that means anything with the exception that those votes could go for a candidate. Its more a statistical demographic. As far as I know, there aren't any rules for redoing a vote based on minimal turnout, is there?

 

[hammernnails]

As far as I know, there aren't any rules for redoing a vote based on minimal turnout, is there?

This is another good point.... if 2% of the people vote as far as I know it still counts..people dont show up to vote because they dont like either choice ..."none of the above" or a vote against would get more people to the polls

 

[Bayouboy]

That is why it would be great to have a REAL thrid party candidate this election........but there is none. If the Libertarian party were worth a hoot, they would have someone in place as we speak to make in-roads. This would be the perfect time to show the career politicians we are tired of the same-ole same-ole from BOTH political parties!

 

[TulsaSaint]

In Brazil, there is a "none of the above" option. It's called a "voto em branco" (vote in white), in which you leave your ballot blank. However, a blank ballot still counts toward the total number of ballots, meaning that if a candidate needs to win 50% to avoid a run-off, the blank ballots count in the total that he needs to get 50% of.

The other option is "voto nulo," or a nullified vote. This is when you "spoil" your ballot - not sure what the mechanism is, since all voting in Brazil is electronic. I assume it's an option on the screen too. But in the past, in the era of paper ballots, it probably meant tearing, marking a big black X on, or otherwise messing up the ballot. These ballots are simply thrown out and, while kept track of, are not counted in the official tally.

Back during the military dictatorship between 1964-1985, there were elections in which a very high number (I think over a quarter) of ballots were blank or spoiled. (The Brazilian dictatorship continued to hold elections for most local, state, and federal positions.)

It would be nice if the United States would be willing to adopt some of the political ideas used in other countries. One of the neat things about being a country like Brazil who has been through quite a few Constitutions is that people are not particularly attached to any specific method or electoral system. So if something's not working, they try something else, and the system can always be tweaked.

 

[hammernnails]

In Brazil, there is a "none of the above" option. It's called a "voto em branco" (vote in white), in which you leave your ballot blank. However, a blank ballot still counts toward the total number of ballots, meaning that if a candidate needs to win 50% to avoid a run-off, the blank ballots count in the total that he needs to get 50% of.

The other option is "voto nulo," or a nullified vote. This is when you "spoil" your ballot - not sure what the mechanism is, since all voting in Brazil is electronic. I assume it's an option on the screen too. But in the past, in the era of paper ballots, it probably meant tearing, marking a big black X on, or otherwise messing up the ballot. These ballots are simply thrown out and, while kept track of, are not counted in the official tally.

Back during the military dictatorship between 1964-1985, there were elections in which a very high number (I think over a quarter) of ballots were blank or spoiled. (The Brazilian dictatorship continued to hold elections for most local, state, and federal positions.)

It would be nice if the United States would be willing to adopt some of the political ideas used in other countries. One of the neat things about being a country like Brazil who has been through quite a few Constitutions is that people are not particularly attached to any specific method or electoral system. So if something's not working, they try something else, and the system can always be tweaked.

and here I thought I came up with some revolutionary idea....Brazil has been doing it for years....

 

[varanook]

In Brazil, there is a "none of the above" option. It's called a "voto em branco" (vote in white), in which you leave your ballot blank. However, a blank ballot still counts toward the total number of ballots, meaning that if a candidate needs to win 50% to avoid a run-off, the blank ballots count in the total that he needs to get 50% of.

The other option is "voto nulo," or a nullified vote. This is when you "spoil" your ballot - not sure what the mechanism is, since all voting in Brazil is electronic. I assume it's an option on the screen too. But in the past, in the era of paper ballots, it probably meant tearing, marking a big black X on, or otherwise messing up the ballot. These ballots are simply thrown out and, while kept track of, are not counted in the official tally.

Back during the military dictatorship between 1964-1985, there were elections in which a very high number (I think over a quarter) of ballots were blank or spoiled. (The Brazilian dictatorship continued to hold elections for most local, state, and federal positions.)

It would be nice if the United States would be willing to adopt some of the political ideas used in other countries. One of the neat things about being a country like Brazil who has been through quite a few Constitutions is that people are not particularly attached to any specific method or electoral system. So if something's not working, they try something else, and the system can always be tweaked.

That white paper thing sounds great. I would love somethinglike that here.