Don’t Vote!!!!!

I am a big fan of not voting.

No, not me not voting. YOU not voting.

Specifically, I mean the pressure that people feel to vote on everything. I encourage you to leave some stuff blank.

This morning, CNN had a film of a person flipping a coin to determine her vote for president. FLIPPING A COIN, FOR GOD’S SAKE. People like this should just not vote for president. Encouraging or pressuring these people to vote doesn’t support democracy. It hurts it.

I really hate the pressure that we put on people to vote, like you are a bad person if you don’t do it. Every 5 minutes it seems that Ben Stiller or some other Hollywood person is telling us to vote. Go vote! Do your civic duty! Be an American!

Bah.

Your civic duty is to be a citizen. A citizen casts informed votes. A citizen does not flip a f@$#ing coin to decide on an issue or candidate. If you are not an informed voter, I believe that you are doing your civic duty by NOT voting.

This goes double for Propositions. If you don’t understand the impacts the Proposition will have then DON’T VOTE ON IT. You don’t have to. In fact, you will finish faster if you don’t.

We are experiencing a record voter turnout because of the incredible excitement over the presidential race. If you don’t give a damn about anything except the presidential race, then go in, vote for your candidate, and LEAVE THE REST BLANK. If you have really strong feelings about being a Dem or a Rep, vote for your legislative slate, but then leave. Walk away.

You DON’T have to vote for a judge just because they are the only person running for this position. In fact, if there is only one person running and you don’t know who they are, I encourage you not to vote for them. Why elect someone by default?

Go do your civic duty.

12 thoughts on “Don’t Vote!!!!!”

  2. I just did exactly that. there were a few things i knew enough about to vote on, everything else i skipped. I’m glad you’re saying this out loud!!

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  3. If I were king for a day, I’d get rid of our ballot initiative process. The Progressives brought “direct democracy” to California to curb the power of the railroad barons a long time ago, but the cure has become the disease. Special interests who have a lot of money to spend use the initiative process the same way the railroad barons used their money to buy politicians. The route the corruption takes is a little bit more circuitous nowadays, but the result is the same.

    The problems facing our society are much too complex to trust the ignorant masses to vote in laws to solve them. I include myself in those masses. I can barely multiply fractions. I shouldn’t be consulted about which energy policy we should adopt.

    And that concludes my sermon for election day. Amen.

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  4. I see what you’re saying but I just don’t think we have to go that far. I know you’re joking. Surely I should be allowed to give input into energy policy… but maybe my input should be limited to voting for assembly members who espouse good policy. I should probably be able to vote on a proposed change to the constitution. Perhaps we should not have to vote yea or nay on every proposed bond. Perhaps there are too many being proposed because of this process. Perhaps I should have another Snickers. Maybe this shirt is too long. Who knows, is my point.

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  6. There are some good “middle of the road” methods to fix the initiative system.

    1. Outlaw signature gathering for pay
    2. Establish a review body (judges? experts?) for propositions before they are allowed to go on the ballot to determine their constitutionality (judges) or effectiveness (experts?). For example, wouldn’t it be great if props 7 and 10 had to be reviewed by a panel of experts from The Energy Commission who could have rejected one or both of them based upon the fact that they are both a bunch of hooey?
    3. Outlaw or severely curtail out-of-state contributions for initiatives.
    4. Have public education on TV, like the debates, that inform voters. Have a neutral party do it, like the League of Women Voters.
    5. Allow the legislature to amend propositions.

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  7. I wish we called them Questions like they do in some states. It makes democracy sound mysterious and romantic.

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  8. How about this novel idea: It is my god given right to be left alone. From telling me to vote to spending my f^&king money, leave us alone.

    -Live Free or Die

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  9. Actually, it’s not that novel of an idea, but your angry Anti-statist sloganeering from the 1970s is duly noted.

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  11. I would add a #8 to Stickie’s list – require all ballot initiatives to pay for themselves, or their provisions do not go into effect. Including bond measures for children’s hospitals.

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