Re: Re: help Nie understand
The Central Scrutinizer said:
I didn't vote, so I don't care.
[cynical_mode] One more time for the dummies; [/cynical_mode] Why are elections in the USA still NON-compulsory?
From outside, US election results as published seem like sheer nonsense, really. When way less than 50% of the population votes, and the winner in a two-horse race just scrapes in with a majority, that means less than 25% of the whole country voted this guy's way. It seems that if there was a candidate called "Don't Care" then he would romp in.
I would suggest that the results would be hugely different, hanging chads be buggered, if everyone actually said their 2c worth at the polls instead of sitting at home on the couch scratching their anatomies or whatever. It's not like most Americans don't feel free to voice their opinions strongly most other times!
And none of this malarkey about the right
not to vote either! What if the vast majority
didn't vote? How easy would it be to have an election result that comes nowhere near representing the actual will of the people? Put another way: How small a voting turnout does it have to be to reduce an election to a completely unrepresentative farce?
But since voting it IS non-complusory, if you didn't vote then, who cares what you think now? If you really care about your issues and/or candidates and/or processes, have a go at getting them fixed, and try turning out at a polling place in 2004 instead.
[end_of_rant]
Zep