"More important by far than voting for whatever candidate you do finally opt for is simply that you exercise your democratic right, a right people have given and continue to give their lives for, and vote. If you don't, you absolutely deserve whatever government you end up with."
I also have the democratic right not to vote, which is in my opinion also a valuable right worth defending. I find it frankly offensive to be told that if I didn't vote I have no right to complain. Wrong. I have every right to complain, whichever candidate becomes my MP, if they break their election promises, fail to do their job, defraud the voters or lower their snout to the trough for every penny they can squeeze out of the system just because there's no actual rule against it
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This is true, and of course someone who does not vote still has the right to complain if their elected representative breaks election promises, or is a complete git, but I think it's something like the Full Member -vs- Associate Member discussion. Not that I necessarily think that's how it should be, but it's how it is, and without taking an active role in trying to change it, it won't change
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But our MP's share of the vote is certain to go up since Sinn Fein have decided not to stand against him. He's not in any real danger of losing his seat.
voting should be compulsory, but that all ballot papers should have a "None Of The Above" box"
Why? Why not just let people not vote if they don't want to? Why do some people think that in a free democracy it's acceptable to force people to go out and vote?
"Yes, citizen, YOU WILL VOTE, whether you like it or not. It's for your own good, you know. This gun? Why, it's only for my protection against seditious elements. You're not a seditious element, are you citizen? Are you?"
...Sinn Fein have decided not to stand against him Ah. I, of course, had forgotten that salient factor. Just as well my vote didn't go for him, then. :)
Why do some people think that in a free democracy it's acceptable to force people to go out and vote?
Of course people should not be forced to vote, they shouldn't be forced to do anything they don't want to do. But at the same time, there is a price to living in a free democracy, and that price is eternal vigilance Simon Cowell making your voice heard at election time. Of course, rather than making voting compulsory, one alternative would be that in any constituency where the number of votes cast for the winning candidate is less than the number of registered voters who did not vote, any result is null and void, no MP is returned and another ballot must be held within a short space of time (say 4-6 weeks), and this will continue until a clear winner emerges. That way, the price for not participating in the democratic process is to live in a constituency which has continuous
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old meme I know..
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Why vote for the lesser evil? ;)
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I also have the democratic right not to vote, which is in my opinion also a valuable right worth defending. I find it frankly offensive to be told that if I didn't vote I have no right to complain. Wrong. I have every right to complain, whichever candidate becomes my MP, if they break their election promises, fail to do their job, defraud the voters or lower their snout to the trough for every penny they can squeeze out of the system just because there's no actual rule against it ( ... )
Reply
This is true, and of course someone who does not vote still has the right to complain if their elected representative breaks election promises, or is a complete git, but I think it's something like the Full Member -vs- Associate Member discussion. Not that I necessarily think that's how it should be, but it's how it is, and without taking an active role in trying to change it, it won't change ( ... )
Reply
But our MP's share of the vote is certain to go up since Sinn Fein have decided not to stand against him. He's not in any real danger of losing his seat.
voting should be compulsory, but that all ballot papers should have a "None Of The Above" box"
Why? Why not just let people not vote if they don't want to? Why do some people think that in a free democracy it's acceptable to force people to go out and vote?
"Yes, citizen, YOU WILL VOTE, whether you like it or not. It's for your own good, you know. This gun? Why, it's only for my protection against seditious elements. You're not a seditious element, are you citizen? Are you?"
Reply
Ah. I, of course, had forgotten that salient factor. Just as well my vote didn't go for him, then. :)
Why do some people think that in a free democracy it's acceptable to force people to go out and vote?
Of course people should not be forced to vote, they shouldn't be forced to do anything they don't want to do. But at the same time, there is a price to living in a free democracy, and that price is eternal vigilance Simon Cowell making your voice heard at election time. Of course, rather than making voting compulsory, one alternative would be that in any constituency where the number of votes cast for the winning candidate is less than the number of registered voters who did not vote, any result is null and void, no MP is returned and another ballot must be held within a short space of time (say 4-6 weeks), and this will continue until a clear winner emerges. That way, the price for not participating in the democratic process is to live in a constituency which has continuous ( ... )
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