To despise people who don’t vote

[Unfinishedkitchen]

Found out recently that a friend who complains about the possibility of Brexit didn’t actually bother to vote in the 2016 ref. I know of a few people who couldn’t be bothered to vote in the recent EU elections although it appears they have plenty to complain about.

I actually feel like distancing myself from them. I know at least one of them has bothered to in to vote on one of those stupid ITV talent shows.

There’s some woman right now on the radio saying she didn’t vote because she’s fed up and doesn’t know who to vote for!

Why are so many people happy to be bystanders in things that affect their lives and those of their loved ones? Maybe that movie ‘Idiocracy’ was a premonition?

I didn't vote. I had the week from hell at work, staying LTE, no breaks, logging on at home. The baby has been ill and only wants me and up for hours every single night. I m so run down. I just didn't have the time or the headspace. I normally vote. I tried for half an hour to Google our local options and couldn't find anywhere where each candidates position was summarised, I'd have had to look up each one and try and cut through all the bullshit and I just ran out of time. I normally vote

I read the newspapers, I watch the news. I am not ignorant. My vote (yes I did) at the referendum was based on what I believed was right for my country. No one has won. So I feel just disenfranchised and fucking pointless.

I agree with the OP. I think voting should be compulsory with a “none of the above” option.

And you can keep your entry on the electoral roll confidential. So no worries there.

And if you don’t want to vote for any of the available candidates, then spoil your ballot paper. A low turnout is always blamed on the electorate. A significant number of spoiled ballots is a message.

I think it’s laziness with some and for others maybe a feeling that they can’t be blamed if things go wrong. I see this a lot, those who often shout the loudest about politics are also the ones who don’t vote, crazy!

Agree that not voting sends no message at all, just lets the winning party feel victorious because they still won. Spoiling your ballot is counted and does send a message.

Voting days bring out the eldest people in my town, a gentle flow of silvery 70+ year olds making their way to the polling station. I have very little sympathy for young, healthy people who choose the easier option of staying home. It was so hard for women and minorities to get the vote, people literally died fighting for our right to do so. To not show up is just maddening.

I didn't vote either and I really don't care that u dispise me

I come from a country with mandatory voting and quite frankly I think it’s far better for people only to vote if they feel strongly. YANBU to be annoyed at people who complain after not voting but not voting in general is different and not really any of your business.

Low turnout sends a message- that people are disengaged, they’re not getting what they want or need

^^ This

OP I don't think you've thought this through. If you despise people who will rather not vote than put a cross in a box for a person or party they don't feel aligned to, then I think that says an awful lot about you and your self-absorption and inability to see another viewpoint.

God the whole thing is exhausting. People like you are just as 'despised' and insufferable as you despise those who don't vote as though they are all homogenous disrespectors of a number of (largely) illusory concepts - the wonderful democracy, that women diedddd for the vote so how dare you not use it. There are a vast deal of complexities to all these issues. Do you imagine that anyone who voted is more your type of person and a better sort of person to be hanging around with than someone who didn't OP? How...does that even work when you apply some thought to it, when everyone is different and has a different level of entitlement in terms of what, if any, political education they may have received.

How top level is yours? Would you be able to answer any question posed to you about parties confirmed future actions and the voting habits of the MP's within them (which presumably you support if you place a vote for them) - if not YABVU, turning up and making a self righteous scribble does not make you a better citizen.

Black and white thinking is very rarely indicative of a particularly active mind so I think its beat avoided when trying to apply it to other people and your opinions on them

@Lockheart Lucky you, that it is that easy. I did vote, because I took the time and trouble to get myself registered on the Overseas register, organised a proxy and then a postal proxy, as my proxy didn't want to drive into a different county to vote for me.

I don't think spoiling a ballot paper demonstrates anything. I think abstaining is as equally effective until we get 'none of the above' on a ballot paper. When I mark GCSEs, the paper with nothing written on it gets the same mark as the paper with dicks drawn on it and swear words on every page. At least I don't have to read the swear words if there is nothing at all on the paper.

I disagree that if you vote, your voice is heard, especially in light of the behaviour of the HoC these past few months.

Low turnout sends a message- that people are disengaged, they’re not getting what they want or need Exactly, and that needs to be addressed.

I didn’t vote. My cat was in the vet all day having investigations into why she was so sick, when I finally got home I was so exhausted and in so much pain that going back out again wasn’t an option for me. I wish it had been, but it wasn’t.

Despise all you like, couldn’t give a shit

YABU.

And when I say she was in the vets all day, so was I. Over an hour from home with no transport. I sat there for over 9hrs.

“OP I don't think you've thought this through. If you despise people who will rather not vote than put a cross in a box for a person or party they don't feel aligned to, then I think that says an awful lot about you and your self-absorption and inability to see another viewpoint.”

I can’t speak for the OP- but I think that a spoiled ballot paper sends a message that simply not voting doesn’t.

I think if you don’t like any of the candidates or parties enough to vote for you should spoil your paper really.

I don't vote because neither party's represent what I want.

Now if it was Gary who was a grafter. Liked a pint or two in the feathers on a Friday night and was a genuine nice guy who was going to do good for the working class then I'd vote for him. I can't vote for these silver spoon buffoon stick up their arse poncey fools. Their not for the real people in this country. Their out to line their pockets.

Whoever runs this country makes a shamble anyway.. So I'll carry on not voting thanks. I don't want to contribute to the shit show thanks.

Despise me all you want!

I would rather they didn't vote, than vote to leave not understanding what they are voting for, as I suspect many did

I didn't because the man who tried to kill me used the register to find me last time and broke in while I was sleeping. I had to leave the city I lived in and start all over again. Despise me.

DD’s 2 flat mates are very keen on attending protest marches and apparently talk a good talk. When she told them the location of their polling station, she was surprised to find that they hadn’t registered to vote. As she said, people like her flat mates are why we are in our current situation.

www.womensaid.org.uk/what-we-do/campaigning-and-influencing/campaign-with-us/right-to-vote/

Link for anyone needing to register anonymously due to fear of violence

The other issue not currently addressed is fear of debt catching up with you.
I don't like the way the electoral register is linked with credit checks.

This election is the first election ever I did not vote in. I did not know who I could vote for. I really could not support anyone.

“If you register anonymously, your name and address will not appear on the public electoral register. You will still be able to vote.

The Electoral Registration Officer at your local council (or the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland) will not disclose your details to anyone unless they are legally required to.”

Not voting because they are all rubbish means that those "rubbish" politicians get voted in again and again. Low turn out leads to poor politicians. If you don't like the current bunch vote for an independent. Not voting doesnt register disinterest.

Go ahead and despise me. Didn't vote in Brexit because there was a conflict of interests - for a variety of reasons, one option would have been bad for my family, the second would have been against what I thought the principled option for me was. I found myself unwilling to vote for something that would negatively impact my family, and unwilling to vote against principles.

I didn't vote on Thursday because I don't care about the EU parliament and have no strong opinions about who represents us there. Especially given Brexit.