To not understand why people won't go and vote?

[MilkNoSugarPlease]

Sure this has been done to death but after a conversation with a friend I was curious

If you won't vote, WHY?

I dont understand the logic of "one vote wont make a difference" of course it will! if everyone had that mentality then noone would vote!

So I'm asking, if you won't vote, why not?

gaelicsheep, they know exactly who you are voting for. The ballot is not private. An election officer told me that the reason for that is that if you write anything insulting about a candidate, then they can take you to court for it.

Exactly, that's what I mean. I would very clearly and politely state that there is no party worthy of my vote. No chance of them thinking I'm some idiot who can't read the instructions.

ok, just didn't want you to express it using any anglo-saxon terms.

I will vote but I have no problem with people who don't if they are doing it for the right reasons.

Personally I am not behind any of the three main parties, they are all so similar and although I will vote for one of them I don't feel particularly enthusiastic about it. It is a massive tory landslide in my area and always has been, even in 1997 labour only had a tiny percentage of the vote so I can understand people choosing not to vote in this area because it won't really make a difference.

A lot of my friends will vote for the green party but they have no idea what their policies entail and would be stuffed if they got in. I think they are being more unreasonable than those who choose to stay at home because they don't support any of the parties.

Totally agree with Gaelicsheep and OP. If you really don't know who to vote for, or don't want to vote for any of the candidates/political parties, then at the very least spoil the ballot paper.

By not turning up at the ballot box, you are NOT making a stand. For all anyone knows or cares you may be on holiday, watching tv, totally disinterested in politics. By going and spoiling your ballot paper (as gaelicsheep suggests) you ARE making a stand. Spoiled papers are counted, and if there are enough of them, it will make the headlines.

Don't confuse apathy with making a political point!

Add message | Report | Contact poster By claig Mon 05-Apr-10 12:33:38
I think it's similar to unions calling a strike. If only two people turned up to vote for the strike, then the union would not be able to call a strike. The government would not accept the legitimacy of the ballot.

When millions turn out to vote for a government, and millions of votes are spoiled, the winning party just laughs it off and says that the voters were confused about which box to tick correctly.

Unfortunately this is exactly what happens. Isn't there a clause in the electerol process that states in order for the general election to be counted as valid 25% of the population needs to have turned out to vote. That is put a mark on a paper whether to vote or to spoil. thus by not turning out you are not validating the electerol processes and it makes the results unrealiable. Thus sending a very clear statement over the sentiment of the process.

However i feel this is a no win situation and were the question what policies do you want to see it would be a whole different debate, whereby most individuals would feel able to contribute. A vote simply doesnt change anything. the only way to change something is to stand yourself and if you dont agree with the policies of the main parties the likelihood of being voted in and making a difference is all but none.

You should really read this about people not voting.

excellent point DidEinsteinsMum, I bet there is a minimum percentage for the election to be valid. Fascinating if the turnout was below the minimum, but I guess that they would just keep holding it until they managed by hook or crook to get 26%. If only we had a proportional system. As it stands independents have very little chance of making it.

Kaloki, fascinating book, I'll put that on the list of books to read.

I'm Australian (where voting is compulsory) and I totally agree with bloss, whether or not you're interested in politics, knowing that you HAVE to vote definitely makes you sit up and pay attention to what the parties have to say.

By more people turning out to vote we start dictating who we're governed by, then they'll have to pay attention to us. Why should any of the parties give a damn about the general public if they can't even be arsed voting?

Forget about people chaining themselves to rails for our right to vote, what about right now? In parts of the world today, people are dying for their right to say who governs them.

It's such an easy thing to do and such a simple thing to take for granted that I suppose some people find it hard to believe it can make such a difference.

because the problem is that there is no actual difference between the parties. I want a party who is not pro limitiless immigration, who doesn't use education for its political gain, doesn't say they are going to reduce the number of quangos and then triple the number of civil servants, who doesn't agree with a war for the possible benefits that they might gain out of it and who actually uses the lessons of the past. FFS what the hell did the government think that going into afganistan was going to achieve when it was the russian's viatnam for 30(ish - ages anyway) years? I dont want a party who is pro green at all costs, but equally i dont want a party who is anti green. I dont agree with a combined european policy - you cannot govern such a cultrally diverse area properally with one set of rules. SO who is there left to vote for - cos i sure as hell dont agree with the vast majority of the political views of the BNP. The is literally no-one to vote for! Unless I have missed something.