Is there any point in voting?

[Marcus Marulus]

Is there any point in voting? Is there any point in the "right" or in the "left"? I am speaking in general, I am not referring to any specific country. Maybe situation differs and in some countries it is still worth to cast ballots, because there remained some differences between parties, while in other countries all parties became system-parties...

[Sigurd]

Originally Posted by Marulus

Is there any point in voting? Is there any point in right or in the left? I am not referring to Italy specifically, but in general.

Yes there is a point in voting. If you abstain from voting, you do so in the favour of the "system parties" as it were, because your vote is not counted in the percentages - the percentages are not absolute, and a low turnout just means that even less people approved the election of a certain government than is the case in most democratic climates these days anyway. So if you care at all about how your country turns out to be you are better to give your vote to some smaller party of which you may share some views but not others,(and that are not part of any of the major alliances that you have in Italy, if we're going to be case-specific to the topic) because every vote not cast is essentially a vote for those in power. Vote anything pointless if you will, but don't make it easier for those who don't care a damn about your country than they already have it by abstaining from voting.

[AzzurroItalia]

I agree, it is essential to go and vote.



The Communists will always go and vote. We cannot give them an advantage!

[Marcus Marulus]

A very common slogan, I heard it thousand times, from different political affiliations: "We must vote because they vote." Very often both parties in question claim the same about their adversary.

[Monolith]

Nope. It's always the same. Whoever wins the elections, will(at least during his reign) change his ideology and political program.

[Weltschmerz]

Yes. But don't vote for something because it has a fair chance. Vote for something real, regardless of whether it has a fair chance or not. An election is not a lottery where you win a prize if you vote for the winner. Regardless of how stupid your system is, it's about you having a say just like anyone else out there.

And most importantly: Don't give traitors another chance. Don't have vain hopes that a new leader will change a corrupt party. Don't trust the mass media for anything whatsoever.

[Breogan]

Originally Posted by Marulus

Is there any point in voting?

No.

Is there any point in right or in the left?

No.

Neither do I.

[Martín Zalacaín]

It depends on your aims for the near future:

-Voting to the right will disguise decadence in a conservative dress. Everything will be the same but things will fall down slower.

-Voting to the left will accelerate decadence: pc education, secularization, immigration, multiculturalism, etc.

If I were forced to vote I would vote left.

Two further considerations:

-Voting keeps the democratic farce going. I believe this is negative. As long as we have democracy, they will always win. [Don't ask me, I do not have any other alternatives].

-In Spain, the last elections were indirectly rigged by the good ol' method of the massive terrorist attack. The farce here is too damn obvious.

[gazumpiro]

The problem with voting is that you just encourage politicians!

When you are choosing between the lesser of two evils, do you ever stop to think "Is this what democracy is all about?". There are times when I have looked at my available candiates and thought "none of you deserve my vote". I'd like to be able to actively rather than passively not vote, demonstrate that I am disappointed rather than apathetic.

[Savorgnan]

Until a non-Masonic party like French Front National has a serious chance to win elections, I don't see the point in voting.
Tell me a single point in wich Marie-Ségolène Royal don't agree with Nicolas Sarkozy.

Originally Posted by Gonzalvus

-In Spain, the last elections were indirectly rigged by the good ol' method of the massive terrorist attack. The farce here is too damn obvious.

That's the first thing I was thinking about when it just happened.

[Delbáeth]

I think there is.

[Weltschmerz]

I'm surprised so many of you think there is no point in voting. I would like to hear the rationale behind it. There must be some good party? To me it doesn't matter if it only gets 500 votes. What else are you hoping for? Revolution?

[Martín Zalacaín]

Originally Posted by Gnist

I'm surprised so many of you think there is no point in voting. I would like to hear the rationale behind it. There must be some good party? To me it doesn't matter if it only gets 500 votes. What else are you hoping for? Revolution?

Societal collapse and subsequent anarchy. Seriously.

[Errigal]

Putting the numbers "1,2,3,4" or an "X" next to a candidate's name every four years obviously has little impact, but even so it is worth voting simply because one's political opponents do vote and their votes do count. That said, real politics happens outside the ballot box and between elections.

[Menydh]

I could seem like that there is a point in no voting, and letting democracy lose strength. But it does not help in reality. Democracy is already bankrupted and yet it keeps walking, like a zombie.

Often, with very low levels of participation from elligible voters, they pretend that whatever result is a success.

Take for example the referendum of the E.U. Constitution, almost exactly two years ago in Spain.

After the result, this is the title of the news in El Mundo newspaper, which is in opposition to the government:

"Spanish say "Yes" to the European Constitution"

And here is the subtitle:

"76.7% of electors ratify the treaty"

That's a lot of support, don't you think? The picture for the news shows Mr. Bean.. erh, Zapatero smiling for what he called an overwhelming victory and success. Democracy is working. And Europe is fashionable and popular as is. Or so they would like us to believe. Clearly you would not expect a charlatan to try to sell you a product admitting that it is flawed and that it doesn't work, would you?

But it was not. It's a mirage, an illusion. If you search for the word 'elector' in the dictionary of the Royal Academy you find it defined as: "He who elects or has power or right to elect". The other definition refers to the German Electors of the Holy Empire. Which would be as good as the other.

The problem is that only 42% of the elligible voters actually voted. Of which 6% gave a blank vote and 17.24% voted "No". If you add those to the 58% of Spaniards who did not bother with voting, you get a ~67% of elligible voters who did not vote in favour of the EU Constitution.

Under all lights, that is a big failure for democracy and a huge failure for the EU Constitution.

In the European elections before that referendum, the percentage of elligible voters who actually voted was of 45%. Still below the 50%.

That should have brought up the issue of if democracy is working or if it is bankupted. Or the European Union if you prefer it. But no one made much notice out of it.

It is like a cyst that is rotten. Yet it is there.

[M.R.]

No, I never voted myself.

[Breogan]

Originally Posted by Gnist

I'm surprised so many of you think there is no point in voting. I would like to hear the rationale behind it. There must be some good party? To me it doesn't matter if it only gets 500 votes. What else are you hoping for? Revolution?

We don't care the comedy of the "democratic" parties, and therefore we can't support this mockery by voting them. It's just a question of coherence.