Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - When It's a Close Down-Ballot Election, How Do You Decide?

SecretMethod70 · 09-15-2008, 09:25 PM

Forget president - that's a whole other ballgame. I'm interested in how you deal with smaller elections. House of Representatives? State representatives? Etc.

Think about this and try to be honest with yourself - how much do these things impact your vote?

Campaign commercials?
PAC commercials?
Letters to the Editor?
Campaign mailings?
Newspaper endorsements?
Other endorsements? Is there a particular organization (or organizations) whose endorsement you look for?
Speaking to volunteers for one campaign or the other over the phone or at your door?
Do you go to or seek out events where you can hear the candidate speak?
Name recognition?
Political party?

In local elections, what do you do if you aren't familiar with the candidates? They're often very small campaigns and there aren't many opportunities to get to know them unless you specifically seek it out, and most people don't. Do you vote based on party? Based on whose name you do know?

What about if there's an incumbent who has been there for a long time, and maybe he hasn't done a bad job as far as your concerned, but that doesn't mean the other guy couldn't do better. What does it take for the other guy to convince you? Are you more likely to believe the incumbent's criticisms of the challenger or vice-versa?

I'm interested in hearing what your thoughts are on these issues. For a lot of people, voting is a very complex process, because let's face it - most people don't have the time to read all the policy papers a candidate may write, or hear all the speeches. Especially as the positions get less important, are you more likely to vote on a single issue?

Endorsements are particularly interesting to me. A lot of people don't realize, just because an organization like Planned Parenthood endorses a candidate, they may not actually be the best pro-choice candidate on the ballot. Typically, these organizations endorse the incumbent so long as he or she has a decent record on the issue, even if the challenger is more in line with what they'd want. They do this so that they are still able to work with the incumbent should they win.

So what goes into your vote? How much do you put into these lesser races which often get overshadowed by the vote for president?

09-15-2008, 09:25 PM	#1 (permalink)
SecretMethod70 Human Administrator Location: Chicago	When It's a Close Down-Ballot Election, How Do You Decide? Forget president - that's a whole other ballgame. I'm interested in how you deal with smaller elections. House of Representatives? State representatives? Etc. Think about this and try to be honest with yourself - how much do these things impact your vote? Campaign commercials? PAC commercials? Letters to the Editor? Campaign mailings? Newspaper endorsements? Other endorsements? Is there a particular organization (or organizations) whose endorsement you look for? Speaking to volunteers for one campaign or the other over the phone or at your door? Do you go to or seek out events where you can hear the candidate speak? Name recognition? Political party? In local elections, what do you do if you aren't familiar with the candidates? They're often very small campaigns and there aren't many opportunities to get to know them unless you specifically seek it out, and most people don't. Do you vote based on party? Based on whose name you do know? What about if there's an incumbent who has been there for a long time, and maybe he hasn't done a bad job as far as your concerned, but that doesn't mean the other guy couldn't do better. What does it take for the other guy to convince you? Are you more likely to believe the incumbent's criticisms of the challenger or vice-versa? I'm interested in hearing what your thoughts are on these issues. For a lot of people, voting is a very complex process, because let's face it - most people don't have the time to read all the policy papers a candidate may write, or hear all the speeches. Especially as the positions get less important, are you more likely to vote on a single issue? Endorsements are particularly interesting to me. A lot of people don't realize, just because an organization like Planned Parenthood endorses a candidate, they may not actually be the best pro-choice candidate on the ballot. Typically, these organizations endorse the incumbent so long as he or she has a decent record on the issue, even if the challenger is more in line with what they'd want. They do this so that they are still able to work with the incumbent should they win. So what goes into your vote? How much do you put into these lesser races which often get overshadowed by the vote for president? __________________ Le temps détruit tout "Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling