jorgelito

So now that the primary season is winding down and gearing up for the November elections, the question I want to ask is: How do you vote?

Do you vote by party? By ideology? Platform? Gender, race, sex, religion? Or maybe you vote the issues? Hair?

I vote a combination of things. Based on the individual assessment. How the candidate stands closest to my issues, strength of character, ability to lead and unite others, rapport with domestic and foreign leaders, strong enough to stand up for their own beliefs and not pander etc.

Although I am a conservative/moderate, I am NOT Republican. Nor am I Democrat. In fact, I have voted Clinton, Clinton, Gore, Kerry. I guess I'm 2-2, hehehe. For election, it will be close. I have always liked McCain but have been bothered by some things. I like Obama alot but need some reassurances, however, I see him getting better by the day. He really impresses. Maybe McCain will step up some more and finally give us voters two great candidates to choose from. It's still early, far from November, but at the moment, I am 51-49 in favor of Obama from McCain.

How about you? C'mon TFP, weigh in. Just your opinion, no slams, no need for pages and pages of citations. Just good ol' fashion American Joe Public opinion.

snowy

I'm a Democrat. Registered as a Dem when I first registered to vote back in 2000, and voted for Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004. I generally vote Dem except in local elections, where I sometimes vote for the Pacific Green Party candidate. This fall I'll be supporting my local city councilor in his run for Congress (he's the Pacific Green Party candidate), largely because the Democratic incumbent, Peter DeFazio, will win by a landslide anyways.

My first question when assessing a candidate is quite simple: are they pro-choice or pro-life? I absolutely will not consider voting for a candidate who is pro-life. That is my ultimate dealbreaker.

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

SecretMethod70

I identify as independent, though the Republican party doesn't offer much for me to agree with these days. I try to vote based on the individual (though, doesn't everyone say that?), but I do tend to support Democrats more than Republicans. Increasingly so right now. For president, there are a number of things to consider, including leadership style (a.k.a. character) and policy positions. For more local elections, I tend to put more weight on policy positions and less on personality traits such as style of leadership.

In this particular election, that means I'm voting for Obama as president, but I am leaning toward my Republican candidate for state's attorney. This is primarily because that candidate supports giving out warnings instead of filing formal charges for possession of drugs in small amounts, which the Democratic candidate is against.

I also try to support third parties when I can.

Put this all together, and it means that I vote for the individual I prefer when I feel sufficiently informed, and that individual does tend to be a Democrat rather than a Republican. If I don't feel informed enough to choose between the Democrat and Republican in a race, then I vote for a third party candidate if there is one available (or if I actually prefer the third party candidate). If there is not a third party candidate available, I either don't vote in the race, or I vote for the Democrat. The reason I sometimes vote for the Democrat rather than not vote at all is because party ID does provide a general indicator of a candidate's platform, and if I feel that the position is important enough that I think it would make a difference to have a Democrat instead of a Republican, then I vote that way. More often than not, though, I just leave it blank.

For judges, I'm lucky enough to have the benefit of a great site which compiles a number of different bar association recommendations for my area. I only vote in support of those judges which have received a favorable rating from all of the bar associations reported on the site.

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Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

Willravel

I'm registered Green and I vote in a way that can't really be summed up by a label. I vote for what I believe to be best, based on research and my own personal ideology. I voted Cobb back in 2004 and I'll be voting for Obama in this election (unless someone else begins a campaign that I agree with, like Gore running Green).

uncle phil

i tend to pull the curtains closed so no one can look over my shoulder; then i vote my conscience...

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"We were wrong, terribly wrong. (We) should not have tried to fight a guerrilla war with conventional military tactics against a foe willing to absorb enormous casualties...in a country lacking the fundamental political stability necessary to conduct effective military and pacification operations. It could not be done and it was not done."
- Robert S. McNamara
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"We will take our napalm and flame throwers out of the land that scarcely knows the use of matches...
We will leave you your small joys and smaller troubles."
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never wrestle with a pig.
you both get dirty;
the pig likes it.

LoganSnake

I don't.

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spectre

I'm an independent. Sadly, with the way both parties are right now, I vote for the person that I think will screw me over the least with their policies.

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"Fuck these chains
No goddamn slave
I will be different" ~ Machine Head

Bear Cub

Sadly, that about sums it up for me right there.

I do have some dealbreakers though. Religious fanatics, pro-life nuts, anti-gun everything, etc.

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Living in the United Socialist States of America.

Baraka_Guru

I'm going to weigh in because I'm guessing it's just a matter of time now that the Canadian government will be dissolved. (It's quite embarrassing, really, what the Liberals have been doing, well, *not* doing...I won't get into it.)

I vote by party, which is most often on par with ideology and platform. I vote NDP both provincially and federally. What I find is that whenever federal leader Jack Layton criticizes either the Liberals or the Tories (or both), I think, "Hey! That's what I'm talking about! Someone's gotta set them straight; they're messing things up and dropping the ball. You tell 'em, Jack!" Or.... "Damn, Jack, I wish I thought of that! They are messing things up and dropping the ball. You tell 'em, Jack."

And then I get a little sd, thinking, "Damn, Jack, if only you guys had a little more clout!" And so I vote for them.

I basically wish for the day that the NDP is the opposition party at the very least. That would satisfy me. That's more clout than they have now.

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

MSD

The best I can say for this election cycle is that Obama appears to have learned from the 1994 elections that gun control is political suicide. I'm fairly amicable toward his social and foreign policies, but on many issues I see from the '90s that one party in the White House and the other in Congress is ideal.

I look forward to voting for Obama/Richardson in November, but realize that if it turns out to be Obama/Clinton or something like it, that I may end up walking out of the voting booth without casting a vote for president. I cannot justify voting for McCain, and "my" party, the Libertarian party, has found the last straw by nominating Bob Barr. I don't see myself voting for anyone but Obama and a VP who is moderate or liberal (in the classical sense of the word) on gun control and immigration.

Martian

I've always thought voting by party affiliation was a bit... odd. It seems to be a particularly American phenomenon that people identify so strongly with their party of choice. Around here at least, I don't often hear people declaring 'I'm a Liberal' or 'I'm a Conservative.'

That said, the party that most often seems to represent me best ideologically is NDP. I have voted Liberal in the past, but only in close races where I have a strong preference for the Liberal platform over the Conservative. To date there hasn't been a Conservative platform that I've agreed with.

Yup. If nothing else, you have to admire Mr. Layton's spirit.

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

thespian86

Easy to be spirited when you know you're not going to win... ever

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ME: I officially love coffee more then you now.
EX: uh...
ME: So, not much.

Sion

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Some wrong been done, he done it first. -fz

I jus' want ta thank you...falettinme...be mice elf...agin...

inBOIL

Unless the vote is going to be close and I have a strong preference, I usually vote either Green or Libertarian, since I like aspects of both and would like to see a greater number of viable candidates in the future.

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And you believe Bush and the liberals and divorced parents and gays and blacks and the Christian right and fossil fuels and Xbox are all to blame, meanwhile you yourselves create an ad where your kid hits you in the head with a baseball and you don't understand the message that the problem is you.

jorgelito

Interesting post. So you have a core issue that resonates with you and strongly influences your voting. Here's a wrench in the works: What if all the candidates in a given election were pro-life including the "perfect" candidate that meets all your other criteria?

I also like voting for the 3rd party/independent types, especially in local elections. I really liked the Green guy way back in the gubernatorial elections in Cali after the recall. Can't remember his name though.

Actually, I really hope to see more and more representation by 3rd party folks all over the place in November, especially in Congress.

Baraka, is that a Canadian thing or perhaps a Parliamentary style thing? That is, to vote your party. I get the same sense with British voters and Israeli voters.

Which opens up an interesting point: voting in the US vis-a-vis voting in other places.

MSD, is the Veep a deal breaker for you? Who would you like to see with Obama other than Richardson? Are gun control and immigration your core issues like pro-choice is for onesnowyowl? Are they "non-negotiable"?

Martian

As opposed to voting for candidates? Yes, it's a parliamentary thing. The parliamentary system doesn't allow voters to choose a specific prime minister; rather, the parties choose the prime ministers and the voters choose the parties. A party leader may be a reason not to vote for a specific party, but our votes always go towards the party rather than the leader himself.

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

RetroGunslinger

This is my first time voting, and I've got to say I'm torn. I know I can't possibly vote for Clinton, but I don't care for Obama or McCain. I'll probably go Obama if and when he's given the Democratic nom, but it's still basically closing my eyes and throwing caution to the win. It's really too bad Gravel has no chance, he seems like a legitimately good possible president.

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It's a rare pleasure in this world to get your mind fucked. Usually it's just foreplay.

M.B. Keene

SecretMethod70

RetroGunslinger: you do realize that Obama clinched the nomination 2 days ago, right? And that Clinton is suspending her campaign this weekend?

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Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

Baraka_Guru

Yes, and to clarify a bit further: You vote to place your riding's party member into a seat in the House of Commons. As an example, there were people who voted for PM Stephen Harper (hrn... ) but that was because they live in his riding and they voted for the Tory member. Harper just happened to be the party leader and therefore the PM when his party won the minority government.

So, yes, you do basically vote by party. There isn't really another way, except when you vote by platform. Like Martian, I too have voted Liberal in the past, but there's no way I'll be doing it anytime soon with Dion as leader. The Liberals are going to be taken through the wringer in a matter of time. Besides, the NDP have been putting up a platform I believe in for a while now, so there's no question in my mind.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

abaya

I vote in both Iceland and the US. I like the way things work in Iceland... there are 6 parties, and not one of them ever gets a majority (for example, in last year's parliamentary elections, the most popular party got less than 40%). But as long as a party gets at least 5% of the vote, then they receive a proportional number of seats in the parliament. What I like is that since there is no majority party, there ALWAYS has to be a coalition between 2-3 parties in order to make up a majority. So the most popular party usually ends up striking some kind of deal with the next most popular, or with the next couple of parties down, until a majority is reached. This forces people to work with each other, even if the platforms are quite different from one other.

When I voted last year, I went down to the city hall and went into a booth. There was a sheet of paper with 6 small boxes on it... I put an X in the Left-Green party's box (immigration is a dominant issue for me here, and while the Social Democrats also are pro-immigration, the Left-Greens actually invited a fledgling Immigrant Party to join them the year before, and I appreciated that), and left. That was it. The entire parliamentary election process. Individuals are not really that important, though people do get "seated" (kind of like in an orchestra... 1st chair, 2nd chair, etc), and they only get a spot in parliament if their party wins enough seats to include them.

The other thing about Iceland, or at least as I was taught in my Icelandic history class, is that it's not just right-left (and here, even the furthest "right" party would still be pretty center/left-of-center in the US)... it's more of a 2-dimensional scale, with right-left on the horizontal, and isolationism vs. engagement on the vertical. This is because Iceland has always been on the margins of Europe (and the US, in a way), so deciding whether or not to engage with the world at large has always been a central issue for them. Right now, they still can't decide if they want to join the EU or not, and that would be another issue along that vertical line. Not all issues are conservative vs. liberal, so the parties have to branch out along that 2D scale.

Anyway, as for the US... well, I never make any hard and fast decisions until I've watched the campaigns for a while, read a lot about the candidates, listened to them speak, ignored propaganda about them (both positive and negative), and then make a decision. Overall, though, I suppose I have a bias towards people who come across as being more intelligent than I am, and not the "common man/woman" image that so many US politicians adopt. I want to be impressed by a candidate. Usually I am not, so I vote for the lesser evil. Not necessarily "who will screw me over the least," but "who will screw the world over the least," which I suppose betrays my globalist bias. Attitudes towards the rest of the world matter a lot to me, perhaps more than internal policies. What can I say, I spend a lot of time out in the rest of the world, and I'm the only native-born American in my family. I care about how the US is going to play with others.

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

Martian

Rightly so. The common man is a fucking twat. Why would I want someone common making decisions that affect my entire nation and the world at large?

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

abaya

Excellent question... and yet, so many people voted for the last common man, TWICE!!! I never understood it. I suppose people like to feel that they "identify" with their president, which means that he should be "at their level." Yay. Let's ALL go to hell in a handbasket, shall we?

I'll take an educated, "elite" person over the "commoner" any day, thank you. (Whatever the hell those categories mean in the US, where ANY fucking politician has to be an "elite" of some kind, whether they admit it or not--really, go figure how people come to these conclusions.)

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

lotsofmagnets

this is a situation to be a bit careful about. back in 1999 in the victorian elections a lot of people felt our then premier, jeff kennett, was becoming a bit cocky and the opposition really didn´t stand a chance and to avoid giving him a landslide a lot of people voted opposition and independents, basically what ppl called a bit of a "kick up the arse" so he´d listen a bit better to the people (general consensus was he was doing a brilliant job as premier and i think he´ll go down in history as one of, if not, the best premiers in our history.) well, apparently a few too many ppl had the same idea and he found himself just short of a majority and all the independants formed a coalition with the opposition and in the end we accidentally kicked a bit too hard and kicked him out of office. it was a farce simply because the independants really had no policy and suddenly found themselves holding the balance of power and the next 4 years was pretty fucked up. mind you, they also literally formed a gang, openly stating they did so just because they didn´t like jeff kennett which basically meant we were now governed by perry vindictiveness and a lot of good from the previous government was unneccessarily undone.

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mother nature made the aeroplane, and the submarine sandwich, with the steady hands and dead eye of a remarkable sculptor.
she shed her mountain turning training wheels, for the convenience of the moving sidewalk, that delivers the magnetic monkey children through the mouth of impossible calendar clock, into the devil's manhole cauldron.
physics of a bicycle, isn't it remarkable?

noodle

Have to acknowledge the person who said it first.

And, Uncle Phil, you get curtains?! There are some pretty creative body movements in our voter booths trying to make sure no one is looking.
Seriously, I just look to make sure the chad really fell off.
Welcome to Florida! Y'all come back nah, ya heah?


As for state elections, I'm going to wait and see who cuts the least amount of funding from those slightly important things like, oh, um... mental health, Medicaid, Juvenile Justice, etc. Last year they cut $75 million.
That's why Fark has a Florida tag, I swear.

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snowy

Peter DeFazio is not a cocky guy, lol. Let me share his picture with you:


This man doesn't have a cocky bone in his body, and he's an excellent representative for Oregon in Congress--my district has elected him 11 times now. The Republicans didn't even field a candidate in DeFazio's district, and so he's only running against third-party candidates, who probably won't field much of the vote anyway (sad but true). Most of the third parties here in the United States can't get enough votes to unseat an incumbent Representative; it just isn't going to happen.

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

MSD

In this case I see the VP as strengthening the ticket.

Gun control is a big deal for me because I've been on both sides of the fence and no argument that I used when I was anti-gun and no rationale for gun control that I believe in has stood up to the simple test of looking at the facts. It's not entirely because I'm clinging to my guns, I see it as a test of whether a candidate is intellectually honest enough to look at the quantifiable facts and make a decision that may be counterintuitive or contradictory to emotions around the issue.

The main reason I'm leaving the Libertarian party is because my disgust with 4 of 5 leading candidates who were competing for the nomination had immigration policies that ranged from xenophobic to outright racist, and I find that kind of thinking deplorable.

The two issues are negotiable, but I will not vote for someone who I think will actively attempt to enact draconian gun control measures (fortunately, I think Obama realizes that another assault weapons ban would be political suicide, and picking someone like Richardson would be a sign that he's willing to move away from his formerly extremist stance.) I will not vote for someone who sees immigrants, even illegal ones, as less that human. Border security, to me, should be a way to keep known terrorists and wanted criminals out of the country, not a way to keep foreigners out. If someone sees a massive influx of people into the country as potentially harmful and has some sort of evidence to back it up, I consider it a political disagreement rather than a dealbreaker.

RetroGunslinger

You totally read that wrong... yeah... 'cause I totally keep up with the news...


... heh heh...

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It's a rare pleasure in this world to get your mind fucked. Usually it's just foreplay.

M.B. Keene

laconic1

I generally vote based on issues. Economic issues, specifically a balanced budget, civil liberties, and a small government are the most important things to me, and the areas where Bush has all but driven me from the Republican Party.I don't know yet if I will vote for McCain or not. I don't think he will do a good enough job in those areas, for me a lot depends on his VP pick. If he picks someone I perceive to be a fundie, like Huckabee I'm out.

Borgs

I take a long look at the candidates and decide which I would rather sit down and have a beer with, and I vote for him.

Edit: Or her. I'm not sexist with my beer buddies.

Daniel_

I make a little cross with a pencil.

I live in a solidly Conservative ward, so my local councillor (District), my county councillor (County) and my MP (national) are all from the Conservative party.

I've voted on issues every time, and not supported the same party. I think that at least once in the past 20 years I've voted for each of
Conservative
Liberal (no longer exist)
Social Democrat (no longer exist)
Liberal Democrat (formed by the merger of the above)
Labour
Green
Independent

I've never voted Comunist, but to be honest I don't remember seeing a Communist on any paper I've had.

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╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗
Overhead, the Albatross hangs motionless upon the air,
And deep beneath the rolling waves,
In labyrinths of Coral Caves,
The Echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand;
And everthing is Green and Submarine
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Reese

It's kinda like Dungeons and Dragons.. I compare the Policy of myself against the candidate then do a Charisma roll. If Charisma roll ≥ difference of policy then I'll vote for them.
It's pretty simple really.

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“It is better to be rich and healthy than poor and sick” - Dave Barry

Derwood

there have been many recent studies that show that despite people saying that they are voting on issues or policy, they mostly vote based on emotion. the candidates know this.

SecretMethod70

This is true, though I question how much that has to do with not bothering to know about the policy vs voting on emotion over policy.

I think Obama seems like a pretty good guy and I certainly like his personality, but what really sets him apart for me are these issues right here, among others. If these were the positions of some other candidate and not Obama, I'd be voting for that other candidate, regardless of how much I like Obama's personality.

I think the reason most people vote on emotion and not the issues is because they aren't informed enough to realize the differences on the issues. If you're informed about a candidate that you agree with more than the other candidates - and that candidate is a viable option - it's difficult to vote for someone else, regardless of how much you're drawn to their charisma.

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Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

Derwood

the studies i've seen involve "uncommitted" voters being shown video of multiple candidates and being measured for different kinds of brain activity. they are then asked what they like/don't like about the candidates and who they would vote for, and often they choose someone who doesn't believe everything they do

Xazy

I sadly almost end up voting lesser of evils.

boink

we were required to declare party afiliation this year and we also had to decide by cacus. so I went with it and I'd say it was pritty cool. I mean I was in a room with my neighborhood and I got to see who was about what ya know ? Imean I see these people every day in the grocery store (it's a small store in a small 'hood)

anyway, in the past I have voted by who the people are or who I precieve them to be from their apearance and what they have to say (what I have a chance to hear anyway)

I'm 100% down with Obama because I'm 100% disgusted with waspy bastards. I can't emagine Obama isn't "playing the game" or he would never have gotten this far in the game in the first place. but still, he projects a persona that's by far the best I've ever seen in a politician. I mean good god I think I might actually feel respect for a politician ! WTF !?!

my opinion of Mcane is he's an old furious man. his fury over 911 will allow him to keep on warring without end and god knows those who manufacture wepons and oil and the whole economic machine behind war and oil with push him to continue as well. I don't see him as smart enough to think beyond that. I don't see him as being an economic wiz by any means.
I do still feel in my gut 911 was an inside job and somehow Mcane is too dumb or just won't allow himself to believe it or he's just not part of the PNAC NeoCon club so he's not "in" on it.

anyway...we'll see.

rotflmao...amen !

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when you believe in things that you don't understand, then you suffer. Superstition ain't the way.

Gratzek

I voted for Gore in 00 and thereafter became disillusioned. I reside in Hawaii and have been voting in NC elections by absentee ballot for the last 4 years and have been writing abstain on the ballot. My entire choice is usually decided by how much main stream hate the canidate receives which is why this year instead of writing abstain ill be writing Ron Paul.

Terrell

Ideology, and as far as personal freedom goes, I agree more with the Democratic party than the Republican Party on the Social issues at this particuliar time in our history. Now if the Republicans completly divorce the religious right and their agenda, in it's entirety, I would give their candidates much more consideration. Don't try and regulate my (or especially my sister's) personal choices if you want my vote.

duskytip

That is where we are at...guess things are great huh....

Good luck with that. That is the basis of their party and policy.

mixedmedia

I've never had a reason not to vote by party.

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Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce