highthief

Do Americans have to declare they are one or the other? I hear so many people saying they are registered Democrats or Republicans. Do you have to declare who you support each time you register to vote? And what is the reasoning behind this?

Superbelt

ht,
Registering to be a member of the party. A part of the "club"
Some people do it because they really believe in the party. Others, like me, registered for a party for the ability to vote in a parties primary. (in most states)

You don't have to. But those are the two biggest reasons anyone will register for a party.

ARTelevision

well stated, Superbelt.
thanks.

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highthief

How many people are members of the big two parties, does anyone know? It seems like a lot of people compared to non-communist nations (where being a party member was really important). For instance, I know more Canadian than any other nation - I know one guy who is a member of a party. But a lot of Americans I speak to are part members like Superbelt.

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Superbelt

Without actually looking up the figures:
About a third of americans are registered Democrats
About a third of americans are registered Republicans
About a third of americans are independent or "3rd" party.

MSD

Yet most of those people believe that their vote doesn't matter if it isn't for the big 2 and vote for one of the others. Really sad, isn't it?

Superbelt

I'd love to see a chart of national total vote broken down by the voters political party.

See which party is doing better at bringing out the party. And where the independents are really voting.
And to see how many republicans and democrats cross the party line to vote against their party.

I searched and couldn't find 2000 statistics. I know that data is out there. Anyone here wanna take a stab at that one?

highthief

Wow! That is really a huge number of people who are essentially declaring themselves one or the other. I realize that they have the right to switch, but that, to me, goes a long way to explaining the deep divide between supporters of one party versus the other. You guys have more invested in your side being right than people in other nations.

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Superbelt

I'd love to see political parties banned outright. Let a man stand on his own two feet to get himself elected.
No party organization at any time. Everyone elected files into congress, votes their constitutency. Just does their job.
Parties are a poison. I know too many people who DO just vote straight party line, or the party means the most to them when they consider when to vote. It's a shame individuals like me have to work within it to have your voice.

By the way. I only registered Democrat about 6 months ago so I could be involved in the selection of the Democratic Presidential Nominee and Senators. (Unfortunately that race was finished long before the primary got to Pa)

Next term when Kerry is up for reelection, I'll definetley switch to Republican so I can be there for selecting the Republican Nominee.

Dem/Rep is a designation of convenience for me to have my voice heard.

MR_WALLACE

Just wondering; Do you have to pay to register ?

onetime2

No.

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MR_WALLACE

What if all republicans would register as a democrat and they would all vote for one "funny or stupid" candidate in the democratic parties primary?

cosmoknight

It would work aganist them as then they would be barred from picking a leader of their party. Also the other parties would do the same and end up simply a mess.

highthief

But Belt says he is going to register Republican next time - you can change election to election but not within the same election period, is that correct?

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cosmoknight

I believe so. Unfortunately accountablity and voter fraud are rampant in the US. Every year we find groups that vote more than once or in several states. Michael Moore for instance is registered in New York and Michigan as a Democrat which is techically illegal but hardly enforced. Many in PA register in Maryland and drive across the border to vote twice. Voter registration and tracking is one area we need improved greatly on.

cosmoknight

Just looked at the time frame HT at least in PA you can register/change party affiliation up to 30 days before the primary or general election. Not sure if thats national law as well.

Kadath

Having worked at a county courthouse and handled reports from the Board of Elections:

I would be incredibly impressed if a third of all Americans were independent or registered for a third party. It might be more accurate to say that a third of Americans are not registered as either Democrat or Republican.
I don't agree with voter fraud, but I'm happy that people care so much about voting that they do it twice. Many people can't be bothered to do it once.

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cosmoknight

Not sure if she is still alive but every year this bitch in Florida brags about how her three dogs vote along with her. Then there is the bus trips mostly done on college campus's that openly advertise voting in other states. Not saying it really widespread but very open and unenforced should have been my wording.

Superbelt

Just to be clear, I wouldn't be switching to Republican next term to sabotage the Republican nominee. I'd do it to help ensure we have an election between the two best candidates possible. I wouldn't, for instance vote for a fruitcake hoping that that would help the democrat win easier.

I really wish I was able to vote in the PA Republican primary this year. Especially because of the Toomey/Specter campaign.
Toomey really scares me. He's a far out batshit insane ultra-conservative. Specter, I don't like either, (he waffles day to day and his part in the Warren Commission [he invented the Magic Bullet Theory] makes his existance assinine) but his more moderate stances are much more appealing than Toomey's.
I'm voting for Joe Hoeffel anyway, but I'd rather see Specter hold such an important seat rather than Toomey. Specter barely survived too. It was a very close primary vote.
A toomey/Hoeffel run would be much more beneficial to Hoeffel too. PA doesn't like far wings on either side. We are pretty moderate statewide. His chances against Specter are actually kinda low. The chance of Toomey being a US Senator... *shudder.

cosmoknight

My support for Toomey was mainly because of Spector being one of the biggest spineless wimps in the Senate. I forgot the magic bullet theory from him but that makes sense knowing anything about him. I don't mind his moderate stances as much as his waffling. He is the ultimate political hack. I know my support against him ran contrary to the needs of the Republican party(and costed my dearly in some areas) and Toomey probably wouldn't get elected but I can't support Spector as I think he represents some of the worst things in politics.

BigGov

Then we'd have 100 candidates and the election process would take months of public voting, and in the end we'd still probably end up with the same two people or someone we've never heard of who might do a horrible job because they've never been involved in politics.

Besides that, a great deal of candidates means people can't possibly understand every single candidate's opinion. How are you going to vote for someone when you have only a slight idea of their opinions.

As much as we despise them, political parties do serve a purpose. Cutting down on the number of candidates, and giving a general idea of each candidate's stance on issues.

I despise myself for saying all of that.

__________________
One day an Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman walked into a pub together. They each bought a pint of Guinness. Just as they were about to enjoy their creamy beverage, three flies landed in each of their pints. The Englishman pushed his beer away in disgust. The Scotsman fished the fly out of his beer and continued drinking it, as if nothing had happened. The Irishman, too, picked the fly out of his drink but then held it out over the beer and yelled "SPIT IT OUT, SPIT IT OUT, YOU BASTARD!"

Superbelt

As you should.
What you advocated is letting the party define the candidate.
That is the problem. Too many americans only see the candidates as the republican or democrat. It make it easy to just pull the XXX party lever.

There won't be that many candidates. Just like in a primary the ones who know they won't win drop out and throw their support elsewhere.
If you can't take the time to study the candidates and find the best one for the job, you shouldn't be voting. The job of voting is too important to do in a cursory way.

BigGov

So you're saying because a single mother doesn't have time to read up on every single candidate means she shouldn't have the right to vote?

Every (well, almost every) American has the right to vote. If they want to vote, they are able to, if they want to choose the one with the best hairstyle, hey, it's their choice. I'm not going to step in and say they're not qualified to vote.

Besides, it is almost impossible to stop every form of political group. People will find ways around any law they make because, well, they'd be making the laws to begin with. A group of people with similar views are bound to get together, argue amongst each other, and then find a stance they will all take. It's happened throughout the world, trying to stop it here would only cause confusion among the masses.

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One day an Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman walked into a pub together. They each bought a pint of Guinness. Just as they were about to enjoy their creamy beverage, three flies landed in each of their pints. The Englishman pushed his beer away in disgust. The Scotsman fished the fly out of his beer and continued drinking it, as if nothing had happened. The Irishman, too, picked the fly out of his drink but then held it out over the beer and yelled "SPIT IT OUT, SPIT IT OUT, YOU BASTARD!"