Voting

quicklickpaddy

I was talking to a few mates about this a good while ago.

I never registered in time for the last elections so I didn't vote. I was wondering though, if I had been registered would I have voted?

I don't have strong political views and to be honest, I don't really know what the policies are of any politicians/parties (I know I should take the time to figure it out with civic responsibility and all that but I just haven't).

So my question is: Seen as I don't know exactly what I'm voting for, should I still vote?

I don't think so... I think that if I was to go in voting for something that I don't have an opinion on or know anything about what I'm voting for would be more irresponsible. It would just dilute the system and make educated votes less relevant. Most of the people I talked to seemed to disagree with me and thought I should vote anyway? What do you think?

EDIT: I'm not going to try defend myself here... I know I should do the research. My question is purely if I haven't done the research should I vote anyway?

Mark200

Just give all your preferences to Fine Gael.

Otherwise, no.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Do some reasearch find otu what the policies are and who's running in your constituency.

Then ignore it all and vote Fianna Fail because a) your Grandad voted for them or b) Enda's got no prsonalitly and this is less prefereble than high enemployment, high taxes and massive cuts in public services. (Everyone else does it this way because democracy is, by and large, for sheep.)

quicklickpaddy

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

Do some reasearch find otu what the policies are and who's running in your constituency.

Then ignore it all and vote Fianna Fail because a) your Grandad voted for them or b) Enda's got no prsonalitly and this is prefereble to high enemployed and massive cuts in public services. (Everyone else does it this way because democracy is, by and large, for sheep.)

But knowing nothing should I vote anyway?

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

If you have no interest in your country, your future or anything else like that then don't vote. Don't vote because some tosser guilted you into it. How do you know what you are doing exactly? It's still very important. I mean, look at where that got us.

However, if you do care, you can do some research and know a little about the parties and use your vote. If I truely do not understand something, after trying, then I will avoid it as my vote would not be more of a guess than anything. Which is bad.

You still have the right to vote, regardless, but in my opinion, it's best to vote only when you know what's involved.

genericguy

i find that people who don't know why they are voting generally vote for the shinners and/or joe higgins.

joe higgins is a fcuking cnut. the prick sits in the dail waiting for unanimous agreements by everyone else so he can disagree at the last second and look like he's sticking it to the man in the eyes of the uneducated.

/rant

so yeah, don't vote if you don't understand. yes to lisbon.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

vote fianna fail, just for the lols you'll get on the politics forum if they come out on top

Max Power1

vote for anyone but FF, look at it this way-the opposition couldnt do a worse job!

Somnus

I agree with your outlook OP. If you don't know anything about what your meant to be voting for then don't.

Better you leave it then vote in ignorance.

Like you said, once you've had time to read up on things then you should.

Pride Fighter

You should not vote if you do not know what any of the main political parties stand for or if you do not know any of their policies.

If you want to vote do some research. The national media is entirely biased towards Fianna Fail so believe none of the national media outlets such as television and newspapers. Use the internet to investigate the policies of the various parties.

Biggins

If your lucky enough to come across a person that appears to be genuine, fair and sound then without knowing too much of their policies in detail, I'd say it would be ok to vote.
If there was anything at all that cast doubt in your mind as to any of them irrespective of their policies, I'd suggest that you don't vote for them as well.


Policies don't make the man, the man (or woman) make the policies!

quicklickpaddy

"Yes" is winning in the poll... Can anyone explain the logic behind that??

orourkeda

Nobody else knows policy.

Don't feel left out

Mark200

Max Power1 wrote: »

vote for anyone but FF, look at it this way-the opposition couldnt do a worse job!

Having a party that wants less cuts (Labour) in Government with a party that wants more cuts (Fine Gael) may not be worse than the current situation, but won't exactly be great either. The only thing they have in common is that they both oppose Fianna Fail. But for very different reasons.

syklops

Churchill would have loved you OP.

Winston Churchill wrote:

The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.

Prof.Badass

Either educate yourself or don't vote. Clueless voting undermines democracy. Just because everyone is doing it doesn't make it right.

Seloth

This is one reason I didnt vote on Lisbon.

I had recently turned 18 and was able to vote if I wished but tbh I didnt feel as if I was old or mature enough too,and knew little of the treaty itself,well I'd say I knew allot more than most people my age but still didnt feel I should have the responsability of voting againseeing as I just turned 18.

metalfest

spoil your vote so at least you voted

El Weirdo

I'm not voting on a poll about voting. It weirds me out. Like googling google or some mad shit.

Sod'o swords

Upon review, i don't know the motives or history for neither "Yes" or "No".
So i shall therefore spoil my vote, Altair Jaguar.

oppenheimer1

metalfest wrote: »

spoil your vote so at least you voted

What a waste of time. Assuming spoiling your ballot has an impact on the thought process of those elected (because you increase that statistic) that impact will be negligible. Maybe that negligible impact is worth it to you, but I don't think it's worth the 20+ minute walk to the ballot box. It almost certainly won't have an impact that benefits me more than having 20 minutes extra of spare time. Which is long enough to have a ****.

starbelgrade

vinylmesh wrote: »

Either educate yourself or don't vote. Clueless voting undermines democracy. Just because everyone is doing it doesn't make it right.

I'd wager that over 50% of most voters are clueless.

adox

OP did you vote on this vote about voting?

quicklickpaddy

adox wrote: »

OP did you vote on this vote about voting?

Yeah but I knew what I was voting for

quicklickpaddy

Still no argument for why I would vote without being educated on it? Even though it's winning the poll...

phantom_lord

I would be major proponent of making people fill out a simple test in order to be eligible for voting to make sure they have an iota of a clue about what they're voting for.

squod

quicklickpaddy wrote: »

Still no argument for why I would vote without being educated on it?

Many people did the same, or at least that's what I'm hoping. I simply don't know anybody evil enough to have voted for FF or teh Greens on purpose.

phantom_lord

quicklickpaddy wrote: »

Still no argument for why I would vote without being educated on it? Even though it's winning the poll...

it saves having to run referendums a second time. LISBON IS FOR ABORTION!111!!!1!!

Tail Wagger

I suppose it depends on the party/s your parents normally vote for, or your working back ground that will steer a person to vote for a certain party.

If you feel you are inclined to moan about the Government and when intrest rates or vat increases and it effects you then you should at least register your name to vote, it's your choice then whether or not you vote?

quicklickpaddy

phantom_lord wrote: »

it saves having to run referendums a second time. LISBON IS FOR ABORTION!111!!!1!!

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs238.snc1/8523_163174957526_663212526_4117485_6859353_n.jpg

Einhard

quicklickpaddy wrote: »

EDIT: I'm not going to try defend myself here... I know I should do the research. My question is purely if I haven't done the research should I vote anyway?

Why bother? It's like giviving an opinion on something you know nothing about.

Anyway, it'd probably take you less time to learn the policies of the various parties than it did to start this thread!

quicklickpaddy

Einhard wrote: »

Why bother?

Anyway, it'd probably take you less time to learn the policies of the various parties than it did to start this thread!

Doubt it... Either way, that's not the point of the thread. I was just interested in why people thought I should have voted even though I was clueless

Tail Wagger

Einhard wrote: »

Why bother? It's like giviving an opinion on something you know nothing about.

Anyway, it'd probably take you less time to learn the policies of the various parties than it did to start this thread!

That's the problem with some people to day, it's so easy to say it....Why Bother?
Register your name and when the voting comes round, do yourself a favor and Vote...

Einhard

Tail Wagger wrote: »

That's the problem with some people to day, it's so easy to say it....Why Bother?
Register your name and when the voting comes round, do yourself a favor and Vote...

I didn't mean don't bother to vote. I meant, if you're not going to read the manifestos then don't vote. Voting out of ignorance is worse in my opinion than not voting at all.

Kasabian

Vote Lib Dem , wait thats not right , vote Labour , wait no , vote Fianna Fail , no BNP , no Scotish nationalist , no Green , no vote Tory , Fine Gael , Jesus I don't know what country am I in .

Jev/N

I never see the point in going ah, vote for anyone but FF, they made the mess were in.

FG aren't much better and are largely a party not dissimilar from the style etc. of FF. They're just using the current situation to try and bring the public towards them without having any real ideas - just constantly pointing the finger. If they're voted in, I can't forsee a huge amount of change. And for the love of Jesus, I couldn't stand INDA as Taoiseach!

As much as I dislike them, if you want change, vote Labour

starbelgrade

Don't vote. Let other people make the decisions for you. It's not important anyway - it's not like anybody died to give you the right to vote, it's not like women had to fight for their right to vote. It's not important - certainly not important enough to educate yourself into making a reasonably informed decision.

Sure why would you - it's not worth the effort. However, just keep in mind that if you don't vote, then when anything happens in politics, from bailing out banks to changes in bin charges, you have no right to complain.

Mike 1972

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

democracy is, by and large, for sheep

If everyone takes this attitude only the "sheep" will vote and the rest of us will be condemed to living under a government elected by sheep.

OP would it really be too much work to find out what the various parties stand for. You have that internet thing for crysakes. Even a look at their Wikipedia pages should give you the basics.

Even spoiling your vote is preferable to abstaining (abstention is generally interpreted as apathy)

Elenxor

I'd bet that if the right to vote were taken away..people with no interest in politics would suddenly become very active.

quicklickpaddy

I said I wasn't going to defend myself here... but I do plan on voting next time around. I wasn't even registered last time. My question was knowing nothing should I have voted anyway last time? And why?

orourkeda

quicklickpaddy wrote: »

I was talking to a few mates about this a good while ago.

I never registered in time for the last elections so I didn't vote. I was wondering though, if I had been registered would I have voted?

I don't have strong political views and to be honest, I don't really know what the policies are of any politicians/parties (I know I should take the time to figure it out with civic responsibility and all that but I just haven't).

So my question is: Seen as I don't know exactly what I'm voting for, should I still vote?

I don't think so... I think that if I was to go in voting for something that I don't have an opinion on or know anything about what I'm voting for would be more irresponsible. It would just dilute the system and make educated votes less relevant. Most of the people I talked to seemed to disagree with me and thought I should vote anyway? What do you think?

EDIT: I'm not going to try defend myself here... I know I should do the research. My question is purely if I haven't done the research should I vote anyway?

There are these new things called newspapers that we have.

There are also some helpful electronic devices called radios, televisions and computers that can enlighten you somewhat.

quicklickpaddy

orourkeda wrote: »

There are these new things called newspapers that we have.

There are also some helpful electronic devices called radios, televisions and computers that can enlighten you somewhat.

You actually haven't read any of my posts have you?

orourkeda

Elenxor wrote: »

I'd bet that if the right to vote were taken away..people with no interest in politics would suddenly become very active.

It's something akin to closing pubs on a good Friday. People who wouldn't usually go drinking get all flustered when they can't go boozing after a rugby match.

I don't have a particular problem with people who don't vote as long as they keep their mouth shut after the event. People moaning about government when they couldn't be bothered to vote is a definite double standard.

orourkeda

quicklickpaddy wrote: »

You actually haven't read any of my posts have you?

No. Other than the one where you said you didn't know any party policies and didn't bother voting.

quicklickpaddy

orourkeda wrote: »

No. Other than the one where you said you didn't know any party policies and didn't bother voting.

Wow... And you're calling me ignorant :rolleyes:

orourkeda

quicklickpaddy wrote: »

Wow... And you're calling me ignorant :rolleyes:

You're the one who said you didn't know anything about you were supposed to vote on.

quicklickpaddy

orourkeda wrote: »

You're the one who said you didn't know anything about you were supposed to vote on.

Yeah and that's why I thought it would have been irresponsible to vote. I wasn't registered so it wouldn't have made a difference anyway. Again, if you actually read the thread before you commented you'd have gotten that. In fact, you just proved my point. Voting/commenting on something you have no idea about only f*cks things up

orourkeda

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

Do some reasearch find otu what the policies are and who's running in your constituency.

Then ignore it all and vote Fianna Fail because a) your Grandad voted for them or b) Enda's got no prsonalitly and this is less prefereble than high enemployment, high taxes and massive cuts in public services. (Everyone else does it this way because democracy is, by and large, for sheep.)

I agree. However, you cant sterilize bad parents. Taking the vote away from ill informed voters would amount to something similar.

I doubt that the type of voting you describe is completely unique to Ireland though.

falan

I have voted just twice in my entire life. I'm 31 and my interest and knowledge of the various parties is zilch. My eyes glaze over at the sight of programmes such as the week in politics and oriactas report (sp).

Deus Ex Machina

Do not vote if you don't know the policies!!!!!

Do not vote if you don't like any of the candidates!!!!

One of the biggest problems with the democratic system is that people vote based on ignorance, or they vote for the lesser of two evils. The lesser of two evils is still evil.

orourkeda

quicklickpaddy wrote: »

Yeah and that's why I thought it would have been irresponsible to vote. I wasn't registered so it wouldn't have made a difference anyway. Again, if you actually read the thread before you commented you'd have gotten that. In fact, you just proved my point. Voting/commenting on something you have no idea about only f*cks things up

My initial comment about the newspapers was intended to mean that there is no excuse for being ill informed on these issues.

What did you think it meant?