IS it true, you don't vote it goes to the last elected TD?

helibelly

Is it true that if I exercise my right not to vote (regardless of how foolish that maybe), the last elected person will automatically receive my vote? Or is this an urban myth?

It's not even an urban myth.
It's up there with that saying about the blackbirds..
1 for sorrow,2 for joy,3 for a girl etc

Kristopherus

Rubbish. Where did you source that daft idea? Its impossible.

mikemac

Did someone down the pub tell you this?

chicken fingers

Deleted User wrote: »

It's not even an urban myth.
It's up there with that saying about the blackbirds..
1 for sorrow,2 for joy,3 for a girl etc

thats magpies

Frank Spencer

Everyone should thank that post to make it gets post of the day so everyone can see that there are people that would actually believe that!

johnmcdnl

I didn't even know it was an urban myth

it took me several reads to even half understand what you meant..

how would not voting give someone else a vote and that last person left not elected gets elected automatically anyways so they don't need your vote

ixtlan

I suspect this is one of those things that develops when someone says something generally true and then it passes through 100 people, and distorts into something that sounds ridiculous.

Clearly if you don't vote, your vote does not exist, so it can't go to any candidate. The grain of truth is that if you do not vote, you are assisting those candidates you do not agree with, since if you were to vote you would have voted for someone else.

So as I said, I doubt this started as a joke. More likely as an exhortation to people to vote, by trying to emphasise that no vote has an influence too, in an indirect way.

To put it another way... If your imaginary vote was allocated to the last candidate, would you care? Why? You didn't vote, why should you care who gets elected? If the idea does bother you, then vote, even if it's in order of least worst choice.

Ix

Reilly616

I heard recently on the radio that this was a huge belief in some uninformed areas. I could hardly believe it. Anyway, as everyone has said, it's not true.

RubyRoss

I did hear of a dodgy council practice in the UK whereby absent votes were counted as yes votes. Basically, the public objected to a planned site for Gypsies but they had to really prove it by bringing out a majority of the population not a majority of the voters

Reilly616

RubyRoss wrote: »

I did hear of a dodgy council practice in the UK whereby absent votes were counted as yes votes. Basically, the public objected to a planned site for Gypsies but they had to really prove it by bringing out a majority of the population not a majority of the voters

Article 47.2.1 of our Constitution has a slightly odd vote thingy; If there is a referendum, which is not a referendum to amend of the Constitution, then a No Vote will only count if at least 33.333...% of the voters on the register have voted No.

PeterIanStaker

If people believe this kind of tripe no wonder the country is f*cked.

Pal

Just one question before you go,

If I don't vote, how do they know who I'm not voting for ?

cosanostra

You can imagine if this was true FFers would be barricading every polling station

gbee

What you describe is not correct, but it is based in a fact in as much as if you do not vote the last seat will be filled by anyone left, even if they don't get a vote.

What you want your non vote to say is none of the above, and in that, I agree that not voting should count too.

For my money a democracy can only exist if 2/3rd vote and you reach that percentage. I never agreed with electing people to the Dail who did not have enough votes to reach quota ~ just because there is a seat left they will automatically get it anyway.

Rabble Rabble

gbee wrote: »

What you describe is not correct, but it is based in a fact in as much as if you do not vote the last seat will be filled by anyone left, even if they don't get a vote.

What you want your non vote to say is none of the above, and in that, I agree that not voting should count too.

For my money a democracy can only exist if 2/3rd vote and you reach that percentage. I never agreed with electing people to the Dail who did not have enough votes to reach quota ~ just because there is a seat left they will automatically get it anyway.

Because people dont always transfer the last guy standing is almost never going to reach a quota, if we forced transfers he would reach the quota.

As it stands this is a legitimate practice.

helibelly

Don't worry, I didn't belive it, but I do know someone who does, along with many of their friends! Of course the real question is who to vote for, although I'm sure that's the subject of many other threads!:D