Not registered to vote - not bothered either!

clumsyklutz

A lot of people find my not being registered to vote a very odd occurance - I moved when I was a kid and hence I ended up on neither electoral register, when I turned 18 I just wasn't all that bothered, now several years later, I'm still not bothered, anybody else feel like this?

jaja321

No. If you are entitled to vote then you should take responsibility and vote.

seamus

What I find odd is when people don't bother their arse voting but still take the time to whinge about the country and the government.

lahalane

I don't vote because I never know what I'm voting for and I am not interested enough to learn. I didn't even know there was a vote last Friday until my brother in law told me that night. He was telling me to vote, leaning towards Yes, but what's the point in me voting if I don't know anything about the election? It'd just be another vote for him.

jaja321

lahalane wrote: »

I don't vote because I never know what I'm voting for and I am not interested enough to learn. I didn't even know there was a vote last Friday until my brother in law told me that night. He was telling me to vote, leaning towards Yes, but what's the point in me voting if I don't know anything about the election? It'd just be another vote for him.

Educate yourself. Its not that difficult.

lahalane

jaja321 wrote: »

Educate yourself. Its not that difficult.

I don't have any interest in politics so I don't see the point. Same reason why I didn't choose to study chemistry for the Leaving Cert, I had no interest...kinda regret it though after watching Breaking Bad.

OU812

Only fools don't vote if they're entitled to.

Brave men & women fought & died for the rights of future generations to have a vote. Please don't squander their sacrifice.

ScumLord

One vote won't be missed. Go back to sleep scan.

lahalane

OU812 wrote: »

Only fools don't vote if they're entitled to.

Brave men & women fought & died for the rights of future generations to have a vote. Please don't squander their sacrifice.

I'm sure that if they hadn't fought and died we'd still have a vote with whatever this country would be called instead. United Kingdom more than likely?

29 and not registered,
if something came up I cared about I'd register but until then I couldn't give two ****s.

Savoir.Faire

I'm torn on this issue. While I'm a strong believer in democracy and having the people stake a claim in the representative process; this is sullied by the fact the level of discourse and knowledge amongst the electorate is absolutely frightful.

As Asimov once said, "The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”

Czarcasm

seamus wrote: »

What I find odd is when people don't bother their arse voting but still take the time to whinge about the country and the government.

I'd only consider voting if I thought there was any point in it. It's not that I'm an anarchist. I just prefer to work at a more local level to influence the lives of those people around me and leave the politics to those who give a damn about such things.

I've yet to meet a politician worth voting for, and legislative change hasn't made a whole pile of difference in this country to effect social change.

darkpagandeath

but how do i chose between a douche and a Tu*d sandwich ?

Markcheese

Its not mandatory to register or to vote...
Surprised you'd brag about it ...
I assume you don't give out about politics or politicians or their actions...

clumsyklutz

lahalane I definitely agree with you! What's the point in voting for the sake of it?

I'm informed though, I just don't see the point, I'll register to vote as soon as something of interest comes along, that directly benefits me or those around me - i.e. same sex marriage or the like.

OU812 I'm no fool, as stated above, nothing in the years since I turned 18, have peaked my interest (tried reading about the Lisbon treaty and I still couldn't force myself to have enough interest to vote).

Ashbx

I do agree that if you dont know what you are voting for, then you probably shouldnt vote at all. But the fact that you are over 18, you should be at least a little interested in what is going on. I hate polictics and have no interest in that kinda stuff, but when a referendum comes around, I make it my job to read up and make an informed decision.

melekalikimaka

Savoir.Faire wrote: »

I'm torn on this issue. While I'm a strong believer in democracy and having the people stake a claim in the representative process; this is sullied by the fact the level of discourse and knowledge amongst the electorate is absolutely frightful.

As Asimov once said, "The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”

this sums up my views, nothing annoys me more then people voting for the sake of it rubbish, utter fools and defeats the purpose. I feel there should be an exam on the topic as you vote, if you pass the exam on the topic, your vote is counted, if not, its spoilt

clumsyklutz

Markcheese wrote: »

Its not mandatory to register or to vote...
Surprised you'd brag about it ...
I assume you don't give out about politics or politicians or their actions...

Eh I'm not bragging about it, I was just wondering whether other people were in the same boat as me.

I actually don't (I'm informed about politics as a daily reader of the Irish Times but don't spend my time moaning about it), but I waste way too much time listening to others do it.

lahalane

Ashbx wrote: »

But the fact that you are over 18, you should be at least a little interested in what is going on.

If I had been taught politics in school then maybe I would know more about it and be interested in it.

Wibbs

Czarcasm wrote: »

legislative change hasn't made a whole pile of difference in this country to effect social change.

Eh yea. It has. Take a time machine back to the 70's when it was illegal to be gay, you could rape your wife with impunity (and she couldn't get a divorce from you), you couldn't get condoms or the pill and... well lots of things. All brought about by legislative change, which in turn brought about social change.

Czarcasm

OU812 wrote: »

Only fools don't vote if they're entitled to.

Brave men & women fought & died for the rights of future generations to have a vote. Please don't squander their sacrifice.

You're quite right, such activities are best left to professional squanderers, also known as politicians.

Those brave men and women would be ashamed to see how successive incompetent politicians have taken their original idealism and twisted it beyond all recognition to further their own ends.

It's hard to buy into political ideology when you have no faith in the gombeens in Leinster House who have no interest in serving the people of this country

darkpagandeath

melekalikimaka wrote: »

this sums up my views, nothing annoys me more then people voting for the sake of it rubbish, utter fools and defeats the purpose. I feel there should be an exam on the topic as you vote, if you pass the exam on the topic, your vote is counted, if not, its spoilt

can we do the same for them people in government ?

jaja321

Wibbs wrote: »

Eh yea. It has. Take a time machine back to the 70's when it was illegal to be gay, you could rape your wife with impunity (and she couldn't get a divorce from you), you couldn't get condoms or the pill and... well lots of things. All brought about by legislative change, which in turn brought about social change.

Exactly, and women had to give up their jobs (civil service) when they got married.

jimgoose

Pick up your balls, load up your cannon, and vote.

clumsyklutz

Ashbx wrote: »

I do agree that if you dont know what you are voting for, then you probably shouldnt vote at all. But the fact that you are over 18, you should be at least a little interested in what is going on. I hate polictics and have no interest in that kinda stuff, but when a referendum comes around, I make it my job to read up and make an informed decision.

Good for you, and as I have stated in my posts, I am informed, I do know what's going on, I just have no interest in casting any vote unless it's something really worthwhile

Idleater

Wibbs wrote: »

Eh yea. It has. Take a time machine back to the 70's when it was illegal to be gay, you could rape your wife with impunity (and she couldn't get a divorce from you), you couldn't get condoms or the pill and... well lots of things. All brought about by legislative change, which in turn brought about social change.

Okay so apart from all that, what has the right to vote ever done for us.

</python>

Sam Kade

clumsyklutz wrote: »

A lot of people find my not being registered to vote a very odd occurance - I moved when I was a kid and hence I ended up on neither electoral register, when I turned 18 I just wasn't all that bothered, now several years later, I'm still not bothered, anybody else feel like this?

You're not bothered about it yet you start a thread on it

hidinginthebush

OU812 wrote: »

Only fools don't vote if they're entitled to.

Brave men & women fought & died for the rights of future generations to have a vote. Please don't squander their sacrifice.

I may be playing the devil's advocate here, but none of us asked them to fight and die for us, indeed from what I can discern, at the time of the rising, most of the then current population didn't ask them to fight for them.

I do vote myself when given the opportunity, but I don't think our dead relatives should be used as a stick to bait us into the booths. You should vote because you believe in what the referendum is about (or don't, as the case may be), not because some lads died nearly 100 years ago.

OU812

The future of this country right there folks. With that mentality coming up, we're totally sunk.

I'm unfollowing this thread. It's annoying me.

clumsyklutz

Yes, I started a thread because that question in particular interested me, registering to vote, on the other hand, still doesn't.

lahalane

Sam Kade wrote: »

You're not bothered about it yet you start a thread on it

To see what different peoples views on the subject are I assume?

Mark Twain

I like to vote twice. By some stroke of luck I recieve a voting card in Dublin South and Galway East. Usually cast my vote in Dublin in the morning before work, then head down to Galway to exercise my democratic right down there.

lahalane

OU812 wrote: »

The future of this country right there folks. With that mentality coming up, we're totally sunk.

I'm unfollowing this thread. It's annoying me.

Maybe our ancestors were better off not fighting and then we wouldn't be destined for this tragic sinking.

melekalikimaka

OU812 wrote: »

The future of this country right there folks. With that mentality coming up, we're totally sunk.

I'm unfollowing this thread. It's annoying me.

think we got a drama queen here boys

Timfy

The problem with not exercising your franchise to vote can be seen in the UK and Europe, whereby the likes of the English Defence League and National Front get seats in parliaments/councils due to the majority of moderate voters not bothering to have their say and the minority of extremists turning out in force...

lahalane

Mark Twain wrote: »

I like to vote twice. By some stroke of luck I recieve a voting card in Dublin South and Galway East. Usually cast my vote in Dublin in the morning before work, then head down to Galway to exercise my democratic right down there.

I don't vote, this person votes twice. It cancels out my treacherous non voting and order is restored.

Hoop66

I can kind of understand why someone might feel that their vote is unimportant, or that those we are asked to vote for are incompetent, power-hungry árseholes with no more right to live on god's clean earth than a weasel...

On the other hand:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjbi1GjesXM

Czarcasm

Wibbs wrote: »

Eh yea. It has. Take a time machine back to the 70's when it was illegal to be gay, you could rape your wife with impunity (and she couldn't get a divorce from you), you couldn't get condoms or the pill and... well lots of things. All brought about by legislative change, which in turn brought about social change.

Cart before the horse there Wibbs tbh, all the social changes above were happening long before legislation was introduced, and social changes brought pressure to bear on politicians who eventually had to give in and change the legislation.

If you want to go back to the future, there's the contraceptive train, and it was only 30 years later when legislation was changed to allow condoms to be sold without a prescription to individuals over the age of 17 that homosexuality was decriminalised.

How long after the X case did the various successive governments stop playing political football with the abortion issue and finally cave in to social pressure? That only took 20 years.

Now the issue of LGBT marriage equality, long been campaigned for, but political parties have a new political football. They could introduce it if they wanted, but they'll only do it when social pressure becomes a threat to their political position... so, another ten years or so of social change at least then.

joseph brand

Wibbs wrote: »

Eh yea. It has. Take a time machine back to the 70's when it was illegal to be gay, you could rape your wife with impunity (and she couldn't get a divorce from you), you couldn't get condoms or the pill and... well lots of things. All brought about by legislative change, which in turn brought about social change.

Here's 10 things women couldn't do before 1970.

4 Drink a pint in a pub

In 1970, some pubs refused to allow women to enter at all, some allowed women only if accompanied by a man and very many refused to serve women pints of beer. Women who were accidentally served a pint would be instructed to pour it into two half-pint glasses.

But people were happy. :rolleyes:

junior_apollo

Mark Twain wrote: »

I like to vote twice. By some stroke of luck I recieve a voting card in Dublin South and Galway East. Usually cast my vote in Dublin in the morning before work, then head down to Galway to exercise my democratic right down there.

I really hope you vote the opposites in each place... just to mess with them :cool:

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

I'm 28 and not registered. People often scorn me because of this. The truth is, the area I live in, I don't intend staying in for much longer than maybe the next 2 years. I don't know a whole lot about local politics or politicians, nor do I care.

I'd have registered to vote in my home area but to be honest, its a 3 hour journey and our local TD who'd probably get my vote always walks back in at election time anyway.

If there was a referendum on something nationally that I was passionate about, I'd probably register and vote, but there hasn't been.

As I said, people often give me stick because of my indifference, this often makes me laugh when I see many of them blindly following whatever political party their grandad voted for. Each to their own.

Czarcasm

lahalane wrote: »

I don't vote, this person votes twice. It cancels out my treacherous non voting and order is restored.

This reminds me actually. My eight year old got his voting card the other day too.

Yes, you read that right -

My wife assumed the form when they were updating the electoral register around 2004 was something to do with the census, so filled in our son's name on the form!

joseph brand

Czarcasm wrote: »

You're quite right, such activities are best left to professional squanderers, also known as politicians.

Those brave men and women would be ashamed to see how successive incompetent politicians have taken their original idealism and twisted it beyond all recognition to further their own ends.

It's hard to buy into political ideology when you have no faith in the gombeens in Leinster House who have no interest in serving the people of this country

Rip up your voting card and set it on fire. That'll learn 'em.

Politicians love you.

lahalane

Czarcasm wrote: »

This reminds me actually. My eight year old got his voting card the other day too.

Yes, you read that right -

My wife assumed the form when they were updating the electoral register around 2004 was something to do with the census, so filled in our son's name on the form!

Which way did he vote?

Czarcasm

joseph brand wrote: »

Rip up your voting card and set it on fire. That'll learn 'em.

What part of I couldn't care less for the political process did you miss? I have nothing but utter contempt for the political system in this country, but I know one thing - Politicians NEVER learn.

Politicians love you.

They love you too, every five years or so when they call round to your door like a pack of snivelling idiots telling you exactly what you want to hear. In the intervening years however, they couldn't give a flying fcuk for your opinion.

c_man

That's fair enough OP. I think the right to vote includes the choice not to. Personally I always cast a ballot, though in a few cases I've spoiled it deliberately. Same difference at the end of the day I suppose.

darkpagandeath

c_man wrote: »

That's fair enough OP. I think the right to vote includes the choice not to. Personally I always cast a ballot, though in a few cases I've spoiled it deliberately. Same difference at the end of the day I suppose.

with the old co*k and b*lls ? stick it to the man

Mark Twain

junior_apollo wrote: »

I really hope you vote the opposites in each place... just to mess with them :cool:

No. I vote for Fianna Fail in both places. I'll be doing the same in the next elections if I still manage to have a voting card in both constituencies.

zarquon

It's amazing the amount of people that don't vote and can't be bothered to do so. It's down to laziness and apathy and is unjustifiable when the people in question complain about the government and economy. If you don't exercise your right and opportunities to democrat change then you have no right to complain and call for change.

AnonoBoy

lahalane wrote: »

He was telling me to vote, leaning towards Yes, but what's the point in me voting if I don't know anything about the election?

It wasn't an election.

You clearly have no notion about current affairs so probably best to leave voting to the grown ups.

lahalane

zarquon wrote: »

It's amazing the amount of people that don't vote and can't be bothered to do so. It's down to laziness and apathy and is unjustifiable when the people in question complain about the government and economy. If you don't exercise your right and opportunities to democrat change then you have no right to complain and call for change.

What if you dont vote and dont complain?