A non-voter and proud of it, or, Why are people mean to me?

[John the Non-Baptist]

Originally Posted by Gawen

I have voted in every election I could since Nixon's second term...but have never voted for a President due to electoral college. The popular vote doesn't count, but if anti-Bush people come out in numbers, yet still loose, it will hopefully show neo-cons a larger minority is displeased.
Yet, if BushCo wins, it'll make no difference anyway. And who knows what will happen by 2008 that will cause us to vote or not vote for whatever reasons.

All of us have a right to vote, with a few exceptions such as convicts, for example. But it is not a civic duty in my opinion, as long as the nation remains a republic represented by an electoral college in the case of Presidential elections and not a true democracy. By this I mean that a democracy is a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them and not representatives that vote for them.

I have no problem with people that don't vote, and yes by their citizenship, they still hold the right to bitch. Only when the Presidential elections are concluded by a majority vote of the citizens is it wrong not to vote. And then I am still undecided as to the right not to vote. Consider Australia where last I heard it is mandatory to vote.

So if Bree or anyone decides not to vote for a President, I have no qualms. But I do wish more people would get out and vote when their vote really does count, especially in their community.

I'm having trouble seeing how the electoral college means your vote doesn't count. Let's say I vote for Kerry, who wins Iowa by one vote--I'd be damn thankful I got to the polls and voted, and I'd definitely say that voted counted big-time.