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(Snopes) Scary Voting "straight ticket" might get your Presidential vote disqualified   (snopes.com) divider line 148
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burndtdan 2008-10-19 01:54:15 PM  
that's ok, i was planning on voting for the gay ticket anyways.

 
Churchill2004 [TotalFark] 2008-10-19 02:41:30 PM  
submitter: Voting "straight ticket" might get your Presidential vote disqualified

Sounds good to me.

 
Kevin5280 2008-10-19 02:54:13 PM  
Just tell every voter with a "Straight Ticket" option on their ballot to ignore that asinine addition and vote for each race individually. Voting is important. Don't be so damn lazy.

 
SilentStrider [TotalFark] 2008-10-19 02:54:50 PM  
That's so retarded, it makes Trig Palin look like Stephen Hawking.

 
Ms.Maus 2008-10-19 02:58:45 PM  
Kevin5280: Voting is important. Don't be so damn lazy.

Seriously.

I remember the last election (the one two years ago) and we had two measures on the ballot about smoking. A LOT of people I talked to afterwards voted yes for both or no for both, negating their votes. They just saw 'smoking' and voted 'yes' or 'no.' Baffling.

 
Temescal 2008-10-19 03:16:39 PM  
Kevin5280: Voting is important. Don't be so damn lazy.

Really. Bears repeating.

 
Mugato [TotalFark] 2008-10-19 03:27:02 PM  
People who simply vote straight ticket need to be kicked in the dick or uterus where appropriate.

 
Churchill2004 [TotalFark] 2008-10-19 03:33:42 PM  
Kevin5280: Voting is important. Don't be so damn lazy.

These people should be more lazy and just stay home.

High voter turnout is not ipso facto a good thing. It'd be better to have only 20% turnout if those 20% were the people who closely followed politics, were well-informed, and made their decision based on issues and ideas rather than personalities. No one benefits from dragging the ignorant dumbass of his couch to go cast a vote for stupid, ill-informed reasons. If you need a cheesy celebrity commercial to remind you to go vote, chances are the rest of us really wouldn't benefit from your wisdom.

At the same time, people should stop seeing voting, and particularly voting for President, as the end-all be-all of "consent of the governed". There is so much more to it than that, some of which is more important than casting your statistically insignificant secret ballot.

 
BuckTurgidson 2008-10-19 03:52:05 PM  
Good.

 
Man On Fire 2008-10-19 04:01:06 PM  
you're such a buzzkill snopes.

 
Heffaloo [TotalFark] 2008-10-19 04:01:29 PM  
This year might actually be the first time I vote straight along party lines. There are still some local races I'm undecided about. Should I do so, I'll still be ignoring the straight ticket option and marking them individually.

 
Theological Farker 2008-10-19 04:02:16 PM  
Straight ticket voting should be illegal as it is a hallmark of small minded nincompoops to lazy to thing for themselves. I think if you vote "straight ticket", the floor of the voting booth you are in should open up and you should be whisked away into the sewers, where you can spend the rest of your life organizing our shiat by color.

 
Theological Farker 2008-10-19 04:03:33 PM  
Churchill2004: It'd be better to have only 20% turnout if those 20% were the people who closely followed politics, were well-informed, and made their decision based on issues and ideas rather than personalities.

Perhaps there should be some sort of test of polictial acumen that one must pass before being handed a ballot?

 
andrewagill 2008-10-19 04:03:54 PM  
Mugato: People who simply vote straight ticket need to be kicked in the dick or uterus where appropriate.

THIS.

If we were in a parliamentary system, and the president was chosen by Congress, I could forgive them.

But we don't, so straight ticket voters need to STFU.

 
awutwut 2008-10-19 04:04:08 PM  
Because informed voters vote Straight Ticket.

 
historynow11 2008-10-19 04:05:01 PM  
I voted in NC today and just bubbled in for every election. Considering I have no idea who some of the candidates are, I tend to vote for the craziest names. Granted, Cherie Berry did not get my vote, since that just sounds like a flavor of Kool Aid.

 
PascalsGhost 2008-10-19 04:07:15 PM  
If you had the Nazis running against the WHIGS, and I vote straight WHIGS (for obvious reasons), and I a dumbass, lazy, uninformed voter dipshiats?

 
AnotherDisillusionedCollegeStudent 2008-10-19 04:07:59 PM  
Theological Farker: Churchill2004: It'd be better to have only 20% turnout if those 20% were the people who closely followed politics, were well-informed, and made their decision based on issues and ideas rather than personalities.

Perhaps there should be some sort of test of polictial acumen that one must pass before being handed a ballot?


In a perfect world where no one would want to bar people from voting for either rational or irrational decisions not pertaining to their political acumen, this would be a fantastic idea.

We don't live in that world.

 
PascalsGhost 2008-10-19 04:08:18 PM  
Churchill2004: submitter: Voting "straight ticket" might get your Presidential vote disqualified

Sounds good to me.


Says the Barr voter.


If there was one year where there is a very good reson to vote straight ticket, its this year.

 
Theological Farker 2008-10-19 04:08:22 PM  
PascalsGhost: If you had the Nazis running against the WHIGS, and I vote straight WHIGS (for obvious reasons), and I a dumbass, lazy, uninformed voter dipshiats?

Yes.

 
AnotherDisillusionedCollegeStudent 2008-10-19 04:08:38 PM  
and by decisions, I mean "reasons"

 
uncdwm 2008-10-19 04:08:48 PM  
Temescal: Really. Bears repeating.

Bears repeating? Repeating what exactly? EVERYBODY PANIC!


/seriously though, if someone can't figure out simple directions to cast their ballot, their vote SHOULD be invalidated. same goes when voting for judges - many times they are separate from the straight ticket. the letters on snope portray that there is a conspiracy against people voting for Obama/Democrats only to invalidate their tickets.

 
Gosling [TotalFark] 2008-10-19 04:08:55 PM  
There's your poll test, ladies and gents. The only people getting caught by this are self-admitted straight-ticket people, too lazy to:

a) look at each individual race,
b) spend the extra few seconds in the booth LOOKING at each race, or
c) follow the got-damned directions.

 
barneyfifesbullet 2008-10-19 04:09:03 PM  
Most Obama supporters think they get to vote by phone and Ryan Seacrest will announce the results.

Because informed voters vote Straight Ticket.

Informed by Kos and Freepertown. The kool aid, it is sweet.

 
iaazathot 2008-10-19 04:09:41 PM  
Theological Farker: Churchill2004: It'd be better to have only 20% turnout if those 20% were the people who closely followed politics, were well-informed, and made their decision based on issues and ideas rather than personalities.

Perhaps there should be some sort of test of polictial acumen that one must pass before being handed a ballot?


Or maybe a fee that you have to pay, something like, I don't know, a "poll tax?" That sounds like a great idea.

 
Control_this [TotalFark] 2008-10-19 04:09:44 PM  
There ought to be a "no-incumbent" option. That would save me some time.

 
HoboSong [TotalFark] 2008-10-19 04:10:09 PM  
i303.photobucket.com

 
PascalsGhost 2008-10-19 04:10:34 PM  
Theological Farker: PascalsGhost: If you had the Nazis running against the WHIGS, and I vote straight WHIGS (for obvious reasons), and I a dumbass, lazy, uninformed voter dipshiats?

Yes.


Really? So if i consider myself voting straight against the Nazis, I am uninformed and lazy?

I should go and research and see if maybe there are some moderate Nazis with fair economic ideas at my state level or something?

Again, you guys better realize there are plkenty of people voting straight Dem this year just to punish the Republicans. Many will never vote Republican again.

 
Theological Farker 2008-10-19 04:11:53 PM  
iaazathot: Or maybe a fee that you have to pay, something like, I don't know, a "poll tax?" That sounds like a great idea.

BRILLIANT idea. But you can only pay it in Dracma. And there will be a table set up outside, where they will be happy to exchange your American dollars for you for a small 50% transaction fee.

 
Gosling [TotalFark] 2008-10-19 04:12:12 PM  
Perhaps there should be some sort of test of polictial acumen that one must pass before being handed a ballot?

Apparently, we already have one. We call it the 'straight ticket' option.

 
Theological Farker 2008-10-19 04:13:10 PM  
PascalsGhost: I should go and research and see if maybe there are some moderate Nazis with fair economic ideas at my state level or something?

In a word, yes.

PascalsGhost: Again, you guys better realize there are plkenty of people voting straight Dem this year just to punish the Republicans. Many will never vote Republican again.

And that is COMPLETELY asinine. Like, words fail me.

 
andrewagill 2008-10-19 04:16:23 PM  
PascalsGhost: If you had the Nazis running against the WHIGS, and I vote straight WHIGS (for obvious reasons), and I a dumbass, lazy, uninformed voter dipshiats?

Yup. For a number of reasons.

First of all, the Nazi party was running against 3 or 4 other major parties. The most popular non-Nazi candidate might be from different parties for each office.

Second, the US is not a parliamentary system, meaning that control of Congress does not equal control of the White House.

Third, some Whigs (per your example) might be Nazi sympathizers and would vote with the Nazis. Care must be taken not to vote for them.

And finally, this article establishes that if you're not sure of how to do it, you cannot simply vote straight ticket and trust your vote to be counted.

 
uncdwm 2008-10-19 04:18:02 PM  
PascalsGhost: Theological Farker:So if i consider myself voting straight against the Nazis, I am uninformed and lazy?

I should go and research and see if maybe there are some moderate Nazis with fair economic ideas at my state level or something?

Again, you guys better realize there are plkenty of people voting straight Dem this year just to punish the Republicans. Many will never vote Republican again.


1) I can't believe that you are comparing Republicans to Nazi's
2) Do you honestly believe that all Democrat politicans are > Republican without comparing their policies, voting record, or character?
3) Yes, plenty of people are voting straight Democratic this year to punish Republicans and will subsequently be punished when there is a Democratic supermajority. A supermajority of either party is a bad thing.
4) Still can't believe you liken Republicans to Nazi's. George Bush is the ultimate troll.

 
Relatively Obscure [TotalFark] 2008-10-19 04:19:03 PM  
Efforts should be made to ensure no honest vote is discounted.

That said, straight ticket voting is seriously lame.

 
ExperianScaresCthulhu 2008-10-19 04:22:37 PM  
historynow11: I voted in NC today and just bubbled in for every election. Considering I have no idea who some of the candidates are, I tend to vote for the craziest names. Granted, Cherie Berry did not get my vote, since that just sounds like a flavor of Kool Aid.

I thought about doing that.. but i don't like to waste my vote, even if it is insignificant. I keep thinking about all the people who get voted in because of their last name, and all of the people who don't get voted in because of their last name. Too much prejudice there.

If I don't know who you are or what you stand for, you're not getting my vote even if you are a member of my party. Same goes for ballot measures (though I did get burned one year when I found out the measure I had voted for and which sounded so good was on there specifically because of the loophole it provided for illegal aliens). And I never cast ballots for people who are the only option on the ballot.

 
JewZeppy 2008-10-19 04:23:00 PM  
i303.photobucket.com
img528.imageshack.us


I didn't know he did impressions.

 
yellowcalx 2008-10-19 04:23:33 PM  
this wont affect me because i'm an independent. i am fair and balanced and look at every candidate fairly and then vote republican. i was seriously going to vote for obama but im concerned about his relationship with ayers and acorn. theres just so much we dont know about obama.

 
Churchill2004 [TotalFark] 2008-10-19 04:24:01 PM  
Theological Farker: Perhaps there should be some sort of test of polictial acumen that one must pass before being handed a ballot?

Absolutely not. There's a big difference between "we'd be better off if only smart people showed up" and "the government should be trusted to weed out the idiots".

 
andrewagill 2008-10-19 04:24:34 PM  
Sadly, I've been seeing ads like this for years.

 
JewZeppy 2008-10-19 04:28:29 PM  
I forgot about his Penguin impression.
Link

 
PascalsGhost 2008-10-19 04:31:19 PM  
Theological Farker: PascalsGhost: I should go and research and see if maybe there are some moderate Nazis with fair economic ideas at my state level or something?

In a word, yes.


Really?

PascalsGhost: Again, you guys better realize there are plkenty of people voting straight Dem this year just to punish the Republicans. Many will never vote Republican again.

And that is COMPLETELY asinine. Like, words fail me.


Really? You think this isn't a good year to punish the party that has brought the country to this?

you don't think there are tons of people who won't vote for an R to a school board for a few years?

uncdwm: PascalsGhost: Theological Farker:So if i consider myself voting straight against the Nazis, I am uninformed and lazy?

I should go and research and see if maybe there are some moderate Nazis with fair economic ideas at my state level or something?

Again, you guys better realize there are plkenty of people voting straight Dem this year just to punish the Republicans. Many will never vote Republican again.

1) I can't believe that you are comparing Republicans to Nazi's


LOL, no. hard godwin. You still get the idea.

2) Do you honestly believe that all Democrat politicans are > Republican without comparing their policies, voting record, or character?

I honestly believe the Republican party has questioned my patriotism and called me a coward. I honestly believe the Republican party plays to racists to get votes. The Democratic party hasn't done this. If you have good character, and want my vote, get outta the Republicans. If you have good character, you would have left by now.

3) Yes, plenty of people are voting straight Democratic this year to punish Republicans and will subsequently be punished when there is a Democratic supermajority. A supermajority of either party is a bad thing.


Yes, both parties just as bad :) I'm seeing where you are coming from.

4) Still can't believe you liken Republicans to Nazi's. George Bush is the ultimate troll.

lighten up :)


//don't vote straight ticket, but it s a very valid, well thought out option for voters this year. You guys aren't thinking.

 
Theological Farker 2008-10-19 04:33:20 PM  
Churchill2004: Theological Farker: Perhaps there should be some sort of test of polictial acumen that one must pass before being handed a ballot?

Absolutely not. There's a big difference between "we'd be better off if only smart people showed up" and "the government should be trusted to weed out the idiots".


img148.imageshack.us

 
Theological Farker 2008-10-19 04:33:58 PM  
PascalsGhost: Really?

Really.

 
andrewagill 2008-10-19 04:36:07 PM  
Churchill2004: Absolutely not. There's a big difference between "we'd be better off if only smart people showed up" and "the government should be trusted to weed out the idiots".

Also, while the former statement is fun, I suspect that such a government would heavily skew the appropriations toward the more intelligent, leaving the less intelligent unrepresented and less able to fend for themselves.

 
PascalsGhost 2008-10-19 04:36:25 PM  
Theological Farker: PascalsGhost: Really?

Really.


If I know, that there are no third parties worth a shiat, that there platforms are horrible, and that one main party's platform is gassing Jews, and the others isn't, I still have research to do?

 
Churchill2004 [TotalFark] 2008-10-19 04:38:29 PM  
andrewagill: Also, while the former statement is fun, I suspect that such a government would heavily skew the appropriations toward the more intelligent, leaving the less intelligent unrepresented and less able to fend for themselves

That's why it needs to be paired with a strong written constitution that limits the government's power to a degree that it is incapable of substantively advancing the interests of one segment of the population at the cost of the rest of society.

 
Theological Farker 2008-10-19 04:40:07 PM  
PascalsGhost: If I know, that there are no third parties worth a shiat, that there platforms are horrible, and that one main party's platform is gassing Jews, and the others isn't, I still have research to do?

Yes.

 
Churchill2004 [TotalFark] 2008-10-19 04:41:10 PM  
PascalsGhost: You think this isn't a good year to punish the party that has brought the country to this?

There is no "vote against" option on the ballot. I wish there was, since I'd gladly vote against Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain, and Sarah Palin. But that's not an option.

It is impossible to "vote against" someone. You vote for someone. A vote for Obama is not, and can not be, a vote "against John McCain".

 
andrewagill 2008-10-19 04:42:42 PM  
PascalsGhost: If I know, that there are no third parties worth a shiat, that there platforms are horrible, and that one main party's platform is gassing Jews, and the others isn't, I still have research to do?

Yes.

For example, does the other major party endorse gassing Jews? Will any particular candidate roll over and do what the Nazis want? Does the office in question have any jurisdiction in that matter?

If, for example, one candidate for dog catcher wants to gas Jews, but the other candidate for dog catcher wants to eat dogs, you might want to go with the guy who wants to gas Jews.

 
RemyDuron 2008-10-19 04:43:49 PM  
I'm not voting for a Republican unless I actually know the person. Party doesn't matter as much on local and state levels, BUT anyone who associates themselves with the Republican party at this point is questionable to me.

 
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