Have You Voted Yet?

In Australia, you have to go to the polling booth, get your name marked off the electoral roll, you can choose to mark the ballot paper correctly and vote, or just leave it blank (or draw something inappropriate) and walk out…therefore not vote.

It’s not forcing citizens to vote, but it’s giving every citizen, every opportunity to have their voice heard, and the majority vote correctly.

I think it’s crazy that people choose not to vote, the prime minister or president in the US’s case is meant to represent the people, and what the people want. All people, not just those that are interested enough to vote.

And, in Australia, the sausage sizzle at the local primary school is great! At our local one they have a cake stall, a plant stall, everyone has a chat. It’s great fun!

Voting should be like jury duty and taxes. You have to vote for a candidate or vote no confidence. If no candidate gets a majority, then it goes to the next round.

Just another vocal supporter of compulsory voting! Also, you still have to register so if you never register you never have to get your name checked off.
I’ve thought a lot about compulsory voting over the last decade (since I could vote) and even though I think we should teach a better understanding of the structures of our politics in schools, as well as how to make informed choices and understand how to assess candidates ultimately compulsory voting is a positive. Because anyone and everyone can vote (after 18) politicians pitch to a much broader base which contributes to maintaining a much more egalitarian approach to politics. Plus democracy sausages for the win!
Ps Australia is certainly not perfect by any means

While there are a handful of Republicans who are standing up to President Trump, there are also many who are not. People in my district are fed up with our longtime Republican representative because he hasn’t stood up to Trump on stuff like healthcare and the “tax cut” (which actually raised taxes on pretty much everyone in our district since we can’t deduct state and local taxes and property taxes anymore). So for the first time in my lifetime, we might have a Democrat instead…in a district that is gerrymandered in favor of Republicans to the point that it literally looks like a snake. If this happens in enough districts, Democrats will take control of the House, which will mean that there’s a counterbalance to President Trump and that Democrats will have leverage in pushing back against some of his worse policies since he’ll need their approval on budgets. So even though it’s not a presidential election, the outcome of this election will make a difference in the president’s ability to do stuff that the majority of Americans oppose like repeal the Affordable Care Act, or make tax policies that hurt individuals to benefit corporations, or roll back environmental protection policies.

This Lindsay!
“If you can’t see why someone may vote differently than you; you need to listen better. Don’t assume they are ignorant or don’t care. Many of the issues we face today are very complex!”

I whole-heartedly agree…..because I USED to say that! I was a fairly far right voter. I couldn’t even begin to understand some of the left’s viewpoints. I decided that I was going to LISTEN and LEARN. Sometimes it made me uncomfortable. Sometimes I would get mad. But after a lot of introspection, reading, and conversations with people who think politically ‘different’ than I do…I have honestly evolved into a very different person politically over the last few years. I was not uninformed on the issues prior. I simply had my opinions. I am so open to listen now and have found myself in the middle. My social beliefs are “left” while my fiscal beliefs are “right”.

To call for Tolerance while being intolerant of our fellow Americans opinions is not progress.
I strongly feel that TRUE tolerance, a willingness to listen, and kindness are the keys that will bring us back together.

normally, i would agree re: broad brush, but the republican party has fallen in line with a fascist/racist/nativist regime that is seeking to erase our LGBTQA brothers and sisters, POC, First Nation, and more–so yeah–if you vote republican you ARE a bad person, or at the very least, a selfish, uninformed, ignorant person which is just as bad.

Looking at you, 53 percent of white women who voted for Trump and 58 percent of white women who voted for Roy Moore.

Agreed. I think the messaging of “we can do this!!!!” can be polarizing. Even though I agree with women’s rights, LGBT rights, etc., and all the other social stances that the left stands with, I can’t consider myself part of the “we” Joanna is referring to, and am actually confused about what is even implied by saying “we can do this”. I believe the intention behind this phrase is positive, but it also makes those of us who are neutral or don’t agree with a candidate or the democratic party wholeheartedly feel … I don’t know, awkward and like the “bad person” you’ve referred to.

It’s not about agreeing with a candidate wholeheartedly — it’s about picking the candidate who can do the most amount of good. Picking a political candidate is not the same as picking a spouse. I’m in NJ and my Democratic senator who is running for reelection I don’t actually like very much, but I voted for him because he votes against Trump while his opponent is fully in Trump’s pocket. We need as many people as possible standing up to our horrible president right now as we can get.

Hi Jay Ana. I am a republican and a lesbian. I don’t think you meant anything by it and I completely agree with you that both sides are spewing hate but I think it is of touch to say “it is a scary time to be a republican.” It is almost certainly a scarier time to be transgender, a POC, Jewish, Muslim, asylum seeker, etc.

Kaye, I think your comment is also out of touch. If a member of the LGBTQ community votes democrat specifically because they want LGBTQ rights does that make them selfish? Yes and No and that to me is no better or worse than a white women who votes republican because of the fiscal agenda and wanting tax breaks.

I completely, completely agree that this political climate is way more polarizing than ever before but I don’t think you should state that an entire group is bad; that removes humanity from the equation which is actually dangerous.

They’re not always misinformed, just happy that their beliefs are being supported and carried through. Being in California these last two years (although I’ve lived here for 7), has been eye-opening.

Nope nope nope. Of course there’s fine republicans and of course there’s not fine democrats, but this is not the time to vote red. Because a red house and senate is going to take away women’s rights and gay’s rights and POC’s rights. It’s going to usher in so much more hatred and violence. I’m sure you’re a good person, but I’m not okay with anyone who takes the party of the sexual abusers and murders and people who threaten me and my friends and my family.

This take made me sad. Referring to Republican voters as “misinformed” or “just downright bad people” is inaccurate and cruel. We could all do well to take a deep breath and make an extra effort to treat each other with respect – particularly today, when emotions are high and that’s a difficult thing to do.

I completely agree with you and feel just the same way. It is petrifying to think about the world that the current administration wants to create.

To the person who ‘believes’ entering America is a privilege not a right – actually, seeking asylum IS a right. It always has been. It always will be, long after the white supremacists in power have crawled back under their rocks. Previous administrations have correctly not prosecuted asylum seekers for illegal entry because doing so is a violation of US asylum law as well as international human rights law. Asylum seekers have the legal right to seek asylum under Article 14 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 27 of the 1948 American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, and the 1951 U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

The bottom line is, until Republicans stand up to Trump, which SO few have, a red vote is a vote to suppress the rights and endanger the lives of Americans–and everyone else in the world, if we consider climate change, honestly the thing that scares me the most right now. Stating this isn’t inaccurate or cruel; it’s the truth. I’m sorry so many people can’t see that, but I genuinely don’t understand why.

Lauren, it would probably surprise you to know that personally I am pretty pro-life. I minored in philosophy and you and I probably took similar courses. But I agree with Obama on the issue: “Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare.” I would love a world in which a healthy woman carrying a healthy fetus would never have any reason to abort. But legislating away reproductive rights has never ended well anywhere; it leads to women dying (poorer women at a higher rate than more well-off) and children being born to people who can’t care for them. Have you heard of Savita Halappanavar?
This woman died in Ireland while she was having a miscarriage because doctors refused to evacuate her already deceased fetus. Did you know that up until recently, pregnant women in Ireland could be legally overruled by their doctors when it came to their own prenatal care? Did you know abortion rates are actually lower in blue states? With the least restrictive laws? To reduce abortion rates, we should be focusing on healthcare, wage inequality, and of course, prosecuting men who commit sexual assault and rape.

It’s frustrating because this IS the issue that keeps the few people I know who still vote Republican from voting blue. But if you’d dig a little deeper and look into the stats, as well as what abortion bans have done to women and children in other countries, you might come to your own conclusion that legislating away abortion is not the answer.

I got one with mine. I am wearing it today, even though I’m not leaving the house.