USA election - What would you sell your vote for?

@Contrarian: I some times thing only the bad shit that happen in America is seen by the rest of the world. Mostly because of are 24 news net works(My belief I could be wrong). In truth it is not hard to get registered to vote here I mean my high school spends a whole 2 hours getting the graduating class registered, also when you get your drivers license they ask you if you want to register it is just a a check box on the form, and not mention all the local groups like churches that hit the streets to get people set to vote.

But to answer your question I would not sell my vote for any thing because I really do love were I live and I want to have a voice in what happens here.

I'd vote for a world where everyone can reach their full potential by having the best education that caters to the curiosity and aspirations of those who have not yet lost their humanity by the contents of our contemporary world. Sadly, that's not a person. We gotta vote for selfish individuals for dominate us. So, uhhhh...

A million dollars?

I know this thread has gone way off the original question, but the only power I have within the political system is voting, therefore, I would never sell my vote.

I feel like you seem to bash america in almost all of your topics, though in this case it's probably fair since I'd totally be willing to sell my vote for like 30 bucks. Mostly just cause I hate both candidates, and am only planning to vote for the increased likelihood of jury duty.

@rb_man said:

@Contrarian: I some times thing only the bad shit that happen in America is seen by the rest of the world. Mostly because of are 24 news net works(My belief I could be wrong). In truth it is not hard to get registered to vote here I mean my high school spends a whole 2 hours getting the graduating class registered, also when you get your drivers license they ask you if you want to register it is just a a check box on the form, and not mention all the local groups like churches that hit the streets to get people set to vote.

But to answer your question I would not sell my vote for any thing because I really do love were I live and I want to have a voice in what happens here.

I would agree that generally speaking news seen overseas is almost always bad, because it is more interesting (to sell/broadcast). That isn't unique to America. It also does depend on where you digest your world news. I am not going to deny that a lot of what I digest comes from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. There isn't a single news service out of the US I trust, I go to the BBC for that. What we can't do though is assume that if it was easy for me, it is easy for everyone else. We can never understand another group's life as we do not have to and can't live it. If I read/hear that groups don't find it so easy, I am likely to defer to them as my default view.

On the voter ID thing, it is very easy to register in Australia. You just fill out a form, no ID required if you don't have a licence, just co-signed by a person who is registered. It is very simple for the Electoral Commission to verify against their records with your address. You can even enrol simply if you are homeless or a prisoner (serving less than 3 years - you get your vote back after release if longer). Then the election is held on a Saturday, when most people don't work, so as many can vote as possible. We have many, many places to vote and never have people miss out due to long lines or not enough forms. You can vote by mail before the election if you want. Also, when you vote, you don't show any ID at all. You just tell them your name and address and they cross you off - stopping you from voting more than once (they check).

I love our voting system. It is easy, it is fair and it is completely free of ever being corrupted - try and find a story that contradicts that. It could only be better if it was a public holiday for voting day.

@Tru3_Blu3 said:

I'd vote for a world where everyone can reach their full potential by having the best education that caters to the curiosity and aspirations of those who have not yet lost their humanity by the contents of our contemporary world. Sadly, that's not a person. We gotta vote for selfish individuals for dominate us. So, uhhhh...

A million dollars?

You start out as a altruist and idealist (meaning a good citizen with a soul) and then you sell that soul for a million dollars! Mitt has that in his change draw.

@Eujin said:

I know this thread has gone way off the original question, but the only power I have within the political system is voting, therefore, I would never sell my vote.

The original point is really just a stepoff point for a wider discussion anyway. I would never sell my vote either.

@Contrarian said:

@rb_man said:

@Contrarian: I some times thing only the bad shit that happen in America is seen by the rest of the world. Mostly because of are 24 news net works(My belief I could be wrong). In truth it is not hard to get registered to vote here I mean my high school spends a whole 2 hours getting the graduating class registered, also when you get your drivers license they ask you if you want to register it is just a a check box on the form, and not mention all the local groups like churches that hit the streets to get people set to vote.

But to answer your question I would not sell my vote for any thing because I really do love were I live and I want to have a voice in what happens here.

I would agree that generally speaking news seen overseas is almost always bad, because it is more interesting (to sell/broadcast). That isn't unique to America. It also does depend on where you digest your world news. I am not going to deny that a lot of what I digest comes from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. There isn't a single news service out of the US I trust, I go to the BBC for that. What we can't do though is assume that if it was easy for me, it is easy for everyone else. We can never understand another group's life as we do not have to and can't live it. If I read/hear that groups don't find it so easy, I am likely to defer to them as my default view.

On the voter ID thing, it is very easy to register in Australia. You just fill out a form, no ID required if you don't have a licence, just co-signed by a person who is registered. It is very simple for the Electoral Commission to verify against their records with your address. You can even enrol simply if you are homeless or a prisoner (serving less than 3 years - you get your vote back after release if longer). Then the election is held on a Saturday, when most people don't work, so as many can vote as possible. We have many, many places to vote and never have people miss out due to long lines or not enough forms. You can vote by mail before the election if you want. Also, when you vote, you don't show any ID at all. You just tell them your name and address and they cross you off - stopping you from voting more than once (they check).

I love our voting system. It is easy, it is fair and it is completely free of ever being corrupted - try and find a story that contradicts that. It could only be better if it was a public holiday for voting day.

Nothing in this world is fair and it is completely free of ever being corrupted. That's just how the real world works.

Also I am an election judge and it is just as easy to register here as Australia and you can vote early through the mail it is called a absentee ballot. But the thing about making sure everyone can vote is that some people don't give a fuck about who there elected officials are. Getting people who don't give a fuck about voting to vote is worse because they will just pick whatever. I have seen people come in a vote for one dude they care about then just pick at random for everyone else which kind of screws with the whole system.

I'd sell my vote for a chance to actually meet someone in the electoral college. Dudes are as shady as the La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo and people who have Nielsen boxes in there homes, combined.

@Contrarian said:

On the voter ID thing, it is very easy to register in Australia. You just fill out a form, no ID required if you don't have a licence, just co-signed by a person who is registered. It is very simple for the Electoral Commission to verify against their records with your address. You can even enrol simply if you are homeless or a prisoner (serving less than 3 years - you get your vote back after release if longer).

It may vary by state, but voting in america is no harder than this. I don't watch the news so I can't speculate as to how they are misrepresenting the process, I can only speak to my own experience. I spent ten minutes online filling out a form (that asked the most basic of information such as SSN and such) and had a card sent to me within about a week, and I don't even need it because they mail my ballots to me anyways, with about a month to send back my vote. So yeah thats about as easy as it could possibly be.

I wouldn't...

Whatever, I'm going to Norway or Sweden if things don't work out here for me

@Hunter5024 said:

@Contrarian said:

On the voter ID thing, it is very easy to register in Australia. You just fill out a form, no ID required if you don't have a licence, just co-signed by a person who is registered. It is very simple for the Electoral Commission to verify against their records with your address. You can even enrol simply if you are homeless or a prisoner (serving less than 3 years - you get your vote back after release if longer).

It may vary by state, but voting in america is no harder than this. I don't watch the news so I can't speculate as to how they are misrepresenting the process, I can only speak to my own experience. I spent ten minutes online filling out a form (that asked the most basic of information such as SSN and such) and had a card sent to me within about a week, and I don't even need it because they mail my ballots to me anyways, with about a month to send back my vote. So yeah thats about as easy as it could possibly be.

I would dare say it is easier then ordering a pizza. Also there is Early voting were for 2 week before the election you can walk in to a polling place a vote any time from 7am to 7pm 7 days a week.

I am really loving the undercurrent of "only the right wing is ever corrupt, guys"

Well, Obama and Romney are both pretty shitty, and they're the only candidates that can possibly be elected, so I'd give my vote up for a few hundred bucks. Actually, I need to make sure I cast a vote for Obama, because I don't want a president who wears magic underwear.

@rb_man said:

Also I am an election judge and it is just as easy to register here as Australia and you can vote early through the mail it is called a absentee ballot. But the thing about making sure everyone can vote is that some people don't give a fuck about who there elected officials are. Getting people who don't give a fuck about voting to vote is worse because they will just pick whatever. I have seen people come in a vote for one dude they care about then just pick at random for everyone else which kind of screws with the whole system.

I disagree. Just because they don't care how they vote doesn't mean that it screws it up. We used to have an issue with the Donkey vote, until they stopped listing in alphabetical order and set them out somewhat more randomly. If I person votes without much thought, it is just as valid as the vote that had thought, that is democracy. We can't set IQ test for voting and we don't gt to decide if someone should be allowed to vote. The number of random voters is too small to calculate and likely has no effect on the outcome as they don't all vote the same random way.

The only part I don't like is above the line voting and getting that party you choose to decide your preferences (for those non-Australians, we have a preferential voting system - the person with the most votes doesn't win unless they get more than 50% of the vote, or under, with preferences allocated). Everyone should vote all the way through from top to bottom.

$5 Steam wallet.

@Contrarian said:

@rb_man said:

Also I am an election judge and it is just as easy to register here as Australia and you can vote early through the mail it is called a absentee ballot. But the thing about making sure everyone can vote is that some people don't give a fuck about who there elected officials are. Getting people who don't give a fuck about voting to vote is worse because they will just pick whatever. I have seen people come in a vote for one dude they care about then just pick at random for everyone else which kind of screws with the whole system.

I disagree. Just because they don't care how they vote doesn't mean that it screws it up. We used to have an issue with the Donkey vote, until they stopped listing in alphabetical order and set them out somewhat more randomly. If I person votes without much thought, it is just as valid as the vote that had thought, that is democracy. We can't set IQ test for voting and we don't gt to decide if someone should be allowed to vote. The number of random voters is too small to calculate and likely has no effect on the outcome as they don't all vote the same random way.

The only part I don't like is above the line voting and getting that party you choose to decide your preferences (for those non-Australians, we have a preferential voting system - the person with the most votes doesn't win unless they get more than 50% of the vote, or under, with preferences allocated). Everyone should vote all the way through from top to bottom.

That's fine if you disagree I am just sick of seeing people thinking that the only thing you need to give a fuck about is the president and just peck at the others even if they vote for some one who they don't have the same views as.

But just FYI it really is crazy easy to vote here.

I haven't decided if I'm going to vote or not, which pretty much means I'm probably not going to vote. Too much of a hassle to register and then waste gas driving to a place so I can wait in line and cast a vote insignificant not only relative to the entire country, but relative to my state that will always be blue. So unless I get enough money to net a positive from both my time and gas investment, I don't think I'll be voting.

@NickL said:

@Meowshi said:

@Flawed_System said:

"the US is amongst the most corrupt (gerrymander, rules to make it difficult to enroll et cetera)"

You mean rules that make it difficult to register? It's not difficult at all if you're a U.S. citizen and not an illegal immigrant.

Yes, I'm sure all the roadblocks before the ballet box are meant to dissuade illegal immigrants and no one else. Yep.

That's totally what's going on.

As a us citizen, all I had to do was go to the DMV and fill out a piece of paper one time. You are right, there are so many hurdles for US citizens!

Och well, if it was easy for you, it must be easy for everybody right? It's not that perhaps you live in a state that hasn't adopted annoying shite like voter purging, unreasonably early deadlines, or increasingly strict verification processes. No, it was fucking easy for you, so clearly everybody else must be whinging about nothing; right? Because you are the obviously the fucking standard for which everyone else is judged. After all, it's not like lying about being a citizen is already bloody illegal and that there is very little evidence of illegal immigrants having any major influence in presidential elections. No, no, this is a fucking crises that we must put a stop to at once! Fuck off, will you?

That would be an accurate observation, yes.

I'd sell my vote for a chance to actually meet someone in the electoral college. Dudes are as shady as the La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo and people who have Nielsen boxes in there homes, combined.

@NickL

@Meowshi

I wanna be a part of this internet fight! But really, I probably wouldn't sell it for fear of being labelled "a jerk."

@rb_man said:

@Contrarian said:

@rb_man said:

Also I am an election judge and it is just as easy to register here as Australia and you can vote early through the mail it is called a absentee ballot. But the thing about making sure everyone can vote is that some people don't give a fuck about who there elected officials are. Getting people who don't give a fuck about voting to vote is worse because they will just pick whatever. I have seen people come in a vote for one dude they care about then just pick at random for everyone else which kind of screws with the whole system.

I disagree. Just because they don't care how they vote doesn't mean that it screws it up. We used to have an issue with the Donkey vote, until they stopped listing in alphabetical order and set them out somewhat more randomly. If I person votes without much thought, it is just as valid as the vote that had thought, that is democracy. We can't set IQ test for voting and we don't gt to decide if someone should be allowed to vote. The number of random voters is too small to calculate and likely has no effect on the outcome as they don't all vote the same random way.

The only part I don't like is above the line voting and getting that party you choose to decide your preferences (for those non-Australians, we have a preferential voting system - the person with the most votes doesn't win unless they get more than 50% of the vote, or under, with preferences allocated). Everyone should vote all the way through from top to bottom.

That's fine if you disagree I am just sick of seeing people thinking that the only thing you need to give a fuck about is the president and just peck at the others even if they vote for some one who they don't have the same views as.

But just FYI it really is crazy easy to vote here.

It's fine if we disagree on anything. I like discussing these issues with people even when we don't agree, as I am likely to learn something I didn't know. In fact, it is better to discuss with people who you disagree with, just to get the opportunity to learn.

I do understand why it can be annoying to see morons vote, but the alternative of non-participation is worse. At least some of them will possibly put more effort in as time goes by.

I will never sell my vote. It 's okay if you choose not to vote but you have no right to complain.

@NickL said:

@Trav what fight? I just gave my personal experience then dude went off on me for some reason.

Yeah, fair enough.

@NickL said:

@Trav what fight? I just gave my personal experience then dude went off on me for some reason.

No, you offered your personal experience as some sort of evidence to registration process as a whole.

Playing pretend doesn't make it any less stupid.

@Zleunamme said:

I will never sell my vote. It 's okay if you choose not to vote but you have no right to complain.

I've never understood this sentiment. What exactly is the difference between someone who doesn't vote and someone who votes for the guy that loses? I see both of these men as having the right to complain if the President disappoints them.

@Turambar said:

@pyromagnestir said:

I'd sell my vote for a chance to actually meet someone in the electoral college. Dudes are as shady as the La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo and people who have Nielsen boxes in there homes, combined.

If you're implying members of the electoral college are extremely biased, they are, as by design. The winner the popular vote of a state chooses the electoral college members for said state, always someone that has pledged to cast their electoral vote for the winning candidate. Electoral college members can vote against the person they pledged for, or simply abstain, which does happen on rare occasions. However that hasn't effected the results of any elections to date.

I have to declare my complete lack of understanding of the electoral college system. It remains a mystery to me. Perhaps if I truly wanted to understand it, I would do the proper research - maybe one day.

@Meowshi said:

@Zleunamme said:

I will never sell my vote. It 's okay if you choose not to vote but you have no right to complain.

I've never understood this sentiment. What exactly is the difference between someone who doesn't vote and someone who votes for the guy that loses? I see both of these men as having the right to complain if the President disappoints them.

Very true when viewed that way. Everyone is entitled to a view no matter what there circumstance.

I remember my protest days and how people percieve you. I protested regularly against bad laws aimed at refugees. As a test on several occassions, I spoke with an Irish accent, to see how the conversation differed from one with my native one. It always descended quickly into me not having a right to an opinion as I wasn't Australian and much abuse. My view has been that even if you have been here a short while, it didn't diminish your right to an opinion or that opinion being as valid as the next. Not the same thing, but similar in the narrative. Everyone is just searching for a way to gain some superiority in any argument.

"America is not corrupt"

Everyone on this board is willing to sell their vote for a cheeseburger. This is either an awesome troll of a forum or a sad truth we all fail to see.

I don't see how it's any more corrupt than the bullshit currently plaguing the news. I would actually give my vote away to some randomly selected guy just in spite of the disgusting nature of these "elections."

@Meowshi: Have you heard of the idiom, "Have one's cake and eat it too."? Choosing to do nothing will not change anything. Indifference or hoping that someone else will solve the countries problems - so I don't have to - is not an effective solution. For the people who voted and lost. They are not hard to miss. They use their misguided anger to scare people into their way of thinking. They want to go back to a time in America that doesn't exist, take our country back nonsense. It is 2012, there are still people refuse to accept that an educated black man is president of the United States.

Remember that JFK quote from his inauguration speech. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

A klondike bar

@Vinny_Says said:

"America is not corrupt"

Everyone on this board is willing to sell their vote for a cheeseburger. This is either an awesome troll of a forum or a sad truth we all fail to see.

I don't think any of us are being that serious, including myself.

@Zleunamme said:

Remember that JFK quote from his inauguration speech. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

I wish we could all live by this, replacing America with whatever country you are from. The amount of negative energy plaguing our world saddens me. Think of what we could achieve with what we spend on war alone. I don't lump that on one group, it applies to nations and to terrorists. We need to focus on what we share in common with each other. I must be tired as I am getting quite melancholic.

@Turambar: I was just implying that I've never actually met or seen anyone who's ever been part of the electoral college, I've only heard about them through whispers and rumors. Just like Nielsen families and The Patriots.

And don't some states choose the electoral members? I seem to remember there are, or at least were,a few states that will split the electoral vote roughly equal to the split of the general vote. I imagine that the candidates wouldn't do this willingly. Maybe they stopped doing that and I'm just not paying much attention.

3,000 USD. You want me to vote in person? 3,500 USD.

@Turambar: I was just implying that I've never actually met or seen anyone who's ever been part of the electoral college, I've only heard about them through whispers and rumors. Just like Nielsen families and The Patriots.

And don't some states choose the electoral members? I seem to remember there are, or at least were,a few states that will split the electoral vote roughly equal to the split of the general vote. I imagine that the candidates wouldn't do this willingly. Maybe they stopped doing that and I'm just not paying much attention.

It actually is kind of hard to get and ID/license. I work at the DMV right now and they have to have A) birth certificate or valid passport B) social security card C) two proofs of address verification.

And if you're a woman who has been married/divorced, you have to bring in all name change documents if your last name doesn't match your birth certificate. (which it won't)

Just saying, with the elections coming up soon, these are a lot of hoops for people to jump through. Especially with this being a fairly new policy. Only put in place last summer

A cup o' ale and a wench to warm my bed for the night!

@Meowshi said:

@NickL said:

@Trav what fight? I just gave my personal experience then dude went off on me for some reason.

No, you offered your personal experience as some sort of evidence to registration process as a whole.

Playing pretend doesn't make it any less stupid.

My experience is evidence of the registration process as a whole in my state, as I did go through the whole process. For what its worth, most people I know have similar experiences.

Sure I know a person or two that had trouble with the process but it is definitely not the norm so maybe you should stop acting like it is.

Some guy tried to sell his vote on Ebay in 2007 and the feds said 'nope.' If I was given the option I don't think i could do it, I like being able to express my opinion via electoral process.

Selling your vote is about as undemocratic as supporting a dictatorship. You're literally selling one of the most important powers a citizen can have, and it goes against all of my ethical and moral beliefs.

Just give me a copy of Resident Evil 6 for xbox 360 when it comes out and I'd vote for either one of the liars for you ;)

Scarlett Johwhatshername.

Could someone explain to me why it is even required to "sign up" to vote in America? Why isnt it just a right for all american citizens?

@No0b0rAmA said:

@mandude said:

@Niall_Sg1 said:

The United States isn't among the worlds most corrupt governments.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index

To be fair, he did say Western Democracies. Even so, by virtue of the fact that Ireland somehow places in the top 20, renders this silly index irredeemably flawed and therefore void.

Look at the Western Democracies in Europe. They're worse than the United States.

Tbf, only 4 European countries are lower than the US in that ranking, discounting Eastern Europe.

In all logic a US presidential vote should be worth exactly the amount of federal taxes paid by one individual to the government for the duration of the last mandate.

The "no taxation without representation" rule is in affect here.

Could someone explain to me why it is even required to "sign up" to vote in America? Why isnt it just a right for all american citizens?

In all logic a US presidential vote should be worth exactly the amount of federal taxes paid by one individual to the government for the duration of the last mandate.

The "no taxation without representation" rule is in affect here.

@SathingtonWaltz said:

Selling your vote is about as undemocratic as supporting a dictatorship. You're literally selling one of the most important powers a citizen can have, and it goes against all of my ethical and moral beliefs.

Agreed.