It is just under 7 weeks until the country gets to vote.

[..]

These are my words. A proud citizen of this country since 2004.

How many of you praise our Armed Forces for protecting our right to vote?

How many of you remember the jubilation in Iraq on the day citizens were able to vote for the first time in many years?

How many of you criticizers or praisers of this Federal Government will actually vote in the upcoming election?

How many of you will quietly sit back and expect everyone else to vote?

How many of you will then be disappointed by the result in your State or at the Federal level?

How many of you will allow yourselves an excuse for not finding the time to vote?

How many of you will stand in front of a mirror after the votes are counted, look yourself in the eye and honestly tell yourself that your vote wouldn't have made any difference?

How many of you...?

[JimL]

I will be at the polls shortly after they open to vote before going into work.  This is the pattern I have followed consistently for over 30 years!  I frequently think about the sacrifices that our men and women in our armed forces have made in order for us to maintain our freedoms.  I also think about our British allies, who have never turned their backs on us....when others have.

[rockrat]

I was the first 18 year old to register, where I lived, when the law was changed.   I haven't passed up a chance to vote since

[Michvalk]

I vote local, state, national. I have fought  for the right to vote, and think that anyone who doesn't vote, shouldn't complain about who ends up running things.

[solo1]

I vote in all elections.
A funny thing.  One year the precinct said I wasn't on the voter registry so I couldn't vote.  I won that argument as I was on the ticket running for city councilman.  I won the seat too!

[Serk]

Texas has no-excuse early voting for I believe 2 weeks before the general elections... NO excuse not to vote, and I CAN'T WAIT to vote!

[Stanley Steamer]

I haven't missed voting in my 22 yrs that I've been able to do so!!.....

[big turkey]

Voting is not just a right it is a must for all those that can.

Voter apathy is terrible and seems to be rampant in our society.

Early voting in Tennessee is another reason that all people that are allowed to, should vote.

My motto is vote and vote often.

Thanks for the reminder Britman.

Al

[Willow]

Please ease up on the "voting is a responsibility" rant.

People who have an informed vote to cast will participate.  When we encourage voting by people who aren't really interested we dilute the voting population by folks who will choose their candidates for trivial reasons, such as he (or she) just looks better on TV.

Efforts that we've taken to make voting extra easy only further damage the already flawed system.

Please, if you have no real interest in politics, or you don't really know for what the candidates stand, stay home, don't vote.

[stormrider]

Please ease up on the "voting is a responsibility" rant.

People who have an informed vote to cast will participate.  When we encourage voting by people who aren't really interested we dilute the voting population by folks who will choose their candidates for trivial reasons, such as he (or she) just looks better on TV.

Efforts that we've taken to make voting extra easy only further damage the already flawed system.

Please, if you have no real interest in politics, or you don't really know for what the candidates stand, stay home, don't vote.

And make it a requirement that you can't vote if you recieve funds from the public treasury for doing nothing.

[fat6man]

Please ease up on the "voting is a responsibility" rant.

People who have an informed vote to cast will participate.  When we encourage voting by people who aren't really interested we dilute the voting population by folks who will choose their candidates for trivial reasons, such as he (or she) just looks better on TV.

Efforts that we've taken to make voting extra easy only further damage the already flawed system.

Please, if you have no real interest in politics, or you don't really know for what the candidates stand, stay home, don't vote.

1+ Willow

[Tundra]

Please ease up on the "voting is a responsibility" rant.

People who have an informed vote to cast will participate.  When we encourage voting by people who aren't really interested we dilute the voting population by folks who will choose their candidates for trivial reasons, such as he (or she) just looks better on TV.

Efforts that we've taken to make voting extra easy only further damage the already flawed system.

Please, if you have no real interest in politics, or you don't really know for what the candidates stand, stay home, don't vote.

+1...Just look what happened last time  

Seriously,  Effort now is to take back a veto proof majority in both houses of Congress. We must get out the vote (not get out and vote). The ballots are cast since
 the primary and there are no longer any choices. Failure is not an option.

[solo1]

Willow made a very good point.  I have a suspicion that the ones who voted big time in the last presidential election will have lost all interest in this one.

Reminds me of the last time that I ran for and won a seat on the council.  Turnout was very poor.  I told my family that I was glad that they voted for me as it made a difference.  Chris (Psychotic Bovine) said'"What made you think that I voted for you, Dad?"

As Rodney Dangerfield said, "I get no respect".

[Serk]

I agree with Willow's sentiment, with caveats...

I STRONGLY disagree with the Australian system (Voting is legally mandatory, you are issued a ticket if you fail to vote (Or at least it used to be that way, haven't been following Aussis politics much recently). If someone doesn't WANT to vote, I want them to stay home... If someone doesn't want to educate themselves on the issues, and who's running, I want them to stay home.

The implication of my earlier "NO excuse not to vote" was an implied "Educate yourself on the issues, learn what's going on, and VOTE!" (Even if you arrive at a conclusion opposite of the one I prefer, if you've taken the time to educate yourself as to what's going on and who's doing what, that's all I ask!)

Of course, being (mostly) Valkyrie riders here, I didn't feel the need to explicitly spell out the implied part, since we're all known to be at a higher level of intelligence due to the fact that we ride Valkyries, thus I initially omitted it.