DescentBB

The first guy to stand up with street cloths on, owned a modest house, worked a modest job, didn't sling mud at his opponent and told the truth to the American people. I cringe everytime I see/hear an add bashing either opponent, followed up by " I am (insert idiot's name here) and I approve this message".

OMG! My employee just walked in and asked me what date she can vote- I told her and asked her if she was going to, she said she was. I asked her who she was voting for: "I'm just gonna vote random, the wrong person's gonna get it anyway".
I don't agree with random voting, but the last part of her statement is as true as it gets.

B-

I've often said that their should always be a 'None of the Above' choice on the ballot and if 'none of the above' ever wins they all have to resign and we start over a couple of months later with fresh choices.

What happens if nobody voted?

well, supposedly, at least the candidates themselves would vote for... themselves. So, depending on which one was from the state with the most electoral votes, that one would win.

Vertigo 99 wrote:well, supposedly, at least the candidates themselves would vote for... themselves. So, depending on which one was from the state with the most electoral votes, that one would win.

If that's the case then Bush wins, assuming he can spell Bush

Will Robinson wrote:I've often said that their should always be a 'None of the Above' choice on the ballot and if 'none of the above' ever wins they all have to resign and we start over a couple of months later with fresh choices.

hahah, that's a good idea.

woodchip wrote:What happens if nobody voted?

Electoral tie, so it goes to the house.

Will Robinson wrote:I've often said that their should always be a 'None of the Above' choice on the ballot and if 'none of the above' ever wins they all have to resign and we start over a couple of months later with fresh choices.

A few years ago in Oregon, such a measure was attempted when it came to judges, who frequently run with no opposition. It was shot down under the excuse that it would halt the system of justice.

Personally, I'd rather halt the system than allow it to move forward on broken gears.

Aside from that, it's not like "None of the Above" would ever happen. If it ever did, it would send a very, very strong signal.

I'm not sure about elsewhere, but in Tennessee, all of the voting machines still have a big, red, "write-in candidate" button. Since Jimmy Duncan is effectively running unopposed, I'm thinking BlueFlames for Tennessee's second district House of Rep's race.... You know, just to see if that button actually works.

I've written in "Homer Simpson" for some races where nobody is qualified and/or somebody I dislike is running unopposed. I wonder what would happen if Homer won...

Lothar, he's a cartoon, he cant' be in office. Wouldn't Nader technically win? He's from Cali right? Maybe it's not a bad idea after all, ok, on Nov 2nd or 4th or 7th or whatever the day of hell is...nobody vote. Go out and buy a Guiness and watch the world fall apart with whatever candidate we get for the next four years. I have yet to figure out why the non-major parties never get to do any debates or anything, we vote these GOP and Dems in and then they write the rules only to benefit themselves. How can we change it? They built the system so that only they can win...

"None of the Above" is fundamentally different from a write-in though. A write-in only works if the majority of voters fill in the blank in the exact same way. With "None of the Above," that's intrinsic.

Plus then someone wins, as opposed to no one.

Yeah, but write-ins were the nearest substitute I could think of, hence my post. I should have said that though.

I'm not sure a "None of the Above" option would necessarily work out the way you want it to. Supposing that 'nobody' won an election, there'd be a gap in the bureaucracy, and if there's one thing that government doesn't seem to like, it's gaps. If nobody's elected, a (temporary) replacement would likely be appointed by someone else in the chain, and then you've got a matter of a party in power having the ability to unjustly perpetuate its stay in power.

Take 2000 as an example. Let's say the vast majority of Americans and subsequently a majority of the electoral college, thought Gore, Bush Jr., Nader, et. al. were all morons. First of all, they'd have been right. More importantly, the President of the United States, a.k.a. the most powerful person in the world, would be appointed by Congress, the Supreme Court, or (at the time) departing President Clinton. Now, I was discontent with ambiguity with vote tracking in Florida. I'd be pissed off if Gore was made President on the basis of 'because Clinton said so' or Bush Jr. taking it because a couple hundred members of Congress made the decision for me*. Sure, it might only be for a couple months, while preparations for another election are made, but there's still someone in power who does not necessarily have the fear of the voter that keeps a President (or any other elected official) in check.

Electing officials is one area where it makes a great deal of sense to force voters to be decisive, even if it's deciding who is the lesser of two dumbasses.

* -- Yeah, I understand that the population delegates powers to Congress, but who I vote into office is not one of those powers.

If 2008 looks like it is going to be this bad, we should band up to put Mickey Mouse on every ballot, just to see what happens.

Oh no. In 2008, we will have hitlary running. Whooopeeeeeee!!!! If you thought this election was fun, wait until that!!!!

I thought the supreme court elected the president in 2000 or did I just miss something?

the electoral college elected the president, same as any other year.

Hostile wrote:Oh no. In 2008, we will have hitlary running. Whooopeeeeeee!!!! If you thought this election was fun, wait until that!!!!

Of course, that only works given the assumption that Bush wins this election. If not, watch out for 2012.

Four more years!!!!! Besides with Kerry being sacrificed at the alter of Hitlary, I don't think it will even be close.

Start sending over ballots. I've got some free time and a bunch of pens, and it can't be too hard to draw a picture of mickey for all those illiterate voters.