In my town (Shrewsbury) there are no contested primaries. Even the general election (except for the POTUS race) is barely contested as the non-incumbent challengers aren’t viable competitors.
So should I go vote just for the sake of bragging that I voted? That I made a choice between the incumbent and choosing a write-in? I like my Democratic incumbents and I’ll vote for them but there’s absolutely no way at all they could loose.
Should I vote just so there’s a record that I voted so my local campaigning officials know that I’m a dedicated reliable Democratic voter?
Or is voting in a pointless election a fetish?
I certainly encourage people to vote in contested elections, but that’s not the case where I live.
So why bother?
Please share widely!
I view voting as my civic and even moral obligation.
I vote, in some sense, for the same reason that even when I’m alone I take a moment to stop and enjoy a gorgeous fall day at the ocean. I vote because I feel better afterwards. I vote because I feel as though it is a tiny and effortless contribution I can make to “karma”.
When I vote, I know I’ve played my part. When I take the time to know the candidates, even if uncontested, then I know I’ve participated in the process — even if that participation is a “meaningless” write-in for “Mickey Mouse”.
In my view, there are times when what we know about ourselves is more important than what other people say or think about us. That’s why I vote, even in an uncontested election.
and I couldn’t agree more with you.
As for me, I voted today to pay tribute to my late brother and best friend, Peter Rich, who we lost in Vietnam. And to honor the great love of my life, James Sheenan Costello, who died tragically 4 years age at the age of 23.
To my Scottish love : ” Cheers to those who wish us well and the rest of them can go to hell.”
Fred Rich LaRiccia
My first UIP election and it will be all blanks on my primary ballot, but I can write in some good people for local offices, will do so again in November when the presidency is the only contested race on my ballot.
If you vote in Salem in November you will find contested races for Governor’s Council and Sheriff as well.
The fact that you actually went to the polls and voted will put you in the database as a supervoter, and candidates will treat you with respect, mailings, and robocalls.
I am a local officeholder, and every time my name is on the ballot, the local media checks on the voting record of all the candidates. I have a perfect record of voting in every election for as long as I have been registered to vote. For me, that’s a source of pride alone, and it looks really good against the folks who vote with less regularity.
…then you just gave me a strong reason to stay home.
But, my friend, there are times when this list of political junkies starts talking about the latest robocalls. Sometimes you might want to scroll through your deleted messages to see what all the cool kids are talking about.
And I let the messages fill up on purpose. If I don’t recognize the number, I don’t answer.
I imagine I lost Publisher’s Clearing House any number of times..
… one friend of mine argued that it helps keep your voting record incontestable and that voting “blank” is like a vote of no confidence.
Players count blanks.
As you pointed out above, “blanks” are votes of no confidence, and believe me, above a certain threshold (depending upon the office). an uncontested candidate becomes a weak incumbent.
I get to leave a blank once every two years.
Regardless of how many or few contested candidacies are in your various election districts in November, remember that there are ballot questions that arguably will have a greater impact on our quality of life than the majority of do nothing members of the legislature