Voting —
I just did my early voting this morning. You'd think, with it being the last day for early voting, there'd be long lines. But no, I was pretty much alone in there. Me and a room full of elderly volunteers. It took no time at all.

I was given a huge paper ballot, which is nice. No touch-screen, that's good. But at the end, I fed my ballot into a machine, and the old lady told me to watch the number on the screen tick up by one. "There! You voted!" she said. "You saw it happen!" Really? What did I see? (And as I left, the old guy at the exit door was telling his fellow volunteers how you can't trust these young people with backpacks 'cause they all have bombs. [I did NOT have a backpack, btw.])

I absolutely understand why so many people don't vote. All the candidates are dicks and idiots, IF you even know who they are. I'm always stuck voting for the guy who's NOT a Republican and NOT a teabag independent... which pretty much means Democrat. *sigh*

I find it alarming how so many otherwise liberal people want to pass laws making non-voting illegal. Do they REALLY think that will solve the problem? That's how conservatives think. You don't like what other people are doing? Pass a law! MAKE them do it YOUR way! (It's interesting the number and variety of nations that have mandatory voting. They're not better for it.)

There are so many bad laws that create more problems than they solve. The whole drug war thing is the perfect example. When these laws are passed, there is NO thought given to how they will be enforced, who will enforce them and what the fallout will be. Seriously, how would you propose we punish non-voters? Fines? Loss of rights? Prison?

If you're one of those who want to make voting mandatory, be honest with yourself: the reason you're unhappy is because your favorite candidates aren't getting elected. Do you REALLY believe that MAKING people vote will magically drive your fellow liberals out of the woodwork? DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT??

Forced voting might increase the numbers, but it won't change the percentages at all. And it certainly won't make people vote smarter. The average person votes with his/her butthole, not his/her brain. NOTHING will change that.

The fact is, we're already paying the price for not voting. We're getting what we deserve. If anything should be done at all, I'd say make the consequences more immediate. When a majority doesn't vote, eliminate that office until the next vote. People don't cast a vote for president, there IS no president until the people decide there needs to be. You don't WANT government, you GET no government. Make the non-votes count.

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