There are elections tomorrow and I am not voting, because I am leaving this afternoon and I will not be back until Sunday. Were I not so overloaded with work I would have remembered to vote early, and were I not so used from birth to Tuesday elections I would remember more easily that we vote Saturdays.
If I were in town I would vote but I am so glad I do not have to now. All the candidates are either puppets of the Governor or unconscionably corrupt. I usually vote for some of the least bad of them but I feel exploited by this — I am supposed to exercise my civic duty in the name of gratitude for democracy, but really these people are taking my vote so they can pocket my tax money, and the next time they are indicted it will again be shown that this is literally true.
I know what people will say: I should work to put better candidates in. Yes, there are ten people working on that and sometimes I help them but you have to realize what it takes, especially given conditions here. And I honestly think that I get more done through other organizations than I ever could through the Party (which the national Democratic party has abandoned, anyway). And I cannot do everything.
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 
There are amendments to the constitution and things, things I really would have liked to vote on and I wish I had remembered to vote early.
But on a topic from another thread: the idea of voting because it’s important as an exercise, and remembering that some people live in dictatorships and don’t vote, and that there’s a difference: I think the reason American youth isn’t convinced by that is that it is what is drummed into us from birth. And it just isn’t true that you can influence your representative, or “just vote them out” — there’s not enough democracy and what we’re taught is that voting is enough, that we should be satisfied with it. Remember how people freaked out when Lani Guinier suggested proportional representation???
Anecdotal, on “American youth.” Young, mainstream democratic types got very drummed up, excited, by voting Obama into office. They felt involved, like they had influence. And then it just sort of fizzled out for them.
Further left there are lots of people who thought/still think that it is at the very least a partially rigged game, especially after the suspicious circumstances of Bush 2’s first election.
Don’t know anything about republicans, but even the very apolitical have noticed the economy, as it is now staring them in the wallet.
And: we have also had a bad run (maybe not worse than other times, but bad all the same.) My first awareness of national politics involved impeachment/Monica Lewinsky/hearing nasty jokes about the “blue dress.” Did not seem then that there were “grownups” in charge. It should not have been able to go downhill from there, but it did/does, and with surprising consistency. Torture, multiple wars, religiosity, erosion of privacy, denial of climate change, austerity cuts, economic crisis, etc. And that has only been since 9/11.
Naturally, this is all from my point of view, I am sure my political lens has skewed things.
When I was younger than I am now, I was scandalized at people who wouldn’t vote the lesser evil and so on. But now I’m coming to the conclusion of an old friend — vote in local races, and on certain issues; vote in the questions where you actually have an opinion; don’t feel obligated to vote on everything presented. I don’t want to vote for Obama again.
Neither do I. For some reason, this was my last straw.
And yes on local races.
That on Haiti is utterly scandalous.
Yes, and if the U.S. were a truly democratic state there would be a “real scandal” in the public eye. But the most light of day that story is ever going to see is Haiti Liberté, the CJR, and The Nation.
And there’s the other thing — it’s not a truly democratic state but one is not supposed to think about that; and if one says it then one is reminded that some states are less democratic, one should be grateful, and so on, and not everything is perfect, and the world is bad and this is the best we can do, and so on (I have heard all of these many times all my life).
Notice how quickly an objective remark has to be shut down with guilt. I cannot help but wonder why.