Have you ever been an "undecided" voter? What changed your mind?

[redStateBlueHeart]

From most polls, it looks like 20% of voters are undecided/on the fence. Have you ever been an undecided voter? What changed your mind? We need to win these folks, especially in swing states.

[csziggy]

1. After 1972 I didn't vote again until 1980

My husband convinced me that voting was important. With Jimmy Carter running against Ronald Regan it was an easy sell.

Even when I wasn't voting I wasn't undecided, though. I was just convinced that if dirty tricks could win an election, it wasn't worth voting. Since then I have changed my mind. The more people that vote, the less chance dirty tricks will work.

[VOX]

9. Same. Except for Jerry Brown in the CA primary in '76...

Brown was kind of my "Bernie" back in the day. But I got back to the voting booth in 1980. So I didn't vote for a winning Democratic presidential candidate until Bill Clinton in 1992 -- 21 years after I first registered Democratic.

[csziggy]

12. I should have voted iun '76

That was just before my future husband and I got serious. His brother was very active in the Carter campaign - that's one reason he gave me a hard time about not voting.

I think much of what discourages people is all the talk about "no difference" between the parties or the candidates and the claims of rigged elections. While there are serious questions about the voting machines and voter suppression, every single vote is needed and should be counted. And we need to remind people of that - their votes are valuable!

[radical noodle]

2. Yes

I looked closely at the issues that were important to me and picked the person I thought would be most likely to do the things that I thought were important. I think each individual has certain issues that are important to them and if they're the type to pay attention, they will pick the person who they think will see things their way. Some people are swayed by silly things like who they find most appealing or who has the best personality or who they'd like to have a beer with. I think we need to show that Hillary and her running mate are stable, thoughtful and yes... honest. That should go a long way when running against the flim-flam men.

[kwolf68]

3. Probably in 2000

It took me a long time to go from Conservative to Libertarian to Liberal. In 2000 I SO wanted to vote for Mr. Gore, but instead gave my one last vote to the Libertarian. I was "undecided". By 2002 I was fully where I am now and in 2004 I thought John Kerry was superlative. I was sick for weeks after that POS idiot beat such a stellar statesman such as John Kerry.

[VOX]

10. Good going on your evolution from right to left...

I was raised in a conservative Republican family, and I went along with them until I reached age 16. Going through adolescence during the civil rights/Vietnam eras really turned me around for good.

Glad to have you on this side of things.

[tallahasseedem]

4. For the General Election...never.

I cast my first vote for William Jefferson Clinton in 1996 and have never looked back as far as a Democratic ticket goes.

The only time I was ever undecided was the Democratic Primary in 2008. I couldn't decide between Hillary and Barack. I ultimately voted for Hillary...mostly ceremonial because I was in Florida at the time and their delegates were not counted that year.

[KMOD]

5. undecided voters are people who

are not comfortable answering polls.

There are a lot of people who feel their vote is sacred, and they do not wish to share it.

[tallahasseedem]

7. Or they just want attention...

especially this group on CNN.

[KMOD]

8. with focus groups,

that very may well be the case.

But I think most of us just shake our heads at them.

[MohRokTah]

6. I lived in Illinois in 2006 and was undecided in the goveror's race that year.

In the end I voted for the crook over the Republican because I was sure my Senator was going to run for and win the presidency and I wanted a Democrat to appoint his replacement.

Actually it was a choice between the Crook and not casting a vote in that race because no matter how nice Judy Baar-Topinka was as a person, I've never in my life cast a vote for any Republican in any election. I've only ever cast no vote in races where there was no opposition to a Republican, but I honestly considered doing it in that race that year because Blagojevich was so criminal.

[VOX]

11. Never. Couldn't vote until age 21, and my first presidential vote...

was at age 23, for McGovern/Eagleton/Shriver. But I've always voted Democratic, even if the candidate was less than stellar. Always (D)!

[Raissa]

13. Not at the presidential level...

... But we had a Democratic mayor who was running for reelection who had issues with women and a drug abuse problem. I couldn't vote for him, but it took a while to figure out who I would vote for.

[VulgarPoet]

14. Roughly two days ago. eom

[RobinA]

15. Never

My first election was 1976 and I voted for Gerald Ford. Back then I was an independent, because Repubs actually had sense in those days. I admired Ford for going against public opinion and pardoning Nixon, which I though was the right thing to do. He's the first and only time I ever voted Republican.

Since then the other choice has been Reagan and downhill from there. I officially switched affiliation to Dem in the '90's during the height of Monica Lewinski. Never even gave voting for the "other" candidate a first thought, let alone a second. A viable third party candidate could make me undecided in a primary, but not on a general as long as the Repubs are batsh*t crazy.

[LWolf]

16. Yes.

There is nothing at all you can do to "change my mind." As a matter of fact, hammering me with campaign propaganda and campaign bullying is likely to make me dig in my heels.

I make up my own mind, on my own time, and I base it on issues and record, not anything campaigners do. The best thing you can do is back off, treat me with some respect, and allow me to think for myself. If I need your help, which is unlikely, I'll ask.

It's interesting to me to hear anyone concerned about undecideds NOW, when it's too late for the obvious solution.

[bigwillq]

17. Not really

I pretty much always know who I will vote for well ahead of time.