I just Voted!

[comtec]

I'm living abroad so I got my 60 day ballot 2 weeks before X-mas.
I just voted, and I'm sending it in shortly.
It's such a small thing, to vote from home, mailing it in at my convince.
Or even taking an hour, or even 20 minutes to drive to the polling place.
I knew there has been talk about electronic, or web-polling, but really
this is something that affects us in the REAL world, I think we can take the
time to REALLY vote, on HARD paper!

I'm from the Bay area, so we still use paper, optical (black marker) ballots.
simple, easy, works fine, bi-lingual, and it's done.
There are ballot initiatives that took only 30 minutes reading through to know if I liked them or not.
Some years the ballot is very full and it can take a few hours.
But THIS IS OUR LIVES! These are things that REALLY MATTER!
how, the fucking HELL can Americans NOT get it!?!?!

I'm in Holland, and the voting cycle is very basic in Europe in general.

one button

that's it.
You vote, for only one person, in one party, once every couple years.
THAT'S IT!
Ad that person may not even be selected by the party.
There is so little actual control over what your vote does here it's sickening to me.
There are almost no referendums, and the idea of the PEOPLE approving a law directly
is simply unthinkable.
The reason that voting is so high in other countries is because the parliamentary system is so... basic. The ammount of actual control the people have is so small it's almost an illusion.

One of the few upshots of the system, however, is that you have 100 parties!
ok, at the moment it's only like 20 or so political parties, only 10 major ones.
"That's great!" you may think, but the parties are very fractured.
some of them are one-shot wonders, or one hit wonders. they only represent one idea, this is especially a problem with the liberal parties (BTW liberal and conservative are really backwards here)

Sadly the handful of parties people can generally get behind are not the best of ideals... the main party is the CDA Christian party(32%). (there's also the CU Christian Union, and SCP - very 18th century)

the more liberal parties are green left, SP - Social Party (23%), PvdA - Labor Party (22%), and the PvdD - Animal rights (2%).
the problem is that while technically there is MORE of a liberal/centrist consensus in this country, the more conservative parties are in charge because they tend to stick together - lessons the rethuglicants know well.

I know every system has it's points, and flaws. I still think our system is the best, I think our direct election of officials - even down to dog catcher - is the best way of governing the government! But I am saddened by realizing that it's that wonderful complexity that keeps many home, unless told exactly what to do.

Oh well.

I VOTED, and I know at least in MY district my vote WILL be counted and matter!

[MADem]

1. Good thing you aren't from Iowa--you'd be disenfranchised, living in Holland.

Just like all the poor slobs in Iraq and Afghanistan are--they can't participate in their state's primary process because if you aren't present to caucus, you don't count.

Idiotic system, IMO.

[catmandu57]

2. So did we

Last night at our dining room table, I'll be giving them to our mailman this morning. That's one advantage to being a natural born crip, I don't have to stagger stumble and fall just to vote.:-)

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

3. We vote by mail here in Washington State.

Paper ballots.