I got a call from the Obama campaign the other day asking if I was going to go out and vote for the President and I was like, "Um, duh." Although, I didn't really even know that was necessary at this point. He is obviously the Democratic Party's candidate for the 2012 General Election. But just like any other candidate, Obama still needs to rack up his apporpriate number of delegates.
Which brings me to my point of this blog. The way we vote in the U.S. is totally effed up for a number of reasons.
1. As previously mentioned, who has time to vote? 7a.m.-8p.m. is not enough time. Especially for students and people with more than one job.
2. What is the point of voting when the candidates have pretty much already been picked by all the states that voted before us? Exactly. Which is why all 50 states should all vote on the same day. This would allow for the "elite media" as Newt likes to call them, to have much less of an influence on the way we vote. We wouldn't know who won what state and by how many votes one or two at a time. It would be a more accurate representation as to who American Citizens actually want as their candidate.
3. Speaking of being a more accurate representation, did you know that some states have what is called an Open Primary while others have Closed Primaries? Pennsylvania has a closed primary. This means that you can only vote for those within your party and if you are registered as an Independent then you don't get to vote at all.
4. I don't know about you guys but, I consider American owned territories relevant. These include places like Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. So even though they pay taxes to the U.S. government (except income taxes), and hold their own seemingly meaningless primary elections during our primary season, these places are not represented in Congress and are not permitted to vote in Federal elections. I.e., they can't vote for the next President of the country that technically owns them. Why? Because they're not a state. So there.
5. Anybody remember the 2000 Presidential Election? You know, when Al Gore actually won but then George W. Bush somehow managed to become the President after months of counting and recounting votes. That election taught us that it really doesn't matter what we the citizens of America want because even when the popular vote goes to one candidate, the number of delegates awarded is more important. And the big state in question that year was Flordia. Shocking, I know. The problem had to do with paper ballots. Back in the day, you had to punch holes next to the name of the candidate you wanted to vote for. Unfortunately, this method of voting was faulty. Ballots were difficult to read and incorrect votes we cast. Some votes didn't count at all because they weren't punched hard enought. In the end, W. was awarded Florida and its 25 delegates allowing him to reach the required 270. So, of the 100,000+ Americans that voted in 2000, it really only takes 270 to decided who will be our next leader.
Fun fact, the Governor of Florida at the time of this debacle was none other than Jeb Bush. Relation? Brother of one, President-elect George Walker Bush.
I don't mean to discourage anyone from voting. Your voice still matters because we vote to pick the people who eventually become delegates. Also, we vote for people who run our cities, counties, and states. Here in NEPA we know a thing or two about nepotism and corruption. And we all know it isn't fair and doesn't benefit anyone but the elected officials and their groupies. So we can stop voting for those assholes who don't have our best interest in mind and start voting for other people. It doesn't mean they're going to do any better but at least they'll do it differently.
So go vote today. At the very least, vote in November. Because Frederick Douglass, Alice Paul, and a bunch of white guys would want you to.
This guy too.
No comments:
Post a Comment