How do you decide who to vote for?

How do you decide who to vote for? Please choose up to 2 answers

  • Ads on TV and radio

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Robo Calls

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • I vote the straight party ticket

    Votes: 7 17.1%

  • I do research and vote for the best candidate regardless of party

    Votes: 32 78.0%

  • I vote according to adivce of others

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Other - please comment

    Votes: 11 26.8%
  • Total voters
    41
I like listening to the ads, but hate when the ads are nothing about Candidate will do if elected....but just bashs the other candidate
Once when there was a campaign for county executive, both men just bashed the other and said nothing about why they were the better candidate. On election day I got a call from one of the men, forget which, asking who I was voting for. I said NEITHER. She audibly gasped and asked why. I said the above...neither one told me why I should vote for him..just why I should NOT vote for the other
 

I do a lot of thinking and research and usually vote the straight party ticket in the end if my favored candidate is not on the ballot. I don't watch political ads (since I do not have cable) and I don't get robo calls any more, nor do I answer the phone if I do not recognize the number.

Most of the "others" I know are wedded to ideas I disagree with; I would never take their advice -- frankly, it is mostly based on ads and websites that cater to lies.
 
I try to vote in all the elections including the local ones. To me the local elections are just as important as the state and national elections. I spent most of the day today researching judge, sheriff, clerk of court and school board candidates.
 

HoneyNut said:
The grocery checkout clerk informed me when she was scanning my groceries that she voted, she didn't know anything about the candidates, and she voted for the names she liked best. I guess at least she voted which was better than I did.
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My mother in law was much the same. She was a bit xenophobic and decided she would vote for a candidate named Smith rather than someone with a more exotic name. I had to gently inform her that Smith was actually a neo Nazi and that she should not waste her vote on him.

I voted today although voting day is more that a week away. I obtained all the information I needed from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) website and decided on my preferences myself. Early voting in my electorate was held at the local TAFE (technical) College and it is ideal for rainy weather and for people using a walking stick. On the way in I chatted with a former MP for the Labor party who is well known to Hubby and I, and to a volunteer for the Liberal (conservative) party. I told him that while I quite like the incumbent who is a good and decent man, I could not in good conscience give him my first preference vote while a little family is kept on immigration custody for overstaying a visa. Today the eldest daughter had her 7th birthday and the family has been detained waiting detention to Sri Lanka for the past 4 years. Many people have taken up their cause, including the township of Biloela in Queensland where they are much loved as part of the community. The Minister for Immigration has the power to grant them new visas and to release them with a stroke of his pen. I told the volunteer to pass on the message to his candidate that this issue is a deal breaker for me.

Then I chatted to a volunteer for The Greens Party. I have a niece in Queensland who is standing for election to the House as Greens candidate. He was happy to learn that I was giving my first preference to the Greens in the House but disappointed when I said I was voting #1 in the Senate for an Independent. My second senate preference goes to the Greens and if the independent is eliminated on the first count the the Greens will benefit. I actually hope she will secure enough votes to be elected. She has a very good chance because she is well known and is popular with women voters. Her slogan is The Voice for Reason and she would be an asset in the Senate.

When I arrived I was given a new pencil (Covid safe) at the door and then proceeded to a desk where I was asked 2 questions - the first was "Are you entitled to vote early?" and the official said to me "Say yes", which I did. The second was "Have you already voted in this election?" to which I replied "No". Then it was a matter of finding my name on the roll and my address which determined my electorate. After that I was given my two ballot papers (House and Senate) and directed to a booth where I used the pencil to number the candidates according to the instructions.

Finally, I placed the papers myself in the appropriate ballot boxes and my duty was done. I can now cheerfully ignore the travelling circus that is the campaign and wait until Saturday week when the counting will begin.
 
Two answers to this question from when I was a Deputy Registrar in a long-term care nursing home: "I vote the way my parents did." And, "I vote the way my husband tells me to." It was frightening, especially when I knew they were "cutting their own throats." But, I wasn't allowed to influence them in any way. I had many sleepless nights over this!
 
My state assemblyman has no opponents, and his name is listed for All parties, and their are more than two, at least here. So, I finally said "Why Bother?" and won't vote for him again. Geez, he's got this all tied up! He's very good though.
 
Today is election day in Australia and it is an election like no other that I can remember. Because Covid is still active in the community provision has been made to allow people who are isolating at home to vote over the telephone, provided they can show proof of being positive to Covid.

This going to be something of a nightmare for the election staff because we have preferential voting and people intending to vote by phone are being asked to decide exactly how they want to number the candidates before ringing the number.

I learned something this week (seems you never know it all) about the counting.

We are probably the last advanced country to use an analog system (paper and pencil) and the papers are sorted and counted as soon as the polls close. On election night they count all of the prepoll votes and the election day votes but that is not the final tally. Postal votes, by law, are given 10 days after election day to arrive and are not counted on election day. The election day result is indicative only and every vote is delivered to the independent Australian Election Commission (AEC) for a second count. Postal votes are included in this count and presumably this time around, so will the phone votes.

When the AEC declares the winners of each electorate and the results of the half Senate election, the party that is able to form a government visits the Governor General to receive the royal commission and then the ministers are sworn in to their portfolios, also by the GG. Finally, when all of the formalities are over, the new parliament is able to propose new legislation.
 
Personally, I don't trust most politicians. I would like to see term limits on All politicians, instead of just the POTUS. I would also like to see an Age limit imposed....every time I listen to our current And previous Potus speak, I'm convinced that both of them are suffering from a shortage between their ears....they make Obama look pretty good.
 
No one talks or writes about criteria for national voting. What matters most and least. This is not part of a national discussion sadly. To me strong experience and credentials in federal issues are first. Also the ability to win and whether I agree with at least 3 or 4 important issues
 
I vote straight party ticket. When voting in primaries I really scrutinize each candidate. If you want to get laws passed local, state or National, you have to help put your party in power.
 
Don M. said:
Personally, I don't trust most politicians. I would like to see term limits on All politicians, instead of just the POTUS. I would also like to see an Age limit imposed....every time I listen to our current And previous Potus speak, I'm convinced that both of them are suffering from a shortage between their ears....they make Obama look pretty good.
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Definitely need term and age limits. And cognitive testing. Look at the mess in D.C. now.🥲
 
I am all about the bribes. :)

I vote for the one that sends me the most cash. :)


Abraham Lincoln had to fire one of the members of his cabinet for corruption. When asked why he let the man go, Abraham Lincoln replied, "the only thing he would not steal, was a hot stove."

On a serious note?

In a lot of ways, as I have gotten older, I tend to shoot towards the middle, towards the normal and towards stability.

So, frankly, I look for mainstream qualifications. If they don't have mainstream qualifications, they still might be great leaders. But I don't vote for folks like that.

So, I absolutely do think that people who passed the bar are better able to deal with legislation, which always deals with legal language.

I want to only vote for people with very long histories of public service. If someone was a lawyer, then a state rep, then a Congressman for 10 years, then a US Senator for 10 years...that kind of thing makes sense to me. I mean, sure, someone from that kind of background can also be plenty corrupt. But at least they have the actual training to do the job.

If they spew hate, I am out. If all they do is demonize their opponent, I am out. If they don't have an established, basic political platform on a wide range of the basic issues, I am out. If they always play PR games and never answer questions directly or with any detail, I am out.

And I look for people who have actually done something. Could be in the private sector and not in government, but something. If someone came from utter poverty and built up a business from scratch? That means something to me. If someone served honorably in combat, that means something to me. If somebody was in high school and developed a project to feed the local poor people during the Holidays, that means something to me. Actions, in the real world, not just words.

If someone is 45 years old and has never accomplished anything major, in the real world, why would I lend support to that person, when there are plenty of other people who actually have accomplished major things?

And that definitely goes to intelligence also. Sure, we can have great leaders who do not have high IQs. But, since we have millions of people to choose from, why not also go with the guy who graduated college with honors? Do we really have to accept somebody who graduated college at the bottom of their class? I mean, is just average intelligence a great quality to have in a leader?
 
Alligatorob said:
Interesting that more than 80% of us checked "I do research and vote for the best candidate regardless of party". I did.

However it seems to me the results of our elections suggest most people don't. Is this what we wish we did, or do we actually do it? I doubt we are a whole lot different from most voters...
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I think people make their choices for different reasons. Sadly, most people are concerned about what is on their own doorstep.....bins being emptied, roads maintained etc. Others are concerned about the bigger issues.
In Britain, each town has its representative in Parliament, the MP. We vote for them in a General Election. There are also local elections, when we vote for the people who run the town...the council. It would be better if the councils were not attached to a politic party.
 
An update on the Australian election. Last night the preliminary count indicated that the conservatives would not be able to form a new government and the PM conceded defeat. It is not yet clear whether the new government will have a majority of seats in the House or whether it will have to do deals with the independents or the Greens to pass legislation. The Senate will be very interesting when the count is finalised.

Everything went smoothly and the transition will begin to take place immediately. The AUKUS meeting that will take place in a few days will have new faces at the table. The new PM is the son of a single mother who survived on an invalid pension and he grew up in social housing. His name is Anthony Albanese and he never knew his Italian father. His deputy PM will be a woman of Asian descent who came to Australia as a 3yo from Singapore. She is a lesbian Christian who is married and she and her partner are raising a child together. Her name is Penny Wong and she will be the new Foreign Minister.

The political landscape in Australia is a lot different to both the US and the UK.

Edit - Penny Wong will not be the Deputy PM because she is a senator and cannot therefore serve as acting PM. She will be the Leader of the Government in the Senate and the Deputy PM will be a man - Richard Marles.

My niece was a candidate for the Greens in a Queensland electorate and although she never really had a chance she campaigned strongly and raised awareness of important issues. I am proud of her effort. Here she is campaigning. She is a very unique individual with a passion for the environment, social justice and animals.


 

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