Election Day is Tuesday, and you’ll be sure to discover on Wednesday that fewer people vote in off-year/non-Presidential years than will vote next year, as shown here (PDF), here and here. It’s ironic, I think, because one has a much greater voice in municipal elections than in the Presidential race. Even next November, more people will vote at the top of the ticket, and ignore the “lesser” races.
I’ve been involved in “get-out-the-vote” pitches before. My last strategy, sort of a reverse psychology thing, was “don’t vote – mote power for me”. So:
1. Are you voting on Tuesday? Why or why not/ I am, just so I can kvetch about the results.
2. What would it take to get more people to vote? (Electronic voting, instant runoff voting, bribery – somewhere in the Southwest, they offered a random voter a cash prize for voting, which turned out to be of dubious legality.) I think IRV’s a good idea in multi-candidate (3 or more) elections, but it won’t solve the ennui problem.
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Pulse Poll of the Democratic candidates for President, with videos delineating a couple of their positions.
ROG
