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Pesky Electioneers

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How do you feel about electioneers?
  I don't mind them
  I hate them
  I wouldn't mind spraying them with a hose and hollering "get off my polling place!" like an old person yells at kids to get off their lawn
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IEditYourWorld

PostPosted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 9:19 pm


Hi all.

For those of us who voted today, GOOD FOR YOU! It doesn't matter if we all agree or not. The important thing is that we are expressing our right to vote! People have fought for YOUR right to vote!

Because we have the right to vote, we have the right to look into what we are voting for. Granted, we are bombarded with ads over and over and over and over and over, but as American citizens we have the right to look into what we are voting for. This brings me to the point of pesky electioneers.

What bothers me about electioneers is that they stand right out in front of the polling place and try to persuade people last minute to vote for their side. I find that particularly bothersome because I already knew who and what I wanted to vote for. Quite frankly, I found it an insult to my intelligence. I am also bothered by how close they dare to stand to the polling place. Missouri laws dictate that they can not legally stand within 100 feet of a polling place. The place I went to vote had a sign saying that electioneers could not stand within 25 feet of the polling place. These pesky buggers were standing literally right in front of the door! I could not believe this!

Did any of you have to deal with electioneers pestering you for last minute votes today? Is it just me, or did the idea of driving by with a water gun and blasting these bothersome flier hounds sound ever so amusing?

I hate electioneers.
IEditYourWorld
PostPosted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 10:57 pm


Well I vote absentee, so I never deal with those people... but if I didn't, I would let them do their thing then said "Great and for wasting my time, I'm not voting for that now" just to be mean and spiteful towards them.... not that they would effect me either way.

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 11:41 pm


I wasn't harassed by anyone when I voted today. I don't think I've ever encountered anyone doing that, though I can see how it would be extremely annoying. My guess as to why that doesn't happen where I live is because Alabama is so overwhelmingly Republican that the balance of power wouldn't be upset even if all of the colleges and universities were all to go out and vote Democrat. The political party division is so uneven here that I feel that voting is almost a joke. But, I do go ahead and vote so that my one vote will be seen in the final count whether the person I voted for wins or not.
PostPosted: Wed Nov 03, 2010 11:57 am


lilchibiusa
I wasn't harassed by anyone when I voted today. I don't think I've ever encountered anyone doing that, though I can see how it would be extremely annoying. My guess as to why that doesn't happen where I live is because Alabama is so overwhelmingly Republican that the balance of power wouldn't be upset even if all of the colleges and universities were all to go out and vote Democrat. The political party division is so uneven here that I feel that voting is almost a joke. But, I do go ahead and vote so that my one vote will be seen in the final count whether the person I voted for wins or not.

Actually, last night on the news, they were saying that this is the FIRST time Alabama's state legislature has NOT been Democratic-party controlled since Reconstruction. (And btw, just because someone is a student or a professor at a college, does not automatically mean that they will vote Democrat. There are a lot of conservatives on college campuses too. I will definitely agree that academia is overwhelmingly Democrat. I'm just saying that not all of us are. wink )

Back to the original topic, I live on the outskirts of a teeny-tiny town, so electioneering has never been much of a problem in my town...especially not yesterday, since there was torrential rainfall all afternoon! Most of us just wanted to get in out of the rain for a few minutes, go vote, and get back to our vehicles as fast as possible. I have seen electioneering on the news at polling places in some of the larger cities nearby, though. I also saw it earlier this year at a county referendum vote (where there was only one polling place open, so I didn't get to vote at my usual place), and it annoyed me on a couple of levels. First of all, as IEditYourWorld pointed out, these people were trying to garner last-minute votes when most people who even bother to go to a polling place at all, especially on something as under-the-media-radar as a zoning referendum affecting only a tiny portion of a largely rural county, have already made up their minds before they even got in the car to go vote. Also, these guys were JUST BARELY within the law, so there was nothing anyone could do about it even though it certainly was annoying (and it could be argued that the campaigners on both sides were taking up quite a few parking spaces that could have, and perhaps should have, gone to the voters, especially voters who have a hard time getting around).

Actually, before I close, one other little thing annoys me: I hate it when government institutions try to tell the public how to vote. The public schools in my county are NOTORIOUS for this. Every time there's a referendum that might even marginally affect the schools, the local schools put "Vote Yes" in big letters on their school signs and give the teachers all kinds of stuff to hand out. I don't know if this kind of thing is against the law or not, but it strikes me as rather unethical, especially since the schools seem to be pressuring teachers to vote a certain way (and trying to get teachers to pressure parents into voting that way). Public schools are government institutions, and other government institutions don't allow that kind of campaigning, at least not around here. I personally don't think the schools should be able to get away with it either, even if the proposed law is "for the kids." I don't mean to offend anyone who works for the school system, trust me (I have friends who are teachers, and I'm not trying to insult anyone or their livelihood, I promise! I admire teachers for doing a job I don't think I'd EVER be able to do!), but the way local schools handle election issues has bothered me for years. Not all teachers actually support the bills that their employers are trying to get them to rally behind, but the schools themselves--AS AN INSTITUTION--are telling citizens how to vote. To me, that just doesn't seem right.

Okay, now that I've managed to offend just about everyone (and I really didn't mean to. I love all my Vetus Gaianus friends! *hugs everyone*), I'm stepping out of the political discussion. I want to stay friends with y'all! sweatdrop


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PostPosted: Wed Nov 03, 2010 2:21 pm


I live in Oregon. Instead of traditional polling we have a vote by mail system. I LOVE it!! We have several days to vote how we want, don't have to take any time off of school or work, deal with electioneers or bad traffic. We just fill out our ballots and either mail them in or take them to designated drop site.
PostPosted: Wed Nov 03, 2010 5:57 pm


Mademoiselle Alvinette
Okay, now that I've managed to offend just about everyone (and I really didn't mean to. I love all my Vetus Gaianus friends! *hugs everyone*), I'm stepping out of the political discussion. I want to stay friends with y'all! sweatdrop


Nah, I'm registered independent only because I don't believe in voting for incumbents when I feel that they are not doing their jobs just for the sake of following party lines.

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PostPosted: Wed Nov 03, 2010 9:29 pm


It's so hard to know who to vote for. It seems like everyone is telling truths and lies about everyone else, and it's hard to tell who the better choice really is. I personally think that there could be a better way about going about the whole process than putting up billboards and having commercials about the candidates. I wonder how many voters actually really take the time to study the candidates in depth. Not everyone can sit around watch C-SPAN and MSNMC. xp
PostPosted: Wed Nov 03, 2010 9:37 pm


I only saw one commercial this entire election that the person actually said what he was going to do and not just what his opponent did wrong. That being said, I didn't hear much from anyone about the electioners this year but I think they were really cracking down on it in some areas.

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Sachie Whitby

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PostPosted: Wed Nov 03, 2010 9:42 pm


lilchibiusa
It's so hard to know who to vote for. It seems like everyone is telling truths and lies about everyone else, and it's hard to tell who the better choice really is. I personally think that there could be a better way about going about the whole process than putting up billboards and having commercials about the candidates. I wonder how many voters actually really take the time to study the candidates in depth. Not everyone can sit around watch C-SPAN and MSNMC. xp


Sometimes it isn't necessary... like for Sacramento county, one of the people running for Sheriff had accusations in his past history that he took graft. O.o I don't care if he's the most awesome person in the universe, that just isn't going to make feel confident that he's fighting for us... especially when Sacramento county is filled with tons of pseudo-cities that are not real cities thus don't have their own police department, and their law enforcement protection comes 100% from the sheriff's office.
PostPosted: Wed Nov 03, 2010 9:52 pm


Morality is important, but I'm more concerned about whether they get the job done or not, and how well they do it. I think that all representatives and candidates should be audited before elections so everyone can see their track records.

LilChibiusa
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 8:24 am


Yeah I really get annoyed with all the political ads and what not. Even if it's for the person I'm planning to vote for they seem so manipulating (happy upbeat music for the one they are endorsing - unflattering, black and white pics of the "other guy"). I try to veer clear from all that as much as possible and just bite the bullet and do my homework on the people involved. Another thing that's helpful to me is I look at which groups are endorsing which candidates and why - is it the board of education? Is it a local voters league? Is it some guy with a lot of money who is not forthcoming about who he's associated with? rofl Debates are helpful! Q&A sessions not so much - you can't tell if the questions have been prearranged or not.
I'm tired of talking points and attacks where you don't even know the context.
PostPosted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 5:09 pm


IEditYourWorld
Hi all.

For those of us who voted today, GOOD FOR YOU! It doesn't matter if we all agree or not. The important thing is that we are expressing our right to vote! People have fought for YOUR right to vote!

Because we have the right to vote, we have the right to look into what we are voting for. Granted, we are bombarded with ads over and over and over and over and over, but as American citizens we have the right to look into what we are voting for. This brings me to the point of pesky electioneers.

What bothers me about electioneers is that they stand right out in front of the polling place and try to persuade people last minute to vote for their side. I find that particularly bothersome because I already knew who and what I wanted to vote for. Quite frankly, I found it an insult to my intelligence. I am also bothered by how close they dare to stand to the polling place. Missouri laws dictate that they can not legally stand within 100 feet of a polling place. The place I went to vote had a sign saying that electioneers could not stand within 25 feet of the polling place. These pesky buggers were standing literally right in front of the door! I could not believe this!

Did any of you have to deal with electioneers pestering you for last minute votes today? Is it just me, or did the idea of driving by with a water gun and blasting these bothersome flier hounds sound ever so amusing?

I hate electioneers.
IEditYourWorld


Federal law states they can't be within 500 feet of the polling location, knorr are any forms of advertisement on election day.

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Ric_PT

PostPosted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 12:19 pm


I'm not American so I can say that I'm glad that that kind of last minute pressure is not allowed here. Each candidate has its own air time on TV and there's usually scheduled debates between candidates. They also go around the country giving meaningless things, like pens, to people hoping it will bring in a few more votes.
But after that, it's up to the people to decide. They're not allowed to (try to) force someone to vote their way.

And this talk reminds me, I think the presidential elections here are coming up in January... you can already see the posters on the steets. xD
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