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Have you voted before? If so, who earned your vote?

Amnixia

Amnixia

▲ Legend ▲
The Fallen
Jan 25, 2018
10,488
Since the OP hasn't specified that only US politics apply: I'e voted 3 times in (parliament and senate) my country. All three times for the national green party.
Unfortunately a lot of people vote right wing so they don't get a say in many things but outside of some party drama a few years ago I'm pretty happy with their stance and sticking to their values.
 
Orb

Orb

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
9,465
USA
2008 - Bob Barr
2012 - Obama
2016 - Clinton

I voted for Barr because I was really dumb 10 years ago. My vote for Obama was enthusiastic because I had come to identify as a Democrat. By the time I voted for Hilary I had started to realize how far left I was but she was my "Not Trump" vote.

At the time I felt like Obama had earned my vote. Looking back on it, I don't think he did.
 
andrew

andrew

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,906
2010 - Didn't vote, was still registered at home while living in a different state for school.
2012 - Obama. Voted McCaskill over Akin (who people might remember as the "legitimate rape" guy).
2014 - voted for Adam Schiff.
2016 - Sanders in primary, Clinton in general. Voted yes on propositions to repeal the death penalty and legalize marijuana. Voted for Adam Schiff. Honestly can't recall who I voted for senate because I was split between Sanchez and Harris. Pretty sure I voted Sanchez in the primary but might've switched to Harris in the general.
 
Kurdel

Kurdel

Member
Nov 7, 2017
12,157
Canadian here, I always vote for federal elections, but I always cancel my vote for provincial elections because they are all idiot here in Québec. I still go to the voting booth though.
 
Wafflinson

Wafflinson

Banned
Nov 17, 2017
2,084
Only Obama and Hillary so far. Easy decisions.

I need to get better at voting in midterms and off year elections.
 
Pau

Pau

Self-Appointed Godmother of Bruce Wayne's Children
Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,913
I only got my citizenship quick enough to vote for the primary in 2016. Since then I've voted in the general election and a local one. I'm still not used to keeping up with local elections since I would generally ignore that not being able to vote.

This thread also reminds me of the time in Pre-K when we were made to do a mock vote along with the rest of the school. I had no idea what was going on and don't know at all who I voted for. I picked based on whose picture I liked the most.
 
SieteBlanco

SieteBlanco

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,878
I have zero respect for anyone that hasn't voted every single year, on every single election, that they've been able to.
 
Masquerader

Masquerader

Banned
Nov 4, 2017
1,383
Voted for Sinn Fein in 2015/2016, voted against Brexit in 2016, etc. In a bit of a safe seat as it is, mind, but I suppose voting will always help. Brexit really stung me, though. I won't likely vote with any enthusiasm for the results from now on, considering that some old people with dementia will inevitably invalidate my vote and fuck up my future regardless.

EDIT: Is this a stealthy survey, OP? Gonna try and weed out our affiliations, hmmm? >;p
 
Aaron

Aaron

I’m seeing double here!
Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,077
Minneapolis
2008 was my political awakening, even though I was only 17 for the actual election. Some highlights since then:

2010 primary - first election I voted in. Voted Margaret Anderson Kelliher for governor, she lost the primary to Dayton. (Minnesota has caucuses about six months prior to the actual primary, and I voted for R.T. Rybak there)

2010 general - first general ("real") election I voted in. While this was a bad night for Democrats pretty much everywhere, I had some spring in my step thanks to Dayton winning the governor's race, but MN Democrats also lost the state legislature so even that was just a hollow victory.

2011 special election - our mayor died like two months after being sworn in and my dad was a candidate in the special election to replace him. He placed 9th out of 12 candidates. Still was cool to vote for him.

2012 general - Obama! And Klobuchar for Senate. Democrat for House against Erik Paulsen.

2014 general - I don't believe I voted in the primaries this year as everyone I could vote for was an incumbent. Dayton for gov again, Franken for Senate and Tim Walz for the House.

2016 primaries - went for Bernie in the caucus even though I was kind of sick of him by this point. A month later and I probably would have written someone in. I also voted in our state primaries in August to keep a nutjob out of the running for State Supreme Court.

2016 general - Hillary is this even a question. Voted for Paulsen's sacrificial lamb opponent, who actually seemed decent that year but fizzled out. Oh well.

And the caucuses for the next gubernatorial race in MN are next week and I'll be attending those. I'll be voting for Tim Walz.

So I've voted nearly every time I could. The only time I can think of that I missed were for some local ordinances in my college town in 2013, and I still tried - alas, no proof that I lived there. MN is nice though because if you have a utility bill or something with your address on it, you can register at the polls.
 
andymcc

andymcc

Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,530
Columbus, OH
Mahonay said:
Starting from the first election I was eligible for;
(Copy and pasted from MIMIC since my voting record is identical)
2004 - Dean in the primaries, Kerry in the general
2008 - Obama in primaries and general
2012 - Obama in primaries and general
2016 - Bernie in the primaries, Hillary in the general

I could never vote Republican as they represent the complete opposite of my personal values and concerns. They are worse now more than ever.
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Same.
 
hashtagrekt

hashtagrekt

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
685
Kthulhu said:
What made you vote for Gore and Obama? I assume you're a republican?
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Clinton was an absolute economic genius and the Gore wave was high. It basically was the Hillary/Trump of the time. We got bamboozled. Obama is a pride thing for a black man to get in there. It was our time to shine. Unfortunately his first term was so ineffective I had to give it to Mitt. I hope he runs for 2020 honestly. That's the dude.
 
MIMIC

MIMIC

Member
Dec 18, 2017
8,391
Mahonay said:
Starting from the first election I was eligible for;
(Copy and pasted from MIMIC since my voting record is identical)
2004 - Dean in the primaries, Kerry in the general
2008 - Obama in primaries and general
2012 - Obama in primaries and general
2016 - Bernie in the primaries, Hillary in the general

I could never vote Republican as they represent the complete opposite of my personal values and concerns. They are worse now more than ever.
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*high five*
 
Fulminator

Fulminator

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,221
I've voted once, the 2016 election was the first presidential where I was able to. I wouldn't say Clinton earned my vote for any reason other than shes better than Trump.


Never voted in local or state
elections but I am def voting in the midterms this year, although I'm not sure Massachusetts is an at risk state. I might look into one of those vote swap websites, although I'm not really sure how they work.
 
Hypron

Hypron

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,059
NZ
I only started voting last year.

In the French elections I voted for Macron in both rounds and I voted for La République En Marche! in the legislatives. I'm not even a fan of Macron but the other candidates that had a shot were worse.

In the NZ elections I voted Green as my party vote and Labour for my local MP.
 
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TaleSpun

TaleSpun

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,450
I've voted twice and voted Democrat on both occasions. I wouldn't say anyone particularly earned my vote though, which is a problem.
 
Vimes

Vimes

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,288
First time I voted was in 2006 for the CA gubernatorial. I voted for Angelides, but fortunately Schwarzenegger turned out kinda okay.

I also voted Democratic down-ticket, because I'd been pissed as hell about Bush Jr being president long before I was old enough to vote. But my district was still too shitty and white at the time so the Dem challenger lost. It finally flipped after redistricting.
 

HomespunFur

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,271
Tbh voting has just not been a thing I have been proud of or anything but I haven't loved any candidate so maybe that's why.
Basically in my area it's Conservative no-one else has a chance but labour are the closest so I vote for them.
Voted to stay in the EU but we all know how that turned out.
So basically all my life my vote has meant nothing, and even the people I am voting for I don't really like thet are just not as bad as the other option.
Except the EU I guess, I was very enthusiastic about voting remain only to get crushed when the results came out.
 
TheLastCandle

TheLastCandle

Member
Oct 25, 2017
242
Harrisburg, PA, USA
Voted for Obama in 2008 and Hillary in 2016.

Didn't vote in the 2004 elections because I was an uneducated shit. Didn't vote in 2012 because I figured Obama had it won, which he did. That said, not making that mistake again (twice).
 
greenbird

greenbird

"This guy are sick"
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,098
2008 - Obama (didn't vote in the primary because of the fuckery in MI)
2012 - Obama
2016 - Clinton (Bernie in the primary)
 
Aaron

Aaron

I’m seeing double here!
Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,077
Minneapolis
Cheebo said:
Yo Noroi_Kisaragi you know the 2018 election is just as important as 2020 right? Don't forget to vote this year everyone.

Congressional elections can be more important than Presidential elections.
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Yup if anything they just are more important - legislators have a far bigger influence than the president on what actually gets written and passed, and every single House member is up every two years (and Senators are up every six, which means half the time they're elected in midterms).

We could elect the most progressive, amazing, wonderful unicorn Democratic president in 2020 and it would be meaningless if they didn't get a favorable Congressional majority to go with it. Obama's legislative agenda was completely stunted by the 2010 Republican wave, and losing the Senate in 2014 meant they could block his appointments too, including his Supreme Court nominee. All because people who didn't vote in 2010 and 2014, people who loved the man and turned out for him in such great numbers in his own elections didn't care enough to show up and defend his legacy.

And of course, elections for governor (midterms in most states) and the state legislature are also exceedingly important too. This can actually feed into the problem with Congressional majorities blocking a president - because the GOP won so big in 2010, they won control over enough state governments to redraw the district lines in their favor pretty much everywhere. Democrats actually won the House vote in 2012, but came well short of a majority because they were running in unfair maps. If progressives had shown up in 2010, they could have blunted some of that damage and come back swinging in 2012, and retrospectives on Obama's second term would read very differently today.
 
Flabber

Flabber

Member
Oct 31, 2017
1,050
I've never not voted in the UK.

2005 - Lib Dems (Kennedy)
2010 - Lib Dems (Clegg)
2015 - Labour (Miliband)
2017 - Labour (Corbyn)

I didn't switch to Labour because of the student loans thing, the Lib Dem MP in my area had voted against them, but I was wary of his voting record (lots of absences) on gay marriage, and I liked Ed Miliband's move back towards the left and away from Blairite champagne socialism. Obviously I didn't have much of a choice in 2017 after the Lib Dems were practically wiped out and Corbyn took labour even further left, I'm not sure who the Lib Dems are even for any more.
 
Kasai

Kasai

Member
Jan 24, 2018
4,313
I've voted I think 4 times since I registered in 2016. I'll be voting again next month because NH has a special election coming up for state rep.

It's one of the most important things one can do in a democracy. Especially if you want it to continue to be one.
 

Deleted member 4247

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
8,896
Of course, every four years since I was first allowed to in 2006 (we don't have "midterms" here in Sweden). For me it's just a given that you vote. Next one is coming up in September.

I've voted a bit differently, but generally center-right (never far right though). Which on the American scale would probably be Democrat, or even a bit to the left of that, since you guys don't have an actual left.
 

Deleted member 3897

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
9,638
Norway.

2013 - Labour Party (socialdemocrats)
2017 - Center Party (left wing socialdemocrats)

Next time I'll vote hard for Red party (hard socialist).

If I were in the US in the next election and could vote I would probably vote Socialist Alternative cause they are closest to socialdemocracy. Democratic Party is right-wing.
 

AaronB

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
322
2016 - Clinton (general), Trump (primary)
2012 - Obama
2008 - Obama
2004 - GW
2000 - Gore
1996 - Clinton
 
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Balphon

Balphon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,634
I've voted in pretty much every election since I became eligible in 2003. Usually for Democrats.

I voted for Stein in 2012 before I learned how crazy she was. Likely willful ignorance on my part.
 
SoundCheck

SoundCheck

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
2,489
Only voted for president once (Dilma in 2014). She won and get impeached. I won't get fooled again. Never going to vote in general elections again.
 
Doctoglethorpe

Doctoglethorpe

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,214
Ralph Nader in 08 and 12. Clinton in 16.

I voted independent instead of Obama in protest of the two party system knowing full well Obama would win Cali. If I was in a battleground state Inwould have voted Obama. Didn't vote independent in 16 because there wasn't any good 3rd candidate.
 
Angelus Errare

Angelus Errare

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,600
Racoon City
I honestly vote out of preservation, no candidate has really earned my vote, then again 2008 was my first time voting then after I started voting in midterms.

It's highly doubtful any candidate will ever earn my vote, I'm not the right complexion for such.
 

AaronB

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
322
Angelus Errare said:
I honestly vote out of preservation, no candidate has really earned my vote, then again 2008 was my first time voting then after I started voting in midterms.

It's highly doubtful any candidate will ever earn my vote, I'm not the right complexion for such.
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I would agree. I can't think of any candidate since I've been voting that I would consider a perfect candidate or even close. I vote mostly for the lesser of two evils..
 
King Alamat

King Alamat

Member
Nov 22, 2017
8,167
Didn't vote in '12 because by the time I thought to register, the deadline had already passed a couple of days before. Same thing in '14. However, I did get my shit together just in time to see Bernie lose the primary and Hillary lose the general.

Man, fuck Tennessee.
 
Lucky241

Lucky241

Member
Oct 31, 2017
751
the shores of Carcosa
DonShula said:
Vote shaming: the thread.

My first opportunity for presidential was 2000. I voted for W. Born and raised in a red state and he seemed like the right choice at the time. I was THE uninformed voter.

By the time I'd graduated college I was voting pretty much straight democrat.
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But man, he was the kind of guy you could have a beer with.

And we all know, that's the most important measure of a president.
 
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