My expectation is that everyone on this forum is motivated (and indeed a bit passionate) about politics and will vote in the upcoming elections. I am generally very dissappointed in the low voter-turnout - often caused by busy schedules (especially amongst the many professionals that I know), cynicism (my grandfather used to say that all politicians are "crooks"), and the general feeling that their vote doesn't count. If anyone paid attention to the 2000 election (anyone ?
, I hope that the never-ending saga put that myth to rest (although I'll grant that the Democrats in Idaho have an uphill battle at the presidential level).
One of the primary reasons that I created this site was to do a little something to help educate the public with specific regard to presidential elections. For those of you that have been visiting since 1999, I created, and will do so again for 2004, a candidate list for the general election and platform positions - with the intent that visitors can make an informed decision for whom to vote (and demrepdan, I don't limit it to Republicans and Democrats
As for my voting history, I'm really an independent and look at the strenghts of individual candidates (especially since my political ideology spans many parties, depending on the issue) -> in the 2002 election here in Massachusetts, I voted for 2 Democrats, 1 republican, 1 Libertarian, 1 independent, and 1 Whig (strange as it may seem). I will also be voting in the democratic primary (as "unenrolled" voters - the MA equivalent of "independent" - are able to cast their ballots in any primary).
I would also encourage you to discuss voting with people you know who are non-voters, get them interested in the process, and coax them to the polls. I would also like to hear some success stories in this area. Myself, I was able to convince several of my friends that generally did not vote - to do so.
