Do you vote a straight party ticket?

[Kerouactivist]

Just curious...ideas in another thread got me thinking

 

[Yo Ma Ma]

I think I may have in the past, but generally, no. I certainly will not be this Nov 2.

 

[Mean MrMustard]

So in other words, are you a blind sheep or not?

 

[Caminetto]

Never have in 40 years, but will vote straight dem now.
Just a personal message to repub's concerning abandonment of reason and moderation.

 

[ElFenix]

interestingly, i saw a guy on PBS's debate coverage say that people that are more educated are more likely to vote straight ticket.

 

[BDawg]

Never is one side completely good and the other completely bad.

 

[Train]

Federal level i'm almost 100% republican (though I think I may have voted for a democratic senator in 1998)
State Level im close to 50/50, Voting republican for governor usually, but a lot more dems for state congress than reps.
Local level, I'm close to 100% democratic. All the good mayors in my home town were democrats, though its too bad I dont live there anymore because despite the cool mayor, the city council has gone down the tubes, and really needs to get booted. I dont pay much attention to local politics in Michigan, outside of Detroit, the towns up here dont take care of themselves, they whine to the state to do stuff for them(figures, blue state) whereas in Ohio the local governments were pretty self sufficient.

 

[DT4K]

I used to vote all democrat. Not because I am a blind sheep, but because I thought my views were much more in line with the democratic party and in many local races for things like county commissioners, I didn't care enough to spend a lot of time learning about each candidate.

Now I tend to vote republican, but I consider myself independent and wouldn't rule out voting for democrats if I think they are better candidates.

 

[daveshel]

I think the only time I did was in the 1994 mid-term election after Newt started doing his thing.

 

[Budarow]

For the past 20 years, I've always voted straight democratic.

If the 2 parties were not so polorized, it would make a little more sense to split the ticket.

Repubs rarely vote against their own party. And since I disagree with close to 100% of what the repubs try to accomplish, I always vote straight ticket democratic. I don't agree 100% of the time with the democratic platform, but in general, I'm mostly satisfied with their efforts and have been for 20 years.

 

[PingSpike]

I'm not sure all ever vote for a republican president again. The religious right just has to much of a stranglehold on the republican party now. If the republican party stuck to its basic principles instead of pissing all over them, I might be more excited about them. But as it stands...they only represent an of my ideals on paper. The democratic party seems like better diplomats and handlers of foreign relations anyway.

I will continue to make informed decisions for state and local government. But I think I'm going to vote straight democratic for the presidential race from now on. That is, unless McCain runs again.

 

[imported_Condor]

I didn't when I was a Democrat. I thought of myself as an thinking voter. Since Clinton, I vote the straight Rep ticket.

 

[Ferocious]

Nope.

But I'll be voting mostly Democratic this year...and by a wide margin.

So far my sheet has me picking 14 Democrats and 5 Republicans here in Ohio.

 

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: Condor
I didn't when I was a Democrat. I thought of myself as an thinking voter. Since Clinton, I vote the straight Rep ticket.

Just curious, what about Clinton made you vote "straight rep." Was it the president of the U.S. getting a BJ from someone other than his wife, Clinton lying about the issue when asked about his sex life on tv, or what?

 

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: daveshel
I think the only time I did was in the 1994 mid-term election after Newt started doing his thing.

Good ol'newt...I'll never forget when he was quoted for saying "middle-class includes anyone earning $300,000 to $750,000/year" I must be 1 low-class sonnnna of beaaccch!!! LOL!

 

[jackschmittusa]

I always thought voting a straight ticket was a cop out, meaning you really didn't need to look at the issues or what the candidates stood for. And while I have often thought that a Congress controlled by one party and an Administration held by another was sort of a check and balance system that might be preferable, I don't feel that way this time. I think Bush and co. have done too much damage that needs to be fixed in short order. My choices for federal offices will be all Democratic with the hope that this will be a tool to expidite the repairs.

 

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: jackschmittusa
I always thought voting a straight ticket was a cop out, meaning you really didn't need to look at the issues or what the candidates stood for. And while I have often thought that a Congress controlled by one party and an Administration held by another was sort of a check and balance system that might be preferable, I don't feel that way this time. I think Bush and co. have done too much damage that needs to be fixed in short order. My choices for federal offices will be all Democratic with the hope that this will be a tool to expidite the repairs.

Wait a minute...I misread your statement 1st time around. If anything is a cop out it's spliting your ticket (i.e., those unsure what their selected party will do when in power...split their ticket because they don't want to give too much power to 1 party). Ever since Reagan, republicans and democrats have been largely polarized (i.e., they are far apart on most issues) which makes spliting a ticket essentially futile.

If a voter is unsure which side of the fence to jump...do more homework and find out before you make a mistake.

 

[Smilin]

I've recently moved to a new state. Although I usually don't, this year I'll be voting a straight party ticket. In my old home I was familiar with all the candidates and voted for quite a few republicans even though I'm democrat. (R) Richard Lugar rocks, I don't care what party he's in.

Without enough information to make a truly educated choice (other than president), I'm going to vote along general ideology this time around. These are unique circumstances for me so I don't really support this view. There is a chance I'll make a mistake on some but it's likely I'll get more right than wrong. I would rather do this than let my lack of a vote be trumped by some dork doing the same thing from the opposite direction.

 

[SirStev0]

the party system in america is such sh!t ... i vote for who i think is the least douche, because honestly all politicians are douches, its a requirement that to be even considered for a position you have some water and vinegar solution in you,

im a big supporter of the rep from my area, even thou he is a very conservative voter and im a hippy commie bastard, hes not a douchebag, he gets my vote.

 

[jackschmittusa]

I don't have a "selected party" and never have. I would much prefer to see all elected officials carry out their duties in the light of how they presented themselves in their campains. Unfortunatley, most are soon forced to conform to the strict party platform. I never expect any party to agree on everything I think is right, but I have to try to evaluate who will do more good than harm. I currently believe that the Republicans are totally out of control and need to be reined in; hence my choice this time for the Democrats, even though I don't agree with all their stances. If the Republicans lose this one and learn some moderation, maybe they can front some candidates next time I will consider supporting.

 

[BA]

There are never enough libertarians to vote for

 

[PatboyX]

nope. mostly voting in local stuff
so voting party can be useful (ie: during larger elections helps direct people who are not keeping up if they have faith in their party) but its also really easy at a local level to be a member of the party i generally support and not have any of my own interests in mind.

 

[judasmachine]

never. i vote for who i believe will do better in the slot they are trying for, it may happen that they are all the same party, but not very often.

 

[TravisT]

I primarily vote Republican on Federal level.
In State issues, I vote democrat.

I believe that Democrats are great with money. Clinton was good for our budget and such, but it seems they have lost all morals. And due to my stance on a lot of national issues, I have to vote for morals on Federal positions.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: BA
There are never enough libertarians to vote for

:thumbsup: For the major elections, I always vote for whoever I think is the best candidate. Once I get past all those that really matter to me, I then look at the smaller races. I will vote 'against' someone if I've heard to seen news about something I strongly disagree with. Then, I look over the remaining votes. If I see a Libertarian, I vote for him/her. I leave all the others blank,as I have no knowledge of the issues or candiates.

That's my general strategy when voting for ass-loads of officials at one time.