When's the last time you voted outside party lines?

[AreaCode707]

Just curious - I wonder what would happen differently in government if suddenly there were no parties and everybody actually had to *gasp* research on their own what the candidates thought about the issues.

 

[conjur]

Pretty much every election, if we're taking into account local/state level races.

 

[Todd33]

I voted for an R for CA Governor, not Arnold though.

 

[EatSpam]

Originally posted by: conjur
Pretty much every election, if we're taking into account local/state level races.

I do tend to vote Democrat for Federal elections, but I tend to vote Republican in state elections, since Illinois Democrats = Chicago Democrats = Daley's tools. Sadly, Illinois Republicans are not really any better, although they are more likely to pass a concealed carry law.

 

[ericlp]

Anyone but boosh..

The topic should have read ....When was the last time you voted outside of a TWO party system?????

Grow a pair people...

 

[zephyrprime]

Every election that I've ever voted in.

This next election, I'll have to vote a straight democratic ticket to counteract Bushe's evil.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: ericlp
Anyone but boosh..

The topic should have read ....When was the last time you voted outside of a TWO party system?????

Grow a pair people...

That's a good suggestion (the two party one) but I guess I'm more interested in finding out about people who vote for the evil "other" party. I don't think it's uncommon to vote one large party and also vote within some of the smaller parties, but it's probably much more rare to see somebody split their votes between the big two.

 

[ExpertNovice]

I'm puzzled by the subject and post. They seem only slightly related.

Sort of like. When did you last buy a red car to answer the question do you drive fast.

Regardless.... 2002 and all but one election before that.

 

[rickn]

Originally posted by: HotChic
Just curious - I wonder what would happen differently in government if suddenly there were no parties and everybody actually had to *gasp* research on their own what the candidates thought about the issues.

since Clinton. Didn't want Daddy Bush for a second time. And this coming election I will vote dem just out of spite.

 

[aswedc]

I usually vote for three parties in a single election...Libertarian for all the positions I don't know any of the candidates, and then Democrat or Republican for the major ones.

 

[shadow9d9]

I don't belong to a party... I see no reason to. I vote for the most qualified candidate...

 

[sweetpea70512]

I have always voted for the man not the party. I have made some major mistakes on both sides of the fence, but at least I have learned from them and hopefully I wont make them again...

 

[1EZduzit]

Did somebody say party???

Seriously, every election I vote for whoever I think is the best man. Party doesn't really matter much.

 

[Rainsford]

I vote that way in most elections...my choices are usually some combination of Rep, Dem and other (Libertarian or Green, usually). This time around, I don't think I'll vote for any Republicans at the national level if I can help it, as I think the Republicans have too much power, and that most of their members are not independent enough to take them on their own merits.

 

[Theb]

I only vote the party if I think it's going to be close. If the votes will clearly go one way then I vote for a third party.

 

[Darkhawk28]

2006 will be the first year I will ever vote party line. Kind of a sad day for me.

 

[zephyrprime]

Regarding the OP's first post question rather than the title question, I think the way people select candidates wouldn't really be so different. People's affiliations with parties are pretty accurate measurements of what they believe in so long as you constrain your measurement graduations to only Democrat and Republican.

I think the biggest change we would have if we had no parties would be the type of people that ran. We'd no doubt have a much broader variaty of people and opinions. However, I don't see how parties would ever go away. It seems to be in peoples' nature to form "teams" even for trivial realms of human endeavor. Also, with the winner-takes-all system we have, I don't see how we will ever have more than 2 parties.

 

[Willoughbyva]

I have voted for both parties. I have made some mistakes in the past too. I don't vote to much on party lines. For some reason every election there seems to be only a few issues that the candidates run on. I try to make my choice on what the candidates say and how they handle themselves. I probably won't vote in 06, but will probably vote in 08. I am worried about the state of affairs that this country is in. I hope there will be someone with solutions and not just sound bites. I will pay attention to the media, but I am worried because they all seem to say the same thing. I find it regretable that the media relies on talking points instead of finding out stuff on their own and analyzing the relavent points. When did talking points come about anyway?

I know some people who vote strictly for a particular party regardless of the issues at hand. So I guess I don't know right now which party I will be voting for, but hope to be able to make a well informed opinion come election day. I don't strictly vote for a particular party.

 

[daniel49]

Originally posted by: conjur
Pretty much every election, if we're taking into account local/state level races.

ditto

 

[PrinceofWands]

I've never voted party lines. I vote issues first, candidates second, anti-candidate next, and party alignment last.

 

[Kerouactivist]

I usually vote green party, for everything that I can....if not I choose the democrat or something else....

I have voted for a republicans several times but, have stopped doing so and will consistently vote against them as long as they keep the beating the theocracy drum....

I've never had a straight party ticket in my life.