I wouldn’t normally post a blog entry that is so off topic, but for those of us in the United States it’s Election day! I want to remind and encourage everyone who reads this blog to go cast your vote today. I don’t care who you vote for, just exercise your civic duty and make your opinion known. In fact, here at Alagad I’m paying employees for their time to go vote. That’s right, they can get paid for the time driving to the polls, standing in line, and voting! To add to that, I’m paying my employees to volunteer to drive people to the polls. I’m not sure if anyone is actually doing that, but it’s an option. Myself, I’m waiting for someone to call me with further instructions.
Happy Election Day, everyone!
DougHughes.net 
Comments on: "Vote!" (5)
I’m British and living in the UK so obviously I can’t vote in your election, but people all over the world feel this election is important to them too as your president sends shockwaves around the world when he makes decisions on economy, war, pollution, diplomacy, trade, etc.
Whoever you vote for, please pick the right man for the job! I don’t care who, just pick the *best* guy to serve the US and planet Earth please! 🙂
Enjoy your day.
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Voted… not that I’m confident in much change or future good government, but at least I did something.
Gary: I believe in the UK you don’t elect a person, you elect a party, yes? If I am incorrect I apologize, my international politics are, well, shaky… but I believe that it’s the same in the UK and Canada and that’s how Canada works (or how a Canadian friend explained it to me years ago, anyway).
Allow me to further share my disillusionment with American politics:
We also have an indirect system (maybe you know this already?) that makes use of a body of people called the Electoral College. The popular vote within a US state determines which candidate has won that state, and once a candidate has won a state he or she is unanimously voted for by the members of the Electoral College members for that state. Each state has a set number of Electors based on population, and whichever candidate ends up wtih the most Electoral votes wins the election, which means that on occasion someone will lose the popular vote yet win the Electoral vote.
That’s what happened in 2000… what a mess. I am with those who believe that it is inherently undemocratic, and yet I have little hope of it every changing. I fear for our country in the long term because career politicians have more interest in protecting their livelihoods than they do in providing good government. Anyway, I also hope that our new President will have a more positive effect on the world, the country, and my family’s daily life. 🙂
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@Jared, yes we vote for a party, not for a head of state (because that will always be the Monarch) but that’s not to say that if people don’t like the party leader then they won’t vote for them. They’re the face of the party.
You’ve spotted the democractic flaw in the Electoral College system. I noticed that too while analysing the results as they were coming in on the BBC’s website. We have an even worse system in the UK. I believe true democracy can only be reached when the popular vote across the whole nation is used to decide the winner. In the UK we have a very disproportionate system of representation which I find quite disturbing.
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Regarding Britain and representation, know about a few guys that felt the same way about 232 years ago. 😉
Seriously, it used to be that only adult male property holders could vote. Now it’s open to any adult… but it seems like the Electoral College was created to maintain the old system while throwing the populace a bone. Sure, you can cast a vote, but it doesn’t really mean what you think it means.
So hard not to be so cynical. 😀
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I’m not really a fan of the electoral college, but the idea is this: You think of the state more as a person than a collection of people. Each state is a member of the union. Each state has a “weight” in the union based on the population of the state. This is what controls the number of votes a state has.
A state then holds an election to decide how the state will vote. I think this helps insure that all states have a fair say in the election, according to their weight and helps prevent a few weighty states like New York and California from controlling the election. More information on the logic of the electoral college can be seen here: http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig/sandlin8.html
I still think a national popular vote might be a better option, but I’m not unhappy with the way things worked out.
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