I'm a Poll-Worker -- Why Don't Democrats Vote? Did You??

[guajira]

Last week we Floridians had primary elections. Almost every voter was a Repuke, with occasional Dems and Non-partisans.

It's frustrating and I can't understand why Democrats don't get out and vote.

What will it take to reverse this trend??

[Breeze54]

1. Not yet but I will be!!

;)

I don't know what's going on where you live in Florida.
Is it heavily Repig? :shrug:

Perhaps you should post this question in the Florida section? :shrug:
That does suck!! I'd be rabidly pissed off too! :grr:

[Joey Liberal]

2. We are afraid of offending the republican base n/t

[wakeme2008]

3. I am a Florida voter and there was nobody to vote for

:shrug:

While I am out of state and could have done it absentee I did not see a reason to vote. Two DLCers running for Governor. Big deal...

[Nikki Stone 1]

You couldn't pick the lesser ot two evils?

I vote all the time. I don't think Phil Angelides is the best candidate to run against Ahnold, but I sure as hell am going to vote for him. Redistricting is coming up and I don't want Ahnold to control it.

And yes, I vote every primary.

[Breeze54]

12. You are a disgrace! n/t

:grr:

[kerry-is-my-prez]

15. easy - as long as he votes in the general I can't condemn him....

I live in Florida and did not vote for Gov. because I simply could not make up my mind between Davis and Smith - they both have pretty big flaws - in my opinion. You can bet that I'll vote for Davis against The Repub. candidate, however.

[wakeme2008]

16. No I am tire of living in FlorDUH and am moving to California

Go look at how many ppl in Florida LOVE JEBBIE... :grr:

And go read about our wonderful DINO Senator http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2508977

[William769]

24. Good riddence!

[Breeze54]

28. And you don't see the 'national' connection??

:shrug: EVERY VOTE COUNTS!!!

[William769]

23. Yea so lets just let the Repukes take it. thats the ticket!

:eyes:

Do you even know who's running? Jim Davis is my no means a DLCER. Damn people use that excuse for everything weather it's true or not. I think some people are just to damn lazy to get up off their sorry ass & vote!@

[wakeme2008]

26. Duhhhhh DLC had his name on their list back when they had a list

and Davis is/was my representative and I did check him out.

[William769]

27. So was Howard Dean! So whats your point?

On edit: heres a list of people that threw their support behind Jim Davis. Are you going to tell me this is the DLC crowd?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=2813475

[Cerridwen]

4. I'm outnumbered about 2-1 here in AZ - I had no "hot"

primary races in my district. I voted anyway. Many of us do. Too many don't get why they should even bother. As far as they're concerned, "they're all a bunch of crooks".

Until we give people choices, real choices and not just another politician we have to "hold our nose" and vote for, fewer and fewer people will vote.

The good news is, fewer of us, those of us who are die-hard, will be the ones to decide races. The bad news is, there are more die-hards on the other side.

[azmouse]

7. I'm in AZ too

I vote in every election just to show Reps that there ARE Democrats in the state!

And I can't wait to vote for Janet again in Nov!!!

[Cerridwen]

19. Yay, us!

And just in case you didn't see it, here's a link to another one of us who won her primary race yesterday in AZ.

[smirkymonkey]

5. I'm a dem and I voted.

I don't know what it is - apathy? The feeling that we can't win?

I take my right to vote very seriously and vote in every election.

[Ioo]

6. I want to be a poll worker, how do I do it?

[SmokingJacket]

10. Call up your local board of elections!

They're probably desperate for people. It's hard enough to get people anyway, and a lot of the old folks are dying off.

I'm almost 40, but I was the youngest poll worker in our district by DECADES. It's nice to feel young!!

[guajira]

18. Try it -- You'll Like It!!!

I've been a poll-worker for years, some in Miami and now in Central Florida.

It's fun and you get $100 for the day, so even if you take off work to do it, it's not a complete sacrifice. The day is long, but I look at it as a perfect excuse to snack all day.

I'm also younger than most of the other workers, and we really had a great need for people who could be on their feet, activating the computer voting machines.

Seems like there needs to be more men workers too!

[guajira]

20. Great job for students too

Earn a little cash and learn a little about politics at the same time.

[theoldman]

8. I live in the DFW area which is highly Republican and there

are very few Democrats running for office. All of my Democrat friends vote and I think that part of this is due because we talk about it. If any of them did not vote, I would try my best to find out why and then convince them that they should.

[SmokingJacket]

9. We had a much higher percentage of Dems in in my district.

It has to do with the state and with the particular elections. Nothing much was going on for the Repubs -- even the Republican poll workers said they knew nothing about their candidates.

I think you're assuming that what was the case in your district is true everywhere, but it's not. I think the Dems will get out the vote just as well if not better than the Repubs in November.

[az chela]

11. I am a democrat and i always vote

I broke my toe last weekend and was freaked out that I couldnt go and vote but I will vote in november.
I suggest that anyone who wants to help turn this government do the same.Bitching doesnt do it

[kdmorris]

13. I'm a Floridian

And you can bet your ass I voted!!! Florida election returns (just for governor, as I was taking the easy way out) show that there were 1,843,800 votes in the gubernatorial race. Of those, 53.5% (985,986) were Republican. And 46.5% (857,814) were Democrats. While that's not equal, necessarily, it's not an overwhelming majority.

You must just in the the wrong county!!

Edited to add the website: http://enight.dos.state.fl.us

[Lone_Star_Dem]

14. I always vote in every primary or reg election I can

But I know your not exaggerating. When I was a poll worker I noticed the same thing, it was VERY disturbing.

[stevedeshazer]

17. Haven't missed a single election

I've been voting since 1974.

I don't get it, either. Wild horses couldn't drag me away.

[mcar]

21. I voted

But voting was way down in our county.

[im10ashus]

22. I did and I was only democrat no. 131 at the point I voted in my precinct.

And that was at 7:00 p.m. yesterday. When I saw my number, I asked if that number indicated what I thought it did. One of the 3 women said, "yes." I was like :wow:!

One of the other women said, "speak out." I told her I do - on a regular basis. She smiled.

I can't believe that the right to vote is taken for granted. I sure as hell hope there's a much better turnout in November.

Remember, remember. To vote in November.

[William769]

25. I live in a heavy Republican County but I still voted here in Florida

SOme of the sorry ass excuses some people give for not voting, just makes me sick.

[Breeze54]

29. Kudo's!!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

:)

[DireStrike]

30. I voted!

I'm in NY and voted. Not like it made a difference though. Still I was pleased to see my candidate in the doublt digits against his opponent, which is actually kind of impressive.

[StraightDope]

31. I've voted in EVERY election since I've been eligible.

Since 2000, and I'm proud to say that I've NEVER voted for a Republican, not even in local elections.

[tnlefty]

32. I've only missed one primary in 30+ yrs of voting, and I'll tell you the

reason: When I was approximately 21 yrs. old someone in the office where I worked asked if everyone had voted in a primary election. I stated that I had not because I didn't see the importance of it. A woman who I respect, for many reasons to this day, practically yelled at me and told me how important it is to vote, especially in primaries. She calmed down and explained the process to me - the primaries determine who you get to vote for in the general elections. I vote now everytime that the polls are open, except for the one time.

Sometimes I don't think that people truly realize the importance of voting, voting in elections other than presidential elections, etc. Others don't know or understand that you have to register within a certain time frame prior to a primary or general election. People who registered to vote and voted once or twice but then didn't for years don't understand that one can be removed from voter rolls, and some have a "why should I bother" attitude.

I'm not sure what it will take to reverse these trends, but I sure wish that I knew. Voter turnout in local primaries was as low as 13% in my county, and I just don't understand it.

[UTUSN]

33. K&R #1 - It's very simple. MOST of the Dem constituentcy doesn't VOTE

If every eligible voter actually voted, there would not be a Repuke in office ANYWHERE.

The problem is that they-we DON'T VOTE.

And it is horrible to meet Veterans and beneficiaries-of-Great-Society-programs who VOTE FOR SHRUB!!!!!!!!!1 I HATE when that happens. And you-national-Dems/Howard-DEAN would be surprised how OFTEN this happens---that the beneficiaries of DEM programs are voting for Shrub!!!!!!!!11

[CarlVK]

34. the more we lose, the more voters feel "why bother"

I'm not saying I like this or agree with it, but that's reality. More of my Democratically inclined friends than I care to recount have expressed this sentiment to me.

How do you get Democrats to go out and vote EVEN THOUGH these are the darkest days? Figure that one out and you'll have saved the nation.