So, labour has held my constituency since 1983, and i've been in general quite apathetic politically for a long time, but now i'm seriously considering voting - yet when I ponder the subject I can't help thinking "it's rigged, way too many labour supporters".

The local labour guy actively voted for the digital economy bill without turning up for the debate, and pretended to listen to the concerns of me and (so his office staff tell me) many of his other constituents. If I was to vote, it'd be lib dem - who always come in second place round here.

The question therefore is this - should I even bother voting? Would it not be a mere symbolic act of rebellion, or is there a chance it could in fact count?

This happens every now and then - null response

I'd vote anyway, just to have my say, even if it doesn't change the outcome. Then, if the guy I didn't like won, and other people complained about him, I could just shrug and say, "Well, I didn't vote for the fool!"

Yes, vote. It's one of the few situations in this world where what class you belong to is temporarily unimportant. Many of us were afraid that the Obama/McCain race was tainted with riggedness, but we voted anyway, and look what happened. Change is happening, and the ignorant crazies are whipping themselves to an impotent frenzy. Vote. It can (and often does) make a difference.

I'm a poll commissioner.  I get to the polling place at 5:30 a.m. and leave about 8:30 p.m.  It's in a garage.  No air conditioning or heat, open to the outside and all the insects and pollen that come in, folding chairs to sit on. bring your own food and drink. etc.   I couldn't serve in the military to protect the freedoms that my father fought for.  This is my small way of keeping my country free.

A single drop of rain won't do a farmer much good.  A decent rain will.  Your candidate may not win, but if more people voted for who they feel would do the best job (rather than voting for the one they think will win) or not voting at all then elections are meaningful.  The last election for mayor of a nearby moderately sized town was decided by 3 votes.    

There are many countries where the right to vote is severely curtailed.  The right to express your views and opinions via the voting booth is priceless.  

last time round only 1 in four people voted i hope this time its less

since then there are loads more little things we are not allowed to do by law

smoking in the pub going on a coin operated sunbed stuff like that

i am not voting it just encourages them who ever gets in its the wrong ones

i wish we would get liberated

I'm not going to vote ... for other reasons... After nearly a year, only 4 MPs have been brought to trial for fiddling expenses.  I can't see why corrupt MPs are hoping for high numbers of the public to vote for them.  I'm not wild about a hung parliament, as it's not great for the economy at this time, but it'd make whoever got in to No.10 have to work very hard (shucks)!

Well, there's always the BNP (ugh) or the pirate party (which I would be voting for if I could).

Why can't you vote for the pirate party?

This post was last modified: 04-20-2010 07:33 PM by couldbecousin.

We voted enthusiastically. But it seemed that every time things started to go our way, the government would reorganize. Presumably, our status as citizens was being altered in subtle ways. I was to learn later in life that, perhaps because we voters were so good at making our decisions known, that our government tends to meet any challenge to its authority by altering its form into incomprehensible shapes. What a wonderful method this can be for creating the illusion of democracy while simultaneously producing confusion, anxiety and total demoralization of the voting public.

(With apologies to Charlton Ogburn, "Merrill's Marauders", and Harpers Magazine.)

we have a bnp candidate but i like the freedom of movement and i wish good luck to the people who have come here

we dont have the pirate party

our seat has been held by labour for ever

so i feel the best result here would be a shamefully low turnout

No candidates standing in my area

There's a reason I put "ugh" after BNP - i'd be an absolute hypocrite if I voted for them. They're pretty much the modern nazi party.

*nudges you toward the ring*

I'm not MP material