posted
Suppose they had an election and nobody cast a vote?
I've heard a LOT of complaining (particularly on other boards) about how Kerry and Bush, out of ALL the people in the US are the best each party could come up with.
Suppose that the population were to protest the lack of choices by NOT voting. What would happen then?
Posts: 986 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
Then the people who didn't go along with not voting would have all the say. Personally, I think that the best way to protest both of the candidates would be to write in or vote for a third party instead.
Posts: 1466 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
Then the one person smart enough to vote, gets to take credit for deciding who governs over all of us.
Posts: 1533 | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
I've been musing the same thing lately, and I don't have an answer for you. I guess we don't have to worry, though, because it would never happen.
Posts: 1903 | Registered: Sep 2003
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If nobody voted, then the same number of votes (i.e. zero) would be cast for all candidates. At least for the office of president, a tie is decided by the House of Representatives. Therefore, since the house is controlled by Republicans and voting for President could be expected to stay fairly partisan...
Bush would win.
Local and state offices would depend on local and state laws.
Posts: 894 | Registered: Apr 2000
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posted
Oh yes, and even if only the candidates voted, it would still be a tie, since all candidates would get exactly one vote. If we count families of voting age, however...
Posts: 894 | Registered: Apr 2000
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You see. If nobody votes, Bush wins basically by default. Make sure and let all your friends know, a vote for nobody is a vote for Bush. In fact, if you WERE planning on voting for Bush, you can just stay home! It'll be just as good Posts: 894 | Registered: Apr 2000
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quote:At least for the office of president, a tie is decided by the House of Representatives. Therefore, since the house is controlled by Republicans and voting for President could be expected to stay fairly partisan.
Two things. First, each state gets only one vote decided by the entire delegation for that state. Second, the House can only choose from the top 3 electoral vote recipients. If no electors are chosen, then no candidates are in the top 3, so the House can't choose them.
I'm not sure what happens next, because the rest of the amendment at issue only comes into play when the House doesn't choose in a situation when it could. It's not clear the House could choose, so the next mechanism might not be usable.
posted
Ok, let's say that people in Generic American State are unsatisfied with the people on their ballot. I understand that you can write in the name of anybody you choose, can't you? What would happen if the majority happened to write in the same name and voted for Bugs Bunny, or Bob Saget, or Colin Powell, or whoever? Does that person get elected?
Posts: 3243 | Registered: Apr 2002
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My question is: If everybody voted for a write in candidate, say James Patterson, who, then, decides WHICH James Patterson actually won?
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