Have you voted yet in the USA?  because your decisions effect the rest of the world?
831778
Thank you for inspiring me to vote...I am 54 and have never missed voting.  My family is heavily into flag waving, are members of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and my aunt even worked as as secretary/receptionist on Capitol Hill for 50 years.  We got to tour the White House and watch the Senate in action with special passes as a kid.  I even went to the oval office once.  I wanted to grow up to be the first woman president.\n\nThis time though, it's different.  I live in a district that the Democratic party has written off.  I live in a state that the Democratic party has written off.  They wouldn't even spend the money to get a candidate listed on the ballot to run for Senate.  \n\nThe last election, our polling place was moved OUT OF OUR PRECINCT.  The mail says we live too far on the edge of our county for paper delivery same day.  \n\nI've even worked as a poll worker for elections.  I know the radio will say who won our state before our ballots even reached the courthouse for tallying.\n\nThe last election we used touch screen voting.  There was NO PAPER TRAIL.  No receipt that you voted.  No way to know if your vote was correctly registered on the machine.  There is absolutely nothing to recount.  I would say most poll workers do not own a computer themselves, yet are managing the votes on them.\n\nI have NO CONFIDENCE that my vote will count at all.  When Pres. Bush announced that he has NO worries that the Republicans will maintain the Hill, I believe he means he has people to enter the voting machines and make sure he's correct.  There is absolutely no way to know if they have been tampered with.  The party with power does not have to yield again, unless we use paper ballots which can be recounted, and of course scanned by a computer to count, which will make the process timely enough.\n\nI have always believed in this country.\n\nThey lost me when exit polls showed how people ACTUALLY voted, yet the final count did not reflect that.\n\nYour shred of hope will push me out the door.  I am ill today, and thought this may be the first time I missed.\n\nI belong in the Senate, not Senator Lugar.  He advertised with millions of dollars, WITHOUT a candidate against him.  What a wasteful man.  He is supposed to be a Rhoades scholar, but didn't digest the facts about WMD correctly at all and led us into this war which has killed thousands of innocents.  If he had been in any danger of going himself, or any members of his family in deep need of college financing through the military, perhaps he would have poured over the reasons for war more thoroughly.\n\nSorry, for any mispellings, I usually proofread, as I'm so particular.  I would be an excellent, conscientious Senator.  But, I better go vote.  I only wish it would count.\n\nPlease don't blame Americans if the results are not logical.  Our voting process will not stand up to the standards former President Jimmy Carter uses when monitoring elections.\n\nWish truth, justice, and the American Way Luck!  Hopefully, I won't be patted down there, and my paper with my write in candidate taken! Ha!  That is the only way to vote other than Republican in our corner of Indiana. . .
68144
I, like most Americans I would bet, haven't been paying enough attention. The few news sound bites and newspaper headlines is hardly enough to be making such decisions.  However, I still have enough faith in our elected officials to are sitting through hours of testimony and reviewing documents and such, to make the right decision.  So if they vote 'em in, the my answer to your question is 'yes'.
152891
Yes.  In fact, voting in any state, federal, or local election does greatly benefit the country, even regardless of who you vote for.  High voter turnout is crucial to a functional democracy.  That's why I've voted in every election since I turned 18.  All one of them.
968454
Yes, I will. I am 58 and have voted in every election since I came of age, except for two times, , both mid-term elections like this coming Tuesday, which I missed because I was in a fast attack submarine on deployment in the Western Pacific.The way I see it, if you don't vote, you don't have the right to complain about the results.
763347
to be honest, \nAmericans are never satisfied.\nif you voted in someone else, there would still be whinging. How about supporting the good stuff he is doing and praying to God to show you how to reverse/stop/fix the bad things you assume he is doing?\n\nsooking about him does nothing. do your part for your country, learn how you can make a difference. one passionate person can change a country. can change the world. Hitler proved that with his evil. You do things for GOOD.
1108629
i would, but i live in the u.s.
1065627
I feel your pain.  I keep trying to explain to my Japanese friends that not all Americans are as stupid, corrupt, and generally incompetent as the Bush administration.  Although, I still can't figure out why the American people voted him in, TWICE!!  I really just want to pull all my hair out when I think about it.  By the end of these eight devastating years, I'll probably be bald.
611982
i hate it. its bias eg france will vote 4 germany,greece 4 cyprus and visa versa it seems to me the rest of europe will not vote 4 the uk
378922
No.  Us lawabiding citizens vote
962383
To begin with, we don't have any common wealth "states" or "countries".  That would be England.  We do however have territories.  And yes, people in those territories do vote.
1007305
We have as much power in those decisions as we did when we did our research before we pulled the voting lever.  I don't think "none" is the right answer.  It is the right answer if you just slop to the poles and choose whichever name you've heard and/or seen most on the TV or radio.  In that case, you deserve what we get (not the author of the question [I hope] but anyone who does so).  Please, if you are going to vote, don't just vote what your parents have voted for the last 40 yrs, look up voting records on key issues to you (ie, the war in Iraq, Marriage amendment, Immigration, legalization of marijuana) or whatever, just make an informed decision instead of just hoping for the best.
953743
You can scatter your votes, I usually do.  I vote by issue, being middle class, and not a globalist.  We don't have a party of our own.   \n\nYet.
794288
Canada still votes manually, i don't think that we will change seeing how F#$Ked up the system in the states is, i feel sorry for all of you wasting yout time today, the outcome is enevitable.... FIGHT FOR CHANGE OF THE SYSTEM
456079
Whether we are willing to admit or not, what happens half way around the world has direct implications on our economy, etc.  Since we are comprised of people from all nations, doesn't it make sense that what happens there concerns us?
844213
Yes, I voted all Republicans in the past and I will in the future and I will only vote Democrat if the candidate comes from the same city I reside in even if it is for the Presidency of the United States of America and even if I disagree with the Liberal Agenda, I will vote for them because we reside in the same town.
19883
There is a problem here that goes a little deeper than you might expect.\n\nIn my humble opinion, people in our society have gotten very used to having someone else (i.e. "the government") do things for them.\n\nThey have moved away from (or forgotten) the concept of collaborating with their neighbors, friends, co-workers, acquaintences, etc., to accomplish needed missions and goals.  For instance, the United States has a relatively low voter turnout compared to other countries.  As a matter of fact, sources rank the U.S. in the lowest 25% worldwide in terms of voter turnout among different countries.  It should be noted that some countries such as Belgium, Australia, Brazil, Singapore, Uruguay, to name a few, have compulsory voting.  If you don't vote, you are either fined or disenfranchised.  Compulsory voting is an admirable, if not misguided, attempt at keeping people from becoming complacent.  I believe it is better though to make our decisions freely.  Free will is what was given to us by our Creator, to make right and wrong decisions.  It is what makes us Human. \n\nNow, if we don't tell the government what it is that we want, how can we expect the government to "do anything".  To take it a step further, do we really want the government to "do anything"?  After the tragedy of 9/11, the government "did something" by removing various and sundry civil protections that were afforded to us by federal statute and the Constitution.  Now that's "doing something!"\n\nI, personally, work for the government (a state, but government none-the-less).  Now, I am here to tell you that you really don't want the government "doing anything" without very clear, concise, and incontrovertible, instructions.  It is very important that you go visit at least one government office a week (preferably with a group of your associates) and let them know in very clear terms, what it is that you want them to do. You also could possibly write a letter to the manager or director of the government offices, while sending a copy to your congressman, alderman, commisioner, or what have you, clearly indicating exactly what it is that you think should be done.  Otherwise, the people that work there will go on their merry way, doing what they think they should be doing, when that's not really what they should be doing at all.  But you can't blame them... you didn't tell them!  So how are they to know?  They are people just like you and me.  But sometimes they get isolated and lost, and they forget. At first, it may appear that they are unresponsive.  But that is only because they have gone so long without being reminded what it is that they are supposed to be doing.  It may even be necessary, at first, for you and your associates to stand out in the street in front of the government office, and make a spectacle of yourselves.  But like I said, it's only because the people that work there have forgotten, because we all have gone on our way and left them to their own devices without the guidance, experience, and knowledge, of the body politic. \n\nI noticed in your question that you mentioned your paycheck.  Have you discussed this with your co-workers?  Are they having issues with their paychecks?  Maybe you should consider organising yourselves as a group, and discussing this with your employer?  Perhaps as a group, in negotiations with your employer, you could come up with ways to increase production and efficiency.  This would increase your employer's profit margin and thereby  make it easier for him to give you a raise.  Of course if after you increased his profit margins, he found himself still unable to consider your plight, you would already have formed a group of people with a common bond and concern that would find it within their ability to deal with that too!\n\nSo to answer your question... No, I don't feel particularly betrayed by my government.  I f
885472
I have voted in every election since I first registered at 18...since 1976...I have felt like the US got very dumb in the last 6 years...I hope the smarter ones come out to vote this time!