Anyone else writing in Ron Paul?

[RonPaulFanInGA]

Regardless of your state's laws regarding write-in candidates?

[wizardwatson]

Regardless of your state's laws regarding write-in candidates?

I'm not voting. If I were to vote, I would vote for RP as write-in. But I'm tired of participating in this rigged system. I want hand-counted paper ballots. I don't trust the machines. I don't trust the government to accurately report.

[MRoCkEd]

I'm not voting. If I were to vote, I would vote for RP as write-in. But I'm tired of participating in this rigged system. I want hand-counted paper ballots. I don't trust the machines. I don't trust the government to accurately report.
same here

[acptulsa]

Have too many liberty candidates to vote for--and a bailout supporter to fire--and can't engage in the luxury as it will void my ballot. Have no third party pres. candidates on our ballot. I will probably leave the presidential race blank and fill the rest of the ballot out properly. Let their number crunchers chew on that.

[hillbilly123069]

Your lack of voting only ease's the way for corrupt factors to operate.
Vote Chuck Baldwin as endorsed by Ron Paul.The write-ins will be disregarded legally if the right crap isn't filed.Not that with the fraudulent voting machines would make it easy but every vote will count and this is probably the most important election this country has ever had.Vote,and demand a receipt for your vote.Vote Independent,or green or whatever your state labels it,but vote for Chuck Baldwin.If you don't vote,you have no right to bitch!

[DAFTEK]

Someone very wise in my signature said it best! Please wake up!

http://seekeronos.blogsome.com/images/Baldwin2008.jpg

[jave27]

I like Baldwin for his stance on economic issues, but his extreme churchiness is a big turn off for me. I don't mind if you are a church-goer, but his statement about "using the presidency as his pulpit" just scares me.

[Mahkato]

Your lack of voting only ease's the way for corrupt factors to operate.

+1

Unless you can simultaneously convince everyone not to vote, voting will continue, and those who do vote will have an increasingly stronger influence on the way our country is run. We don't need a quorum for an election to be valid, as far as I know. Just one person voting in each state would make for a legitimate election.

[wizardwatson]

Your lack of voting only ease's the way for corrupt factors to operate.
Vote Chuck Baldwin as endorsed by Ron Paul.The write-ins will be disregarded legally if the right crap isn't filed.Not that with the fraudulent voting machines would make it easy but every vote will count and this is probably the most important election this country has ever had.Vote,and demand a receipt for your vote.Vote Independent,or green or whatever your state labels it,but vote for Chuck Baldwin.If you don't vote,you have no right to bitch!

I have weighed these considerations. And I did vote in the last two elections which I also thought were important. But I've come to the conclusion that the state itself is illegitimate, and voting only adds to its legitimacy.

And the whole "if you don't vote, you don't have a right to bitch" line is just nonsense. In fact you could interpret it exactly the opposite. If you participate in the voting, and your candidate loses, then you should accept the results, since you played the game and lost. So if you vote, you have no right to complain about the 'system'. If you think the system is biased or rigged, why participate?

And unfortunately voting is one of the least meaningful of interactions with the state. I pay taxes, so I can bitch until my hearts content. I'm forced to follow asinine laws, and listen to people who think war is good for the country, or who think the Constitution is meaningless.

Corporate interests and government cronyism control both sides of the left-right paradigm BS that goes on. I feel nowadays that voting only encourages them.

[Mahkato]

I like Baldwin for his stance on economic issues, but his extreme churchiness is a big turn off for me. I don't mind if you are a church-goer, but his statement about "using the presidency as his pulpit" just scares me.

I think Ron Paul himself said something about using he presidency as a pulpit. Neither of them are talking about spreading religious ideas through the presidency -- they're talking about spreading the concept of liberty through the national mouthpiece that the presidency provides.

If Ron Paul were headed for the White House right now, it's not like he could undo all the damage done over the last 100 years. What he would have is a very big soapbox to educate Americans about what made America great.

[RonPaulFanInGA]

Ron Paul really should have filed as a write-in. It would have taken no real effort.

[acptulsa]

Ron Paul really should have filed as a write-in in all fifty states. It would have taken no real effort.

We'd have had to get a law changed. Real effort.

My mother was telling me about the time in the late Fifties when dozens of people ran for Tulsa mayor one year. Deliberate trick? If so, it worked.

[mkeller]

I'm planning on writing him in, here in Wisconsin. But does voting for a non-registered write-in candidate really invalidate your whole ballot? Because I want to make sure my vote against Ron Kind counts!

[zach]

I wrote him in for early voting.

And I felt damn proud of it too.

[wizardwatson]

Another reason I'm not voting is because with these machines, I don't even know if my vote is confidential. And the state has plenty of information on me already, and from now on I intend to give it as little as possible.

[libertarian4321]

I don't have any good choices. I probably won't decide for sure until election day.

My choices are Obama, Barr, and McWar. The only thing I know for sure is that I will NOT VOTE FOR JOHN MCCAIN.

I was going to vote for Barr, but he continues to piss me off- I'm not sure I can even "hold my nose" and vote for him

I could write-in Ron Paul (assuming I can do write ins on a touchscreen), but that would be completely meaningless (sorry, I can't vote for Baldwin on write in- the CP platform is just too theocratic for me).

I could vote against McCain by checking the Obama box, just to spite McCain and Palin for their overall douchebaggery.

In any event, I'll be voting Republican for House (he's not really a RP Republican, but the Dem incumbent has been acting very McCain like- meaning he's a jerk, too), Libertarian for Senate, and Libertarian and Republican downballot.

[RonPaulFanInGA]

We'd have had to get a law changed. Real effort.


What law? The "sore loser" law? That applies in only three states. And I'm not even entirely sure it'd stop someone from being a write-in candidate.

[acptulsa]

What law? The "sore loser" law? That applies in only three states. And I'm not even entirely sure it'd stop someone from being a write-in candidate.

Read up on the draconian Oklahoma rules for ballot access some time. It will make you feel much better about your own state.

[ashura]

No, I feel like it would be a waste of my vote. I'll be voting for Bob Barr.

[spudea]

no, ron paul is not an official write in candidate for texas. That means they won't even count it. If I'm gonna take the time to drive to the voting place, i'm not gonna just light my ballot on fire.

[RockEnds]

There's a fair chance I'll be writing in Ron Paul. Write-ins do count in Iowa, but since there are no electors, I don't know if it will spoil the ballot in the presidential race. If it does, it will be no different than the last election. I wrote in "no confidence" in the presidential slot then. I may do that again this time. I really haven't decided how I will cast my vote.

For those of you concerned about the electronic machines, the only way to combat that is to contact your state representatives. In Iowa, enough people showed a concern to change the system at least a little. All Iowans will be voting on a paper ballot.

http://www.sos.state.ia.us/pdfs/elections/electioninfo/VotingSystem.pdf

My rep was unwilling to consider a hand count, but he did lend an ear to the notion of allowing a machine vote on election night followed by an automatic hand recount. However, ensuring that each precinct had machines to count paper ballots was a major expense, so the effort ended there. I would have rather they skipped the machines and concerned themselves with the hand count, but it is a step in the right direction. At least there is a paper trail. Personally, I think the expense of a fair, honest election should be the first concern of the state. There should be not one dime spent before the election is budgeted. But, change takes time and effort.

I would have loved to have seen an alternate election offered, but for those not voting because they do not believe their votes are counted and the state is legitimate, I hope they are at least planning to in some way advertise that belief on election night.

[jcarcinogen]

If I do decide to vote, I will not give them legitimacy by voting for a candidate that they say is eligible. I don't like any of the POTUS candidates... even if it doesn't count I will write in Ron Paul if I vote.

[mediahasyou]

http://members.aol.com/vlntryst/wn103.html

[svf]

in my opinion, if you're going to "protest vote" you might as well do so with a third party candidate which will be included in the published vote tallies and might also help them with ballot access in future election cycles. I don't care if it's LP, CP, Green, or a mixture of some kind. Writing in someone who is not registered as a write-in candidate is truly the only "wasted vote" -- other than in Oklahoma where the Rs and Ds essentially have a monopoly on the ballot and I would demand the opportunity to cast a write-in.

just my perspective, but do whatever the hell makes you happy.

[Cinderella]

i dont care if its counted or not...im writing in ron paul :)

[dr. hfn]

if you don't vote...die

[undergroundrr]

i dont care if its counted or not...im writing in ron paul :)

+1. And it doesn't count here in Texas.

I voted for my president in the primaries. I don't care to dilute the experience by voting for somebody else's president.

Plus, it will just feel nice to write "Ron Paul" on an official document of the state apparatus.

[OferNave]

After Ron Paul ended his campaign, I decided I would still write in Ron Paul. Certainly I couldn't vote for McCain or Obama unless there was a gun to my head.

Then he asked us to vote for Baldwin. So I checked out Baldwin. Far from perfect, but still much closer than any other candidate who still wants to run. So, ok, I'll vote for Baldwin.

However, this might also be the last time I vote. I had already become an anarcho-capitalist by March or so. I am now very close to accepting the argument that political participation of any kind is counter-productive. I've been studying this issue since March, so I'm not treating it likely.

This might be harsh to listen to, but I don't think we should be afraid of new ideas that challenge our current ones. Afterall, what really matters is truth, not sentiment, right? So with that, I invite you to consider this:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=9B883EE065DC5B8C

[OferNave]

Did I kill this thread?

[nodope0695]

Damn straight! Ron Paul: President, Mickey Mouse VP

Paul/Mouse 2008 :D Kidding.

But yes Ron Paul will be my write-in choice.

[Matt Collins]

In TN this TRULY is a wasted vote because write-in candidates are not counted unless they've submitted official paperwork which Ron has not.

If your state has the same law, then PLEASE vote 3rd party instead!!!