VOTING

posted this recently to a forum:





AKA the "oh so you want a SECRET ballot" thread.


How have you voted - in elections - and why.



2003 - PEI - Provincial 
I voted NDP. The social-democratic and pro-labour party. I had actually and seriously debated voting PC, the right-wing party. Why? Well their candidate had been the MLA (representative) for a while and seemed quite good at his job. So I seriously debated voting for him. 

However, I eventually decided the NDP candidate was, literally, the only person in the world I could truly trust - as, he was me - and thus I voted for myself in my first election election.


2004 - Summerside, PE - Municipal
I did not vote. The only time I've ever been able to, and did not. If I had voted, I'd have voted to re-elect the mayor (who won re-election) but I had no idea about any of the local candidates, etc, and so did not vote. I do not "regret" the decision to not vote, based on my lack of information, but do regret I did not look in to the election more.


2004 - Federal - Canada
I voted for the Liberal Party to keep Stephen Harper, who was scary, out of office. I also wanted to support Paul Martin, the Liberal leader, who I quite liked. I voted for an idiot in the Beausejour riding - I know this because I met him and was very unimpressed.


2006 - Federal - Canada
I voted for the Conservatives and Stephen Harper. I wanted Senate Reform and realized that Harper was not so scary after all. Sure I disagreed with him on gay rights and abortions, but as a male, I can't have the latter, and as a hetero, I am unaffected by the former. The most selfish vote I ever cast. 


2006 - Toronto, ON - Municipal
For city council I voted for myself. Was not a difficult choice. The other options were a radical leftist, a champagne socialist, and some businessman. For Mayor I voted for the one who bad the best chance to beat the leftist incumbent, but she lost by a wide margin. For Schoolboard I ended up voting for the incumbent. 


2007 - Ontario - Provincial
I voted advance for the PC Party. I liked their leader, John Tory. After I voted, Tory managed to totally screw up the election, and I still resent him - to this day - for that. I regret casting this ballot, and if I could go back and change one ballot I've ever cast, it was this one.


2008 - Federal - Canada
I voted for the Green Party. Did not care for the Liberal leader (Dion) who I despised, and felt tricked by Harper who did jack (censored) about the Senate. I certainly wasn't about to vote for the socialist NDP.


2010 - Toronto, ON - Municipal
I had debated voting for Rob Ford, thinking there is no way council will let him get this way, and we need someone to clean up the mess the leftist incumbent had left, but ended up voting for George Smitherman, the moderate candidate, who lost to Ford, who ended up with council's support for a year or two.


2011 - Federal - Canada
I voted Green again, for similar reasons. The new Liberal leader, Ignatieff, was unimpressive, and I still had some hate for Harper for doing nothing about the senate, and wasn't about to go socialist.


2011 - Ontario - Provincial
The NDP won me over. Their arguments for better transit were key, and I voted NDP. I quite liked their leader, and hoped she would win. She did not, we ended up with a minority. 


2014 - Ontario - Provincial
I got to meet the Liberal premier, Kathleen Wynne, and told her to campaign on Transit, and that if she did, she could win a majority.

She then developed an 'alright' transit platform (I'd have done more) and campaigned partly on it. 

I thus voted for the Liberals, seemed only right and logical, and still does.


2014 - Toronto, ON - Municipal
John Tory was running and I still had resentment against him. His main opponents were Doug Ford, brother of Rob, who was far more abrasive and had taken Anti-Autism stances in the past, and Olivia Chow, a socialist leftist with leftist socialist stances. I thus voted for Morgan Baskin, a 18 year old, to encourage her (who seemed rather intelligent) to stick with politics. I also voted for a guy I met who was running for council, and someone for school board whose website was most sane. All were heavily defeated. I regret nothing about the votes I cast.



And that's who I've voted for, to date. 


In the next Provincial election, I may vote Green. While the Liberals are doing 'alright' they are not doing quite as good as I'd like.

In the next Federal election, I'm likely to vote Liberal; I'm a card-carrying member, but still do have some reservations, but, still support them on the whole.


If I do so, the Green Party of Canada will remain the only party I've ever voted for more than once.