Mitt Romney

[Smiling JOe]

hnooe, the Florida vote is Jan 29, and it is a closed race, meaning one cannot cross party lines to vote in another party's race. Those, like myself, who are non-affiliated with a party, have no candidates on their ballots, only the Amendment 1 issue. To take the answer one step further, if one is registered in a party other than Rep or Dem in Florida, he or she can still vote for any candidates representing their party with which they are registered, such as Green Party, Libertarian Party, Communist Party, Socialists Party, etc. There are many parties out there.

 

[wrobert]

Hey GOP--Questions.

1. Can you cross party lines in the Feb. 5th Fla. vote?

2. Also, if you are not registered officially as either a Republican or Democrat, can you still vote?

SJ answered the questions. But this is something I do not understand. Why would someone want to cross party lines to vote? If the purpose is to select a Republican nominee, it would not seem that a true representation of the Republican party is being measured if Democrats are allowed to vote. I guess that would also apply to the second question. Party nominees are being chosen. Why would someone who is not a member of the party have a say in such?

 

[Smiling JOe]

WaltonGOP, being unregistered with any particular party, I might fall into that category of wanting to vote in a party. Sure, I could sign up with a party back in December, but what if I didn't know which candidate I liked the most by the end of Dec. Since the vote isn't until Jan 29, I don't know why I couldn't join the party all the way up until I pull the lever (push the button) for the candidate of my choice. Today, many people are unregistered with a party, because they don't agree with either the Dem or Rep parties as a whole. Also, there are many candidates dressed in red, who are really blue, and the opposite might be said, too, though I don't personally see that today. I think the more important part of fairness is having only one vote.

Problems with the system would play a major role this particular election. With Florida and MI delegates not being seated for their votes, due to the changing of the date of their primaries, I could see all of the Democrats voting in the GOP race, since their vote for Dem wouldn't count anyway, due to the DNC not seating the FL delegates, and the delegates and superdelegates votes are the only ones which count for electing the nominee. They would likely strategize to select a week candidate to screw up the race for the GOP. It would be poliTRICKS at its finest moment.

 

[wrobert]

WaltonGOP, being unregistered with any particular party, I might fall into that category of wanting to vote in a party. Sure, I could sign up with a party back in December, but what if I didn't know which candidate I liked the most by the end of Dec. Since the vote isn't until Jan 29, I don't know why I couldn't join the party all the way up until I pull the lever (push the button) for the candidate of my choice. Today, many people are unregistered with a party, because they don't agree with either the Dem or Rep parties as a whole. Also, there are many candidates dressed in red, who are really blue, and the opposite might be said, too, though I don't personally see that today. I think the more important part of fairness is having only one vote.

I understand you wanting to vote. But what I think is being missed here is that political parties are private organizations. Clubs for lack of a better word. We are choosing our leaders. So you do not want to be associated with our club, you do not want to be a member, yet you want to be able to choose who our leaders are. And I use 'you' in the broadest sense, not you in particular, but you as in those that are not affiliated. And those open States do cause problems. That is why South Carolina and Florida are looked at so strongly, where you are getting an indication as to how a segment of Republicans vote, not those who are just picking a candidate.

 

[BeachSiO2]

I understand you wanting to vote. But what I think is being missed here is that political parties are private organizations. Clubs for lack of a better word. We are choosing our leaders. So you do not want to be associated with our club, you do not want to be a member, yet you want to be able to choose who our leaders are. And I use 'you' in the broadest sense, not you in particular, but you as in those that are not affiliated. And those open States do cause problems. That is why South Carolina and Florida are looked at so strongly, where you are getting an indication as to how a segment of Republicans vote, not those who are just picking a candidate.

South Carolina is an open primary and I appreciate the opportunity to vote across lines for who I believe is the best candidate to represent the country no matter which party I am registered for. In my case, I will be voting Saturday AGAINST someone and in the General Election for someone. I like it better this way.

 

[wrobert]

South Carolina is an open primary and I appreciate the opportunity to vote across lines for who I believe is the best candidate to represent the country no matter which party I am registered for. In my case, I will be voting Saturday AGAINST someone and in the General Election for someone. I like it better this way.

Of course you do. That is like getting to pick the pitcher for the other team.

 

[BeachSiO2]

Of course you do. That is like getting to pick the pitcher for the other team.

Yes, and I am praying that my vote against will help make sure that there isn't a chance that one of the candidates will even be an option to be President.

 

[wrobert]

Yes, and I am praying that my vote against will help make sure that there isn't a chance that one of the candidates will even be an option to be President.

Thanks for proving my point. Let me know if I can ever do anything for you in the future.

 

[Smiling JOe]

WaltonGOP, you give a good analogy of the parties. I completely understand the reasoning. The thing is, even in a closed vote, people can change parties, without penalty, as long as they do so in advance as required. In FL, I think it is generally 30 days prior to the election. So, while I like your analogy of the club, most clubs have some sort of common values, yet since anyone can become a member of any party, I don't see the club really being the best analogy. Since the Dem popular vote in Florida won't count, the dems in FL should have been more organized, switching parties in Dec, and vote for someone like Rudy or Ron Paul to muck it all up for the GOP, and further separate the Rep vote.

 

[wrobert]

So, while I like your analogy of the club, most clubs have some sort of common values, yet since anyone can become a member of any party, I don't see the club really being the best analogy. If the dems in FL were well organized, they would have switched parties in Dec, and vote for someone like Rudy or Ron Paul to muck it all up for the GOP, and further separate the Rep vote.

True. It is not a perfect system. But I believe because people are pretty lazy when it comes to stuff like this, it seems to work. That is the only reason I can think of that this sort of thing does not happen. Walton County currently has 108 precinct positions. 81 of these positions are currently empty. And this is typical throughout this State. In a Presidential election year, all you have to do to get elected to one of these positions is fill out a piece of paper at the elections office, and if there are more positions in a precinct than people running, you are automatically elected. If not you run an election in your precinct to win the seat. In the off season, such as now, come to a couple of meetings, express an interest, and unless someone there really has some reason not to put you on as a precinctperson, you are going to get put on the position. There is not any pay or any real power in the position, but the precincts make up the executive committee, and the executive committee can take positions on anything that they want, from issues to candidates. So if the RP supporters were to do this in counties all over the State of Florida, in four years they could all come together and one by one endorse a single candidate. I think it would have a profound effect on any race. Now each county has three persons that make up the State executive committee, and each State has three persons that make up the National Committee. See it is just a matter of getting organized, and playing the numbers game. And in four years you could have control of everything. That is my dastardly plan for taking over the world. lol!