Well, you've always had the right not to vote, but you may not have always have had the right to vote. Surely there's an "abstain" box on the ballot?

At the end of the day, if you feel that there is truely no one you can put a black cross against, then perhaps it's advisable that you try and get into politics and change 'em. Join a pressure group/political party, or, hell, even form one. That's what democracy, and, in particular, liberal democracy is all about - change for the better. Everyone's better.

You've got a health plan where you work so you don't care about other people who can't afford a health care plan? Even if it doesn't affect you directly, you can think about the issue and vote for how you think the issue should be dealt with.

I've tried to get into politics and it just pisses me off.  It's smear campaign after smear campaign on both sides arguing about things I don't give a crap about and ignoring the things I do care about (and most of this is the medias fault but whatever).

Like I said earlier, it just feels futile to me.  No matter which side wins I end up in about the same place so I really don't give a crap which side wins. 

Sure, there are things I have opinions on.  Rubang said abortion so lets talk about that one.  I personally believe it's a woman's right to choose.  I've heard that topic come up for as long as I can remember and as far as I know nothing has really changed on it.  Furthermore, I don't really care if it's legal or not because it doesn't concern me in the least.  Yeah, it probably is greedy and selfish to say that but hey, talk about that and we're back on the whole people died for me to have that right thing and you're under the impression that I should exercise that right.  Right now my wife can have abortion if she so chooses (it is both of our decisions but in the end it's really her final decision) and even if Palin somehow gets in power because McCain dies I doubt that would change in any way.

And what would going and waiting in line for 3 hours just so I could vote abstain gain me?  That way I can tell them I don't care rather than them just inferring it by me not showing up?

-edit-

And I know I opened up the whole abortion argument there but just know I'm not going to argue on that further.  This is actually pretty amazing I'm even talking about politics because I usually associate talking about politics with hitting my thumb with a hammer.

Feel free to express your opinions, I might even read them, but I'm just not going to argue for or against them.

Voting takes 3 hours in the US? That's insane!

I know a lot of fathers would be ashamed to admit that their son didn't vote. Some might even be embarrassed that their son would say something so jejune as "People also died for my right not to vote." I'm fairly certain they wouldn't admit it to their friends unless they were talking about how they had failed as parents.

But you're not certainly not alone. About 35% of the registered voters in the U.S. won't vote in this election. I, for one, am glad that you can celebrate the deaths of those who gave the last full measure of devotion, and that you can highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, for your right not to vote. For some, tomorrow will be a momentous occasion to participate in history. For you, it will just be another day.

3 hours? It's a 20 minute job round here. I guess there's more people to deal with.

I happen to agree with you on the matter of abortion.

I personally believe that voting should be made compulsary (though, it should be a carrot rather than a stick thing, ie - reward those who vote with, I dunno, a £25 rebate, rather than fining those who don't vote £25). I also believe that the voting age should be lowered to 16.

I also believe that the greatest things are achieved through the powers of community - local, national, and international (which is why I am pro Europe and would campaign to a) bring the UK further into the EU (joining the currency, etc), and b) Make the EU much more unified, like the US.) And because of these reasons, I care for matters that may not necessarily impact me directly, but that are better for society on the whole (like over matters of "socialised" medicine, etc).

It took me 25 minutes total to drive to my polling station, vote, and drive home. I did vote early though. There was one person ahead of me.

My parents know I'm not voting and while they aren't happy with it, they also accept it.  I'm sure they don't go around bragging about it to their friends but they respect my decision.  I'm at least not doing it because I'm lazy.

Around here it does, or so people tell me.  If you early vote it can go pretty quick but if you do it on voting day you have to vote at a specific place and it apparently gets very crowded.

Well, there's no one that can tell you to vote or not to vote. You have the freedom to do the one or the other thing, but I see this election as a pretty important one, so I can also understand people that would like to bash you for this decision.

If I had the abbility to vote, it would definately be Obama. Why? It's simple. Foreign policy.

Now, I'm not an American. I don't really give a crap about the middle east or the other attention whores. What really makes Obama credible in my eyes, is his opinion on nations like Columbia, where most of my relatives live. The goverment over there, led by President Alvaro Uribe, gets a lot of support from the US (weapons and money) for fighting the FARC and the mafia. So far so standard, that's not the problem I have.

The problem I have are the crimes the goverment commits. They take people from the streets, put them into FARC uniforms, shoot 'em, take photos and present them to the public. Hundreds died for this propaganda.
Equally bad is the situation of the natives. The FARC took their land and the goverment refuses to give it back, after they defeated the rebels at those locations. Now they're sitting in the streets of the capital, whole families with hardly anything to wear or eat.
There's a whole lot more, like the far right wing para military shooting the opposition, etc., but I think I made my point clear. The Human Rights in this country are teh shit.I mean that in a bad way. Still, they receive plenty of U.S. american support. McCain looks like he wants to keep it that way. Obama doesn't. Uribe already talked with him about the free trade contract, but Obama refused. He made crystal clear that he won't support one that gives a shit about human rights.

Now this isn't such popular news in the west, most people are focused on iraq and russia. But such decisions make me believe that Obama truly is important, not just to the americans, but to the whole world. Sadly, a lot of americans don't realize that or disagree.

Maybe a little far fetched. I don't know. Gonna play some Mario Kart now.

I always vote on election day, and the longest it ever took me was about 30 minutes in 2006 because I had a long line. Usually I'm in and out in about 10 minutes, and that includes reading everything a billion times and double-czeching all my marks.

I get to vote on almost every issue this year. There's even a county-wide measure for decriminalizing marijuana that might lead to a California vs. federal government battle on how legal the state can make it. I'm voting on drugs, abortions, gay marriage, railroads, renewable energy, farming, education, everything.