Why don't more Soldiers vote?

Soldiers can't talk about religion or politics. They must be politically correct. If your Sargent finds out you voted for the other candidate, there is hell to pay, you will never get a promotion, and you will get KP. It's not worth the consequence's. Only 30% of churchgoers vote. Probably for the same reason. The Amish, the military, and society have to deal with shunning. As a Vietnam vet, I have 1st hand experience with shunning. I never stand up when someone says, Will the veterans please stand up. No way.

I usually tell people that say they don't want to vote is that they are voting. If the person is good or bad in the office, they helped putting them there by not voting. Their vote would have either counted for or against, but by not voting they did not stop them from getting in.

Honestly I feel too many people vote. Too many young college kids. Too many people who pay attention only to a letter and not policies. Maybe it’s the attention to detail drilled in our heads for years on end. Civilians don’t have that. They would vote for a ham sandwich if it had the correct party letter next to it. So I feel maybe less is more. When I was a young soldier I had no idea who I was voting for and why. Focus on your missions. Not who your boss will be unless you’re over 25. Just my two cents

Well, I'm in New Mexico and we have a democratic governor and a democratic congress for some time now. Votes here are almost always decided by Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Las Cruces (the three major cities in the state). So let me ask you, just HOW do you think the voting is going to happen here? Also, from what I'm hearing on the news, it looks like Pennsylvania will be deciding the vote for the rest of us anyway. Like it or not.

My personal experience was that, while I was on Active Duty (1970- to 1978), I did not have access to
news and political information, and so I was not well-informed. The only national news on TV was from 6:00 to 6:30, and if you lived in the barracks, the day-room TV was NOT going to be tuned to that. Maybe from 10:00 to 10:30 PM, you might catch the local news, but that didn't really hit national politics, and I think that it was about closing-time for the day-room, anyway. When I got out of active duty, I became an absolute news addict: so much that the wife complains about how much news time is on our television.

And on that note, I truly believe that you are being foolish and irresponsible if you vote without being informed of the candidates and issues on the ballot. I feel personally ashamed when I look back at when I voted in my first election, didn't know the local or county representatives, and clicked on their name, because they sounded like "nice fellas". How absolutely STUPID.

Now, if I don't have full knowledge of the candidates (like Agriculture Secretary or a County Judge) or the issues, I leave those spaces blank. By voting without full knowledge, a person could be voting for someone who totally contradicts their own values.

ps. Here in Hawaii, it always goes Blue, and we usually know who won BEFORE we even vote due to the time difference. Everyone I know who's been blue their entire career voted red last election--yet Hawaii was 'overwhelmingly' blue results. I also find that suspect, as do most of those I know, Dem or Rep. due to so many changing lanes last election and it not seeming to affect results. It is discouraging.

I believe this election is totally already rigged. WHY? Because I spilled coffee on my ballot, called for a replacement, and after 6 days waiting, got another one. Decided maybe the coffee didn't penetrate the inner envelope so I opened the old one---and the 'sticky' stuff? That's SUPPOSED to keep it closed? OPENS EASILY w/o any tearing of the paper. I kept the new one, sealed, for 6 days and today opened it EASILY, no torn anything. So I TAPED IT CLOSED. Our votes CAN be tampered with, and EASILY.

Maybe if our elected representatives would make voting for national leaders a legal holiday it would encourage more people to vote, including those in the military. No guarantees of course, but I think the participation would trend upwards.

The electoral college elects the president, but our votes are also needed to elect senators, representatives and out local and state government votes so we need to make these young men and women their votes are very important!

I am now70 years old and have been retired from the Army for 29 years. I have not missed voting in a presidential election since 1972, which is the year I became eligible to vote. One year, I had to wear portable oxygen. This year, I will be voting by absentee ballot because of my health.