I "Voted". So What?

I walked in to Fishers Town Hall, went to the table for Delaware Precinct 3, observed the poll workers playing, and showed my ID. I signed the book and walked out.

Voting, in 30 seconds or less.

I guess I'm just stubborn. Most others seem to get the futility of this kind of "voting", but that whole notion of civic duty just nags at me. I mean, can you really run for Secretary of State, the chief elections official in Indiana, one year and then not vote in the very next election? I thought not.

But the vast majority of those who get the pointlessness of yesterday's exercise ruled the day. Turnout seems to have averaged around 10%.

In Hamilton County, there should not be a primary election at all. The three parties should stage their own county conventions at their expense. In most counties, the Ds & Rs already stage slating conventions. Why then the farce of a primary? To throw crumbs to the voters to make them think they've done something that sets them apart from the Iraqis or the Cubans?

Farce. Sham. Waste. Dollars, get into the shredder!

The candidate backed by the Republican Party in the one contested primary won handily. That business should be handled away from taxpayer dollars. Republicans should insist on that, if they in fact believe in cutting out the waste of taxpayer dollars.

I Don't Care About Today's Primary

Why should I? Only one of the seven Fishers Town Council seats is challenged... but I would have to take a Republican primary ballot in order to cast a vote. There is only one Democrat running for any of the seven seats, so provided he casts a vote, he wins his primary.

I don't care to take either a Republican or Democratic primary ballot. Why? Besides disagreeing with the kind of policy both of these parties write into law, I have also read and understood Indiana's election laws, which state in IC 3-10-1-2:

Political parties required to hold primary election
Sec. 2. Each political party whose nominee received at least ten percent (10%) of the votes cast in the state for secretary of state at the last election shall hold a primary election under this chapter to select nominees to be voted for at the general election.

I am not interested in voting for the candidates of either of the two parties that qualify. None other will appear on any ballot. So, by law, I am disenfranchised. Beyond that, I believe that if the elections law interprets so plainly the primary election to be political party business, then it should be paid for by the political parties, not the taxpayers. Even had I won 10.01% in my run for Secretary of State, and had thereby obligated my party to participate in the primary election, I would have objected to the requirement on the same grounds.

Also consider IC 3-5-1-2:

(3) Primary election, which is conducted for the purpose of choosing by ballot the
following:
(A) The candidates who will be the nominees of a political party for elected offices in a general or municipal election.
(B) The precinct committeemen of a political party.
(C) The delegates to a political party's state convention.
(4) School district election, in which the electorate of a school district chooses by ballot members of the school board.
(5) Special election, which is conducted for a special purpose as provided by law.

Except that there aren't any school board seats up for grabs here, there isn't a special election of any kind, and my party has been excluded, by IC 3-6-2-1:

Political parties entitled to precinct committee members
Sec. 1. Each political party whose nominee received at least ten percent (10%) of the votes cast in the state for secretary of state at the last election may have precinct committeemen elected at the same time as a primary election in accordance with IC 3-10-1-4.5 if provided by the rules of the political party.

So, what's the point? Fortunately, turnout for this non-event will be so sparse that I won't have to wait in any sort of line. Turnout in Hamilton County in 2003 (the same cycle) was 20%.

I'll go, ask for an independent ballot, which will confuse everyone in the building. Then, after they don't know what to do because there would be nothing to hand to me, I'll have them enter me as voted without having cast a ballot of any kind.

Tell me how this differs from, say, Cuba, in the pointlessness of the 'event'.