In the year
2000, The state of
California had
Proposition 23 on their
ballot, where voting citizens could vote to have the option of
None of the Above to future elections. In an ideal world, the definition for None of the Above would be
a vote of no confidence for any individual running for a particular political office. However, this is misleading. This is not an
ideal world.
http://www.noneoftheabove.net
None of the Above is a North Carolina bluegrass band. Did you know that?
http://www.expage.com/noneoftheaboveband
None of the Above is the name of a garage band in Latham, New York. Bet you didn't know that.
It's also the name of a song by Duran Duran.
There is also a man somewhere in this country who has chosen to legally change his name to None of the Above, hoping that some day that phrase will achieve a majority in an election, and he can step in on a technicality and claim the seat. Would that work? Probably not, but such a thing could take up a lot of time in the courts. At any rate, my point is, when you vocally announce or silently write or punch a chad in a punch card or otherwise vote for None of the Above you are still voting for something that exists in the universe, which is counterproductive to the act itself. Further, there are organizations which take up this nomenclature for various reasons, each potentially meaning well, but indirectly diluting the purpose of this phrase. By being a None of the Above organization, they defeat the purpose of voting for that phrase. If you vote None of the Above, you want to vote for nothing, correct? Yet since entities claim that nomenclature, you are inneffectively voting for something when you vote for nothing.
Catch-22: This is like going to a nondenominational church.
None of the Above is already an option in Nevada and other parts of the USA. In fact some countries of the world have adopted it. However it is at present not a viable option for the US as a whole, considering how our voting system in America is designed to purposefully squelch out any votes of nonconfidence. In theory, every time a single registered voter chooses not to vote in a given election, be it because they feel it a complete waste of time, or are simply too busy, or they forget, that abscent vote should immediately be registered numerically into the total as a vote of no confidence. It is not. Because of this, our entire voting system is irrelevant and purposeless. The voice of the American people is not being heard. In Australia, where all citizens are required to vote by law, a NOTA vote makes sense. However, in the USA it simply dilutes the minority of active voters even further, all to the advantage of the corrupt politician, who takes these variables into account when he vindictively connives his way into office.
If you have ever stood in a room filled with people, but not a single person is speaking, you know as well as I how strong and profound such silence can be. Yet that is deemed irrelevant and is ignored by our society, which is why our political system is inherently such a joke. Something this basic and obvious is void in our political system. Our present voting system only counts those individuals who actually speak out, ignoring those who fall silent, as if a registered voter's silence is less important to the total as a registered voter who joins a chorus. Further, someone who jokingly or in all seriousness chooses to vote for Mickey Mouse is ignored, for he is not speaking in unison with one of the two main choirs. The concept of adding none of the above to the political ticket is yet another red herring to insure for all politicians everywhere that the status quo will be upheld, and that the voice of the true majority in this country, the silent majority, is forever ignored in favor of the noisy minority.
We cannot have true democracy in America or anywhere so long as the mute are considered dumb.
For more information:
http://www.nota.org
http://www.votenoa.com
http://www.homestead.com/none_of_the_above_party
http://www.nader96.org/bnota.htm
http://europe.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/03/04/noneoftheabove
http://hep.physics.wisc.edu/~jnb/nota.html
http://hep.physics.wisc.edu/~jnb/nota_alternate.html
http://www.cascadepolicy.org/nota.htm