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Since both of the candidates are clearly not good choices to elect for president (to say the least), is it not the most reasonable course of action to simply be inactive and not vote? Voting is only a right and not on obligation, and when there is no productive, proper way of carrying it out, it seems like the best thing to do is just to forfeit the right.
‘In the times of Mashiach’s arrival we will be saying ‘there is no one for us to rely on but our Father in Heaven’
From an economist’s point of view, every individual vote is a waste of time. If you are going to vote because it is your duty to your country, vote third party.
I though voting is a civic duty
I may be wrong, but my impression is that the Gedolim consider it important/a Mitzvah to vote. I think that part of the reason for this may be that if the candidates see that a lot of Frum Jews vote, they are more likely to take Frum people’s needs and Israel into consideration. This would apply even if there is no one to vote for.
I also have heard that someone (maybe Rav Avigdor Miller) said that one should vote out of hakaras hatov to the US.
There are probably others here who know more about this me and can bring more accurate quotes on the topic.
I may be wrong, but my impression is that the Gedolim consider it important/a Mitzvah to vote.
Mostly in Israel, as it directly affects the money given to Yeshivos. For the American presidential election, the vast majority of the country’s vote (and larger of Religious Jews) doesn’t matter.
GAW – I was talking about the US. I was under the impression that the Gedolim or Rabbanim there consider it a Mitzvah to vote, but like I said, I’m not 100% sure.
I just remember that when I was in high school, we were recruited to make calls to encourage people to vote. I assume that there were Gedolim behind this. It is possible that it had to do with a particular issue that was happening, although that was not my impression, but this was years ago and I was a kid at the time, and I don’t really remember exactly what we were making calls for or why.
I was under the impression that the Gedolim or Rabbanim there consider it a Mitzvah to vote, but like I said, I’m not 100% sure.
Local elections. For example, there was a Machlokes in Lakewood to vote for Christie (the Rabbonim) or Corzine (BMG) for Governor in NJ. For a presidential election, most people’s votes really don’t matter in either direction.
It’s a civic duty for every citizen to vote.
And, yes, the gedolim do strongly encourage voting, even when they don’t advocate for any particular candidate, because politicians see how strong voting is within each community and reward them accordingly (based on their own self-preservation interests.)
What do you mean “both” candidates? Last I checked there were four. One is a liberal power-hungry conniving liar, one is a bombastic demagogue, one has a vice president that openly hates Israel, and one is kind of alright.
Gary Johnson and What’s His Name, 2016.
1. Not showing up to vote can be a positive act, but it most likely is perceived as apathy. Note that in Eretz Yisrael the non-zionist hareidim do not vote, which has zero impact on the political process (an alternative used by Irish nationalists 100 years ago was to participate in elections, win seats, and then refuse to take the require oath of loyalty).
2. In America, one votes for many offices at the same time, so a “blank” ballot for president is counted as a blank (since they know how many voted altogether, and how many blanks in any given race).
3. If you are a committed neo-con, you no longer have a horse in the race. However on economic issues, Johnson is a real alternative. On “social” issues all candidates are probably too “liberal” (“permissive”) for our tastes, but a libertarian ideology is more likely to leave us alone.
I’ve mentioned in other threads (but will repeat here) that it is far more important that you vote in your state and local elections than in the presidential election.
Don’t like Clinton or Trump? Fine… don’t vote for either. Write in your own name or leave it blank. But be sure to vote in the other races — it’s far more important that the state and local politicians see that Jews vote than the presidential candidates.
The Wolf
Actually, in most places you can vote “No Preference”. In my opinion (and the opinion of a respected Rosh Yeshiva I spoke with) it’s not so much who you vote for as is the mere act of voting.
Candidates could not care less about your personal issues. But if they see that the Jewish community has a 90% voter turnout rate, they will be tripping over themselves to declare their love for Israel, matzah, and eruvs.
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