When you vote in a federal election, do you vote for the party or the candidate?

Question

Please be kind and answer the question rather than sharing your political views with myself and everyone.

Answer 1

The logical thing to do is to vote the party rather than the candidate.
Even if you were to have a moronic, immoral fool fronting for your party and the others party had an intellgent, effective dynamo, you are better off sticking with one who shares your views. Would you rather have someone who is not very good but putting forth the policies you want or someone that is great at putting policies you are against.
On the otherhand on that very theory I once voted for Bush and I have discovered that the immoral fool, isn't necessarily the lessor of two evils.

Answer 2

I am not yet old enough to vote, but my political views are very different of those held by most members of the opposite party. So when I do vote I will probably be voting more for the party rather than the candidate, but then again it might depend on who the specific candidates were. This is what the primaries are for, so you can vote for the candidate you want representing your party.

Answer 3

When voting in an election, you should vote for the person who has the ideas that you share. Party means nothing when it comes to that.

A true candidate, a by the people for the people candidate, tries to acheive bipartisan reform, combining the ideas of their region to create a bill or represent their particular section of the country, not their party color.

The United States has let the Donkey and Elephant fight blind us from the real culpret. Voting for a candidate willing to go the extra mile to make sure the people's voice is heard and is willing to listen, is what people should be voting for.

Answer 4

OK. I think I am like most Americans--I vote for the candidate , not just the party. The days of voting a "straight ticket"--that is, voting for every candidate of one party--are pretty much over.
We don't live in a parliamentary form of government, where they tend to vote party more than we do in the US. The fastest growing category of registered voters in my state is "decline to state"--that is, they do not register as either a Democrat or Republican, or any other party. They voter can register for this distinction, and can choose which party primaries he wants to vote in, as well as the nonpartisan races and propositions. These people tend to vote the candidate, not the party, because they feel they have no particular allegiance to any party.

Answer 5

I always vote along party lines, never for the individual. I have worked very hard as a volunteer here from my county to make sure that the democratic candidates get elected. Seeing that I live in one of the very few democratic counties in all of Texas (Travis), we have been successful in differentiating our county from the normal voting trends of the entire state. And that my friend, I am VERY proud of!!

Answer 6

Vote for a candidate and not the party in order to select the right person for each position.

Answer 7

No. no longer this time. there is only too plenty at stake. I even have voted Libertarian interior the previous, on the theory that there wasn't sufficient distinction between the two substantial social gathering applicants. Or fairly, that i could no longer come to a decision which portion of my values i could compromise so as to vote for between the biggest social gathering applicants. yet this time the undertaking is so very sparkling: that's Obama or that's chaos.

Answer 8

The laws only allow you to vote for the candidate.

Political parties do not exist in the Constitution, and no constitutional provision allows you to vote for a party rather than a person.

Answer 9

I research all the candidates and their agendas and then vote for the one whose priorities are closest to my own views regardless of their Party affiliation.

Answer 10

Depends on the rules the parties set for each state, some states you have to vote for the party that you are registered for and some states you can vote on whoever you want. Open or Closed elections.