Quotations about Voting
It's not the voting that's democracy, it's the counting... ~Tom Stoppard, Jumpers, 1972 [Dotty
Thank God that it is a battle of ballots and not of bullets... ~Charles F. Raymond, Just Be Glad, 1907
BALLOT BOX. The altar of democracy. ~H. L. Mencken
People on whom I do not bother to dote
Are people who do not bother to vote...
And excuse themselves by saying What's the difference of one vote in fifty million?
They have such refined and delicate palates
That they can discover no one worthy of their ballots,
And then when someone terrible gets elected
They say, There, that's just what I expected!...
Oh let us cover these clever people very conspicuously with loathing,
For they are un-citizens in citizens' clothing...
~Ogden Nash (1902–1971), "Election Day Is a Holiday"
Voting is a civic sacrament, which should not be exercised carelessly. ~William F. Buckley, Jr.
The right to vote has and always will remain the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democratic society. We must, each and every one of us, continue to protect this sacred right and ensure everyone is afforded the opportunity to vote. ~John Lewis
The right to vote is the fundamental citizenship right that protects all other rights. ~Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., 2005
I pledged that as long as I am in a position to uphold the Constitution, no barrier would ever come between a secret ballot and the citizen's right to cast one... For this Nation to remain true to its principles, we cannot allow any American's vote to be denied, diluted, or defiled. The right to vote is the crown jewel of American liberties, and we will not see its luster diminished. ~Ronald Reagan, 1981
We must come to see that so long as we are voteless we will be voiceless, and we must gain the ballot... ~Martin Luther King, Jr., speech, 1957
Voting is the language of democracy. ~Wade Henderson
The vote is the emblem of your equality, women of America, the guarantee of your liberty. That vote of yours has cost millions of dollars and the lives of thousands of women. Money to carry on this work has usually been given as a sacrifice, and thousands of women have gone without things they wanted and could have had in order that they might help get the vote for you. Women have suffered agony of soul which you can never comprehend, that you and your daughters might inherit political freedom. That vote has been costly. Prize it. The vote is a power, a weapon of offense and defense, a prayer. Use it conscientiously, intelligently, prayerfully. Understand what it means and what it can do for your country. ~Carrie Chapman Catt
We'd all like to vote for the best man, but he's never a candidate. ~Kin Hubbard [spelling standardized
Here's to the woman with many a care,
Who sits all day in an office chair.
And at night, when her day's work there is through
Goes home and finds more work to do;
Gets up in the morning and cooks and scrubs,
And wrestles round with laundry tubs;
Yet the usual hour finds her smiling there,
Beside her desk, in the office chair.
If she's strong enough these burdens to tote,
Here's to the State where they let her vote!
~Author unknown, "A Real Toast," 1914
A mugwump is a man in politics who never votes for anybody, but who is always voting against somebody. ~Richard Croker, 1890s
In this country people don't vote for, they vote against. ~Will Rogers (1879–1935)
Hell, I never vote for anybody. I always vote against. ~W. C. Fields (1880–1946)
Democracy is being allowed to vote for the candidate you dislike least. ~Robert Byrne, The Third — and Possibly the Best — 637 Best Things Anybody Ever Said, 1986
VOTE, n. The instrument and symbol of a freeman's power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country. ~Ambrose Bierce, 1906
Some of the United States Senators seem to fear they are not popular enough to risk election by popular vote. ~Philadelphia Press, 1906
If Voting Changed Anything, They'd Abolish It ~Ken Livingstone, 1987
Give a loaded revolver to an infant and a vote to an ignorant man, and the second crime is worse than the first. ~Austin O'Malley (1858–1932), Thoughts of a Recluse, 1898
The honest, virtuous, intelligent, independent vote is the noblest power of a freeman, but the purchasable vote, the ignorant vote, the vicious and servile vote, is the opportunity of the knave and the scoundrel. The purity of the ballot is the only safety of a Republic, and no greater danger threatens this nation
So what's next — eliminating presentee ballots? ~Robert Brault, 2022, rbrault.blogspot.com
My heart votes for you, and what am I, indeed, to dispute her ballot! ~Emily Dickinson, 1859