Do your vote strickly by party?

I usually vote along party lines, unless there is someone who I feel will do a better job. That hasn't happended too much lately. I'm pretty much disillusioned with both sides. I try to choose someone who will do the least damage. I think that may be considered damage control.

Most of the time I vote for the person not the party but if I am not happy with either, I vote along party lines.

I've been a split ticket voter for more years than I can remember.

I'm a ticket splitter.

I grew up in a state with a definite "party" bend, and then moved to another state where the opposite party is pretty much "the" party. I switched my registration so I could vote in the primaries because that's where all the decisions are made. But I'm to the far end of the party I'm currently registered to.

Once beyond the primaries I vote for the candidate I like the best. The problem I run into is the one I like the best is often in bed with interest groups that I don't like. That makes it hard for me to decide because I think in the end they vote with the interest groups that support them.  

I am registered to one party and rarely vote for anyone in the other one.  However, I don't like voting by party line and usually won't cast a vote at all if I don't know something about the person.  Of course, this should mean that I always do the research and have a preferred candidate for every single office in question at every election, but in reality this is not the case.  So I usually vote for the big elections (pres, congress, governor) and for a few local candidates who I know personally, and leave all the other ones blank.

Proud Independent

I almost always vote Democratic, but if Colin Powell had  run, I would have voted for him, I do believe, especially if the democratic party didn't have a better choice than we do now.  He is an honorable man and I have always admired him. 

About a year ago there was a "quiz" going around on the web where you answered questions and it told you how close you were to party lines.  I was a mix of democratic and libertarian.

Rose, I guess you're right.  Maybe that's why I liked him?

I always liked Fred Thompson on L&O, but he seemed to fizzle in the race.

One thing that I liked about Colin Powell was that he'd been in the military. I think you get a lot of understanding about how to mobilize big organizations by serving in the military.

It's good to have been a community organizer, but the military is much more government-like and I think you learn how to deal with folks who are there, but aren't necessarily motivated to do what you want them to do when you've dealt with the military. 

I have a situation I may not vote on this year. Maryland wants to put slot machines in. Supposedly they'll spend the money on education -- the teacher's unions are for it. I don't want to sound like a prude, but I am not for gambling. If I vote for the slots then I'm voting for something that I think will bring social harm.  If I vote against them I'm pretty much voting to raise my own taxes -- and Maryland already did that this year.  I will vote, but I may skip that issue!  

The main reason I have started voting along party lines is I am in the south.  Democrats run as if they are right of David Dukes,  but when they get to DC they have a 100% voting record with Pelosivich (I know)  or with "the war is lost" Reed.