Quotes About Elections

Political promises are much like marriage vows. They are made at the beginning of the relationship between candidate and voter, but are quickly forgotten.

The polls are still showing the two parties running neck and neck. 'Labour might actually make it,' Henry says. 'The Tories aren't going to be able to command the confidence of the House.

"Vote early and vote often," the advice openly displayed on the election banners in one of our northern cities.

In Texas, thirty-six out of the 86 "winning" GOP statehouse candidates faced no general election opponent. In Tennessee, thirty-seven of the 75 winning GOP candidates "won" without opposition. Florida, thirty-four out of 85. Add it all up, and even with all that was at stake in these states in 2022, millions of Americans had no choice when it came to who represented them in their statehouse. For those millions, democracy at the legislative level was indeed canceled.

Until the truth about the apartment bombings is known, the true nature of Russia's postcommunist history cannot be established. At the same time, failing to react to the evidence that the bombings were a government-planned mass crime leaves such provocation as a standing temptation for government leaders. If those responsible are not identified and punished, it will be assumed by those fighting for power in Russia that provocations are a legitimate way to win elections.

Anatoly Chubais, who was Yeltsin's campaign manager at the time, said that "of course" there were violations in the campaign, but if the 1996 vote were to be dismissed as a fraud, "then we automatically have to deem both of President Putin's terms illegitimate along with the presidency of Medvedev. … There would be nothing left of Russia's post-Soviet history.

Election campaigns seem to siphon away political anger and even basic political intelligence into this great vaudeville, after which we all end up in exactly the same place.

I do believe there needs to be an investigation of the intelligence community's findings, classified findings, in order to ensure the electoral integrity of our system moving forward.

If God wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates.

We pick politicians by how they look on TV and Miss America on where she stands on the issues. Isn't that a little backwards?

exacerbated eagerness to exploit the ignorance and prejudice of voters.

It's our job to look at the issues and elect people. Once we've done that, that's our part over with. It's not up to us to run the country.

Nowhere has the political power of coal been more obvious than in presidential campaigns.

It's a shame for women's history to be all about men--first boys, then other boys, then men men men. It reminds me of the way our school history textbooks were all about wars and elections, one war after another, with the dull periods of peace skimmed over whenever they occurred. (Our teachers deplored this and added extra units about social history and protest movements, but that was still the message of the books.)

Romney has to convince the American public that they need to do something they're not usually inclined to do - replace a sitting president with a challenger. And unlike in 1980 and 1992, when the public was persuaded to do just that, the incumbent president has not been weakened by a primary opponent.

I think Matt Yglesias is wrong to declare that the world of 'This Town' is dying, unless he thinks publicly financed elections, strict lobbying bans and Scandinavian-style wealth distribution are imminent.

Because a lot of people are hurting economically and being shafted by the very wealthy, it's been possible here in the United States of America to organize them and persuade them that to elect a nincompoop like Donald Trump is actually in their best interest. When clearly it isn't.

I do not believe wealthy candidates should spend vast resources in their own campaigns.

There are plenty of examples of very wealthy people who have run for office and failed, certainly in Illinois.

Until the 1980s, candidates spent a fraction of their time talking to donors; just a few weeks a year, a little more right before an election. True, they'd fund raise from the wealthy interests, as they do now, but it was a minuscule part of their job: policy and constituent services were the heart of the work.

Yes, health care is an election issue. It's also a moral imperative especially in a wealthy nation.

One vote. That's a big weapon you have there, Mister. In 1948, just one additional vote in each precinct would have elected Dewey. In 1960, one vote in each precinct in Illinois would have elected Nixon. One vote.

Electorally, the number of women who want to wear a burka is insignificant, yet it is important to defend such a minority against the tyranny of the majority.

Though pundits and politicians, weary of the story, are happy to omit facts about voting systems and their private contractors running our public elections, such omissions impair voters and democracy itself.