The "No" Vote Pledge is a powerful Web-based tool that voters can use to wrest control of crucial issues from politicians. How does it work?
A “No” Vote Pledge (“NVP”) is a voter’s promise to NOT vote for any candidate who doesn’t support a clearly defined political proposition. For example::
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“I am a registered voter, and I pledge that I will not vote for any candidate for Federal office (Congressman, Senator, President) who does not support the enactment of the 28th Amendment. |
A “No” Vote Pledge Campaign is a Web-based initiative to solicit NVP’s from voters with respect to a specific issue.
When a voter pledges a “No” vote on a specific issue, the voter is saying the issue is so important, it outweighs everything else a candidate might have to offer (if you’re opposed to Proposition X, I won’t vote for you--period.) The all-or-nothing nature of the commitment implies that only the most fundamental, crucial issues will emerge as successful NVP Campaigns (i.e. Campaign’s where the proposition is enacted or otherwise fulfilled).
Because a pledge to vote "No" is not an actual vote, but rather a promise to vote a certain way in a future election, voters can express themselves at any time on an issue that is of supreme importance to them, without waiting for an election or for politicians to take up their cause.
As the pledges add up, the Web site displays the totals by electoral jurisdiction for all to see -- particularly campaigning politicians and their entourages of consultants and advisors, who will be able to easily track how many votes they'll lose if they don’t support the Campaign’s proposition.
When a “No” Vote Pledge campaign succeeds in attracting a visible majority of voters in a given jurisdiction, it says to the politicians of that jurisdiction: make this happen, or leave office (don't even bother running in your next election; voters have committed in advance to remove you).
The net effect is that it restores control of specific issues directly to the voter, and bypasses completely the filtering, dilution and manipulation of issues by politicians and political parties, which are burdened with agendas set largely by their campaign contributors.
For more information about the NVP concept and it’s potential impact on our existing democratic institutions, please visit www.ioparty.com.