If you know some CSS, you can do a lot with custom CSS in your user settings. Try this -- it should pin the vote button to the upper left of your window:

input[name="sexisgreat"] {
  position: fixed;
  top: 0px;
  left: 0px;
  z-index:1;
}
[download]

For another "look", add these lines.

  padding: 5px;
  border: 2px solid red;
[download]

Play around until you're happy with it.

I have this funny key "End" on my keyboard that jumps to the "Vote" button. I guess Apple just mislabled it at the factory . . .

That's funny, my 'end' key takes me to the bottom of the page, which isn't necessarily where the 'Vote' button is.

there was no "Vote" button at the top of the page

Maybe the button is at the bottom on the off chance that people will read all the replies, and that maybe a reply posted at a later date is perhaps more deserving of your vote? Seems a pity to vote only on first posts.

In a similar vein, the voting radio buttons should be at the end of a reply, because it's only after you have read the node that you are in a position to make up your mind? In which case having to scroll back up (Whether physically or ocularly) is a slight useability problem.

I've always thought this should be user-configurable but having looked at the codebase I find the task of adding a new option to userprefs a little daunting. One of these days...

I just hit [Enter] after I've chosen my votes. No need to hunt for "the big Vote button." (Firefox on Linux Debian, though I'd be mildly surprised if the behavior were different with, say, IE xxx on Windows xxx.)