Does your vote really matter?

[gryphus]

My friend told me that I should vote because every vote counts, but then that got me thinking. If votes are counted per state and not individually and unless the state is 50/50 or near that status with republican and democrat voters, then your vote really does not count. Like in Texas, without a doubt it's a Republican state, so if I wanted to vote democrats, it really makes no difference as the majority will be republican anyway, so doesn't that mean my vote does not really matter?

 

[postmortemIA]

your vote does matter - it keeps current two-party system running.

 

[cubby1223]

Wow, here's a topic that's never been discussed before on the internet!

 

[Brian Stirling]

your vote does matter - it keeps current two-party system running.

Yes, OTH, the two parties are really two sides of the same party as both get there money from more-or-less the same overlapping groups of people and those people expect a return on there investment.

Now, with that pesky democracy thing out of the way our leaders can do away with that nuisance called the constitution. Wait, the NSA has already taken care of that.

Move along, nothing to see here...


Brian

 

[BoomerD]

Each individual vote DOES matter...but only in a very small sense. "We the People" are "allowed" to vote for/against candidates that are picked for us. With the Electoral College rules, your vote for Presidential elections may be somewhat "diluted" if you vote in a way different than the majority of electors in your state...but in more local races, your vote still matters. (but of course, the candidates are all still "pre-chosen" for you.)

 

[Moonbeam]

Wow, here's a topic that's never been discussed before on the internet!

Did the discussions matter?

 

[Moonbeam]

There is a story about a man who was seen, after a storm, to be throwing some of many thousands of starfish that had been washed up on the beach back into the sea. Somebody else asked him if it mattered. He threw one back and said, it will matter to this one.

What does anything matter? What is the meaning of meaning?

There are a million paths in life and they all lead nowhere. Take a path that has a heart.

Is the meaning of voting trying to get a candidate elected, or is it about sharing in the concept of participating in the democracy?

 

[sandorski]

Yes and No

No, because your Vote won't be the one that determines the Winner.

Yes, because it helps to determine the will of the people. The problem with this though are mainly 2 things, IMO:

1) If everyone doesn't Vote it's not possible to really know where the people are at Politically. This makes Australia's Mandatory Voting law attractive, IMO.

2) Politicians that don't consider what the will of the people is will just ignore any message sent.

 

[Raizinman]

Since there is technology to read everyone's email and listen to everyone's cell phone calls, there certainly is enough technology to rig a voting booth to get whatever result you want.

 

[Blanky]

Statistically it does not matter. It is objectively, literally statistically insignificant. Sorry, but actually it does not matter. This is a mathematical fact.

 

[Moonbeam]

Statistically it does not matter. It is objectively, literally statistically insignificant. Sorry, but actually it does not matter. This is a mathematical fact.

Isn't it a mathematical fact that zero represents nothing and wouldn't that imply that nothing matters is a mathematical fact?

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Yes, your vote matters. When people chose not to vote, my vote has more weight in the election.

I vote every year as there's always something of importance to vote on whether it be local bonds/elections or state constitution amendments.

 

[brycejones]

Only if we stop the massive amounts of voter fraud from illegals and impersonation voting.

 

[cbrunny]

If you think your vote only "counts" if the person/party/platform/policy you vote for wins, you don't understand democracy.

 

[fskimospy]

If you mean "does my vote matter for the purposes of having my preferred candidate win the election I'm voting in?" the answer is no. Some people believe voting has other social purposes, etc. In that sense your vote can matter.

 

[dank69]

Every vote matters. Even if you think both parties suck but think the GOP is heading too far in the wrong direction you can vote to show them that they are wrong. If every person that doesn't vote suddenly held their nose and voted Dem or even third party because they wanted to send a wake-up call to the GOP and the GOP pulled something like 30% of the popular vote or less, maybe that would be enough to knock them back to reality. It would be that much harder for them to blame their misfortune on gubmint handouts and LMSM boogeymen.

 

[Jhhnn]

Only if we stop the massive amounts of voter fraud from illegals and impersonation voting.

I hope you're joking.

There's a fundamental difference in how the two parties view voter participation. As a Democrat, I believe that the greater the turnout, the more likely the true will of the people will be expressed so that those elected can govern accordingly. Narrow wins with low turnout are not a true mandate, certainly not for radical change. It's a contradiction in terms.

Repubs embrace that contradiction & have for a very long while. That's what voter ID is all about, limiting the franchise, allowing more power to already conforming constituencies. That's what "your vote doesn't matter" propaganda is designed to promote, as well. That's why they gerrymandered the Hell out of Texas, Pennsylvania & other states. Coupled with whipping up their base on the other side of it, the whole thing been quite effective. It's why they do so well in midterm elections- low turnout, but not by their base.

Unlike this guy, quite prominent in Repub thinking, I want everybody to vote-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPsl_TuFdes

A big part of the reason younger people and poorer people get screwed so hard is that they don't vote.

 

[zinfamous]

My friend told me that I should vote because every vote counts, but then that got me thinking. If votes are counted per state and not individually and unless the state is 50/50 or near that status with republican and democrat voters, then your vote really does not count. Like in Texas, without a doubt it's a Republican state, so if I wanted to vote democrats, it really makes no difference as the majority will be republican anyway, so doesn't that mean my vote does not really matter?

Demographics change. In fact, Texas is predicted to be solidly purple by the end of the next 2 major election cycles. It's funny, really, when you hear the natives over there make fun of California, because all of them are moving to Texas because it's cheap.

Careful what you wish for, dildoheads.

Anyway, individual votes certainly do matter to a degree. They are very important locally, and local politics are far more important for your day-to-day, anyway.

 

[unokitty]

System is legal but corrupt

...members of the US Congress are dependent upon funding from large donors. Lessig sees the system as "legal but corrupt"... In Lessig's view, it is a systemic problem. He noted that congresspersons spend three of every five weekdays raising money for reelection. It leads to inertia: left-leaning Occupy Wall Street activists see little progress on legislation dealing with global warming, while right-leaning Tea Party activists see little progress on simplifying the tax code. According to Lessig, congresspersons being dependent on large donors affects the ability of Congress to govern, whether or not donations actually change the way members of Congress vote on measures.

Congress spends 3 out every 5 weekdays raising money for reelection.

System is corrupt. All political parties are playing the money game.

If you aren't funding them, you don't count....

Uno

 

[Jhhnn]

System is legal but corrupt


Congress spends 3 out every 5 weekdays raising money for reelection.

System is corrupt. All political parties are playing the money game.

If you aren't funding them, you don't count....

Uno

If you don't vote, you count even less. If you support efforts to limit the franchise, you're on the wrong side of democracy. Win or lose, I want everybody to vote.

 

[Jaepheth]

 

[rudder]

When voting for president it can matter... but that election is determined by electoral college. Every time someone like Gore loses you hear the "but he won the popular vote" cry. The electoral college is designed so that California, Florida, and New York do not determine presidential elections every year.

At least when I go to vote for president, I am also voting for senators, representatives, governors, mayors, alderman, etc. The lower on the chart you go, the more the vote matters.

Plus if you do not vote, you have no right to bitch on here... even if you write in Willie Nelson for President.

 

[fskimospy]

When voting for president it can matter... but that election is determined by electoral college. Every time someone like Gore loses you hear the "but he won the popular vote" cry. The electoral college is designed so that California, Florida, and New York do not determine presidential elections every year.

At least when I go to vote for president, I am also voting for senators, representatives, governors, mayors, alderman, etc. The lower on the chart you go, the more the vote matters.

Plus if you do not vote, you have no right to bitch on here... even if you write in Willie Nelson for President.

Again though, at least statistically your vote is functionally meaningless, especially for any statewide or federal position. Even when you go down to local races your vote is still usually one among hundreds at a minimum, which again reduces your chance for your vote actually mattering to an insignificant amount.

I get the argument that voting is a social thing, that it's party of your civic duty, etc, etc. That's all well and good. One thing it's not good for is actually determining who gets elected into that office.

 

[JumBie]

Considering all the voting scandals that have occurred in the past, I am willing to bet your vote does not matter.

 

[dank69]

Considering all the voting scandals that have occurred in the past, I am willing to bet your vote does not matter.

"All" the voting scandals? What percentage are we talking about here when compared to the number of elections held?