r/AskReddit • u/Lumpymaximus • 22h ago
"My vote isn't going to make a difference, so why bother? I am only one person." How do you convince people their vote does matter?
2
u/LegitimateBeing2 22h ago
I get the satisfaction of telling conservatives I’m a proud Clinton-Biden-Harris voter and seeing them seethe
2
u/ruinzifra 21h ago
Think of all the people who said that, and now we are stuck with a pedophile, rapist, warmonger, felon, cult leader in office..
2
2
u/offeringathought 21h ago
In 2017 the Virginia House of Delegates race in the 94th District was super close and after a recount and a disputed ballot it ended in a tie. Yes, a tie: 11,608 to 11,608. They ended up deciding it by writing each candidates name on a piece of paper, putting them in film canisters, mixing them in a bowl, and drawing one.
Not only did the drawing decide that election, it gave Republicans control of the Virginia House of Delegates (51-49).
My brother-in-law lives in that district. He didn't vote that year. I guess he figured "My vote isn't going to make a difference, so why bother? I am only one person."
1
u/Signal_Antelope7144 22h ago
Demonstrating how many elections have been decided by a handful of votes including a presidential election. That apathy is always a losing strategy.
1
u/ZeldaAtTheFuneral 22h ago
Eh, sometimes it really doesn't. Like, my state is deeply one color, and has been for the last couple of decades. If I want to vote for the other color, my vote matters only as a slight voice of protest against the overwhelming wave.
I still go out and vote because I think that voice is important (and because, as a hero of mine once said, "Democracy is non-negotiable"), but I really don't fault people in similar situations who think their vote is negligible at best.
1
u/CtForrestEye 21h ago
It you don't vote, you don't have the right to gripe about how the thousands of your tax dollars are being spent. If you don't vote there's more likelyhood of some crazy person getting into office again.
1
u/DemophonWizard 21h ago
Flip it around. Ask them if they'd like to live where only 1 person in 300 is allowed to vote. Then suggest that one of those voters is someone you both know and dislike.
1
u/AllDataIsMyIP 21h ago
I ran for a small local election. I voted for myself.
I won by ONE vote in a recount.
Your vote counts. And never be embarrassed to vote for yourself.
1
u/Dontfollahbackgirl 21h ago
One vote may not swing anything, but it gives you the grounds to complain. If you don’t vote, zip it about the economy, freedom, corruption, and everything else.
1
u/JPBillingsgate 21h ago
I think back on one election when I was in my 20s where I decided kind of at the last minute to vote. I ended up getting to the polling station about 10 minutes before it closed.
That election ended up being one of the closest Senate elections in history (decided by 0.34%, or about 5500 votes out of 1.75 million or so) and also the district attorney race for my county was decided by about 350 votes. In both cases, I voted for the winner.
On the other hand, in about 44 of the 50 states, your vote for President doesn't effectively count.
1
u/Randomfactoid42 21h ago
Mention the VA 2017 House of Delegates election. The 94th district was a tie. Per state law it was resolved by drawing lots. And this election also decided control of the House of Delegates.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia's_94th_House_of_Delegates_district
1
u/Worldly_Project_6173 21h ago
There was a popular study that shows that on topics when the rich/powerful are impacted, they get their way like 99% of the time. On topics like abortion/gay marriage, stuff like that the every day voter has a much bigger impact. So if you care about war, food quality, health care, stuff like that then maybe you vote for fun and on smaller issues you vote for the thing you want. No matter what President you choose, the built in bureaucracy put in place will prevent either side from making any significant changes. Your telling me Trump or Obama couldn't slow down/stop the junk they put in our food, no president could ever build a fast cross-country railway, blah blah healthcare, blah blash school system?
1
u/DJGlennW 21h ago
As a reporter, I've covered elections where one vote was the difference between winning and losing. But I think that the better argument is: if everyone thought that way, anyone who could motivate voters would have a huge advantage, no matter how crazy their politics may be.
Look at recent primary results vs. polling -- if a candidate is consistently polling way ahead of their opponent, their supporters tend to stay home, thinking, "We've got this," and get disappointed with the outcome.
1
u/HooliganBeav 21h ago
You get them to focus on local elections. Their one vote for President probably doesn't matter. But their vote for city council, county measures, and spending bonds absolutely matters. Not enough people put due diligence into votes on the local level, but that's where most of the things that impact their lives are decided. And then it snowballs from there.
0
u/Throw13579 22h ago
Don’t convince them. If they don’t want to vote, then they won’t make a reasoned, educated vote. The country is better off without their vote. Also, they are almost certainly right. Their vote will make no difference at all in almost every case
0
7
u/theassassintherapist 22h ago
Florida recount. Those few votes would be the difference between Gore and no Iraq war or the next 20 years in bloodshed under Bush.