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D. Garrison asks why people in America do not vote, missing the obvious answer. One vote does not make any difference whatsoever. In my life I have watched more hours of election coverage than I care to admit and in only one instance can I recall a case where an election was decided by a single vote. That election was for a school budget in a district in which I was not eligible to vote. In all of the elections in which I was a participant, my single vote did not matter one whit.
The point of a democracy is not the power of the individual to cast a single vote, but the vote given to the people. If I care passionately about an issue, I can donate time and money, sponsor rallies and in general attempt to sway large numbers of people to vote as I would. That does make a difference, and that kind of large scale effort can turn the tide of elections.
One response to my argument is that if everyone thought as I would, no one would vote and the government would run wild. As a pragmatist, I'm forced to point out that this line of reasoning is moot since large numbers of people do still vote despite the obvious truth that a single vote is worthless. D. Garrison decries the fact that "only" 52% of registered Americans voted in the last elections, but this figure represents millions of people trudging out to the polls.
Another argument often raised is that lives have been spent to ensure that I have the right to vote, which again I disagree with. I wasn't even born when WWII broke out and those brave fighters were not sacrificing so that I could vote, they were giving their lives so that all of America could have the right vote. That's a distinction that seems to be lost on many.
The right of the people to vote is invaluable in the creation of a government that is bound to the will of the people. That does not mean, however, that as an individual I have a duty to exercise my personal vote, simply because my own vote is lost in the backwash of thousand or millions of other voters. The vote matters to me because it gives me a chance to convince others of my views, to turn an army of voters to my cause and make a real difference.
Sincerely,
M. Huber
Copyright © 1997 by M. Huber mhuber@orie.cornell.edu All Rights Reserved.
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