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Quote by: Judicator  Especially in the major elections, where my vote will be one among millions. In my view, the only way you can make a difference in any election with that number of people is if you actually change the outcome of the election, i.e. if the election is decided by a single vote (yours).
This seems vastly improbable, to the point where the cost of voting (walking to the polls, registering to vote, etc) outweighs the expected benefit (the extra enjoyment you get out of having your candidate in office instead of other one, weighted by the probability that your vote will result in his election).
A couple reasons I've seen before but rejected:
"It's your civic duty." I don't know if this is true. There are a lot of people who I think aren't sufficiently informed to make good voting decisions, will vote on narrow issues (ignoring the welfare of the country as a whole). Maybe we're better off not encouraging these people to vote. If they did, candidates would have extra incentive to pander to narrow interests and ignore real policy questions (which I think harms the political process.
"But if everyone thought the way you did, nobody would vote and democracy wouldn't work etc etc." First of all, in some ways this would benefit me because then my vote would matter more (and I might actually vote as a result). Secondly, this doesn't really respond to my point. Whether or not I vote has a little effect (if any) on whether or not others vote. Other people don't ask me if I voted or not before deciding whether or not to vote; they make the choice independently.
Any others? Maybe you have more right to complain about a current administration if you voted? |
You have sort of answered your own question, if no one voted then democracy would fail and the Supreme Court would have to appoint someone like they did when they could not count everyone's vote.
It has become more of being an emotional expression of some sort, like shouting in a crowd of sceaming teenagers over some super star rock singer.
It feels good. Like buying a lotto ticket. A wish motivated idea based on some day dream.
For example: If one tiny star vanished from the sky would it make any differnece to us? But if they all stopped twinkling then our view of the night sky would become dark indeed. A single vote would not be missed, it is the massing of a million votes that makes the difference.
So come next election day I will hum a little tune "twinkle twinkle little star, where are you" and I will be thinking about your thread here.