YOUR VOTE DOES MATTER
November 5, 2012 § 8 Comments
It’s fashionable this season to be cynical about the republic and our role in it. You’ve heard it: “My vote doesn’t matter. Romney’s going to win Mississippi’s electoral votes in a landslide, whether I vote for him or against him. Why should I bother?” or “My vote doesn’t count. All that counts is the big bucks those lobbyists put in the pockets of congressmen.” or “The people we elect don’t do what they promised, so why should I keep playing that game?”
Here are a few reasons:
- Sure, one vote isn’t much, but it is what you have as a citizen. It’s your power. If you don’t exercise it, you have no power. You can’t do everything, but you can do this one thing.
- People all over the world would give everything they own to be in your place as an American with the liberty you enjoy and the simple freedom to have a voice in your own destiny.
- You owe it to the brave men and women who have spilled their blood in defense of your right to vote.
- It’s the main thing that sets our nation apart and makes us special.
- It means you are doing your part.
Six years ago I knocked on hundreds of doors and asked thousands of people to vote for me. It astounded, baffled and infuriated me to be told not once but dozens of times that the person I spoke with was not even registered to vote — mainly because he or she did not want to be bothered by jury duty. I am willing to bet that most of these individuals are some of the very same who self-righteously rail against illegal immigrants. If it were in my power, I would take away each of those non-voting person’s citizenship and bestow it on people who risked their lives to come here — many, yes, illegally — but who yearn for the very privileges of democracy that those lazy “citizens” won’t exercise.
Yes, voting takes time out of a busy day. Yes, it takes you off of your more convenient route to or from wherever you are going. Yes, it sometimes seems futile.
But it’s the one thing you can do as a citizen. It’s your little thank-you note for the liberty you enjoy.
The Better Chancery Practice Blog 
Great post, Judge Primeaux. The vote is vital to the country. Many people, here and abroad, have lost much, including many lives, to allow future generations (us) to vote.
Please vote!
A reason to vote even in long shots: The national parties place resources based on where they think a candidate has a chance. If there is suddenly a large negative vote in a state where they placed no resources for the challenger, it tells them “maybe we can have a chance there.” Yet another way to send a message.
Also, I have never known of an election in which, somewhere on the ballot, there wasn’t something still in contest that mattered. Tomorrow, there’s a Mississippi Supreme Court race for an open seat on my ballot, for instance.
Good points, especially re the supreme court. We in the central district have a contested race, too, that has generated a lot of sparks.
I have never missed voting in an election and always take my children with me when I vote. My 12 year old, the last one still at home, can’t wait to go tomorrow! We had an exchange student from Brazil last year, she said in Brazil voting is madatory and not showing proof that you voted can cause a person there to lose govt benefits and loans, sounds like a good idea to me!
Many countries have mandatory voting. We had Australian neighbors years ago who were astonished that Americans would choose simply not to vote. They said you were fined in that country if you did not vote. I guess people could argue that they have as much a right to vote as they have not to vote, and I don’t like the idea of a coercive democracy (almost an oxymoron). Still, I have no respect for anyone who does not register to vote, or who opts not to.
Judge: You are so right! My father in law, literally on his deathbed, the last day of his life, made sure my wife and my mother in law(his wife) voted that day. Jak Smith
Well stated Judge!
Those who refuse to vote are symbolically spitting in the face of the people who sacrificed their lives and livelihood for the right we all have to vote.
Amen to that. Everyone must vote.
Bill
Sent from my iPhone