Does my individual vote count in the overall election?

Question

With the electorial vote legal, does my individual vote count at all? I don't think so.

Answer 1

this question has two answers.

first of all, yes, your vote does count towards the "overall" election. every vote is counted, and therefore, each vote counts. but this is where it gets tricky.

the second answer is this:

once all of the votes are counted, the majority party takes the votes. and that's where the electoral college comes into play. the electoral college is a means of establishing "ballance of power" between states, so that a state has equal representation based on it's population and size. each state has a set number of "votes" that go towards the final race. the majority party wins all of the votes that that state has, and thats how you get a red or blue state. the ENTIRE state vote goes democrat or republican.

so, assume a state has a population of ten million and they are assigned five electoral votes. if three people million vote democrat, four million vote republican, and three million just dont vote, then the republican party wins the electoral votes since they have the majority. therefore, all of the votes of the democrats technically aren't counted anymore, and five votes go towards the main race.

each state's electoral votes are counted, and the party with the most electoral votes wins the election.

this is somewhat tricky because even though the system is supposed to "ballance the power," it is possible for a party to actually recieve a higher POPULAR vote, which is the actuall number of votes, but still have the lower electoral representation.
all that really means is that someone can get more individual votes, but still lose the race becuase the differences in the states' electoral values.

so to answer your question, your vote counts up to a point. once the electoral votes kick in, the rest is up to the other states.

Answer 2

Voting is one of the most important, responsible acts you can do as a citizen. The Presidential election is the only one that is affected by the Electoral vote count which another person has done a good job of explaining, but all other forms of representation from Representatives and Senators all the way down to the local level offices are decided by popular vote. The last election in November sent a clear message that the people of these country did not like the direction it was going in. Your vote does make a difference, so do it!!

Answer 3

To be honest, it depends on where you live.

Dr. Drew had a good answer in my opinion, because he (right?) described the electoral college process. The only correction I have to make is that there are some states that split their electoral college based on the popular vote (however, this is very rare). Kevin also has an excellent point, one that more people should pay attention to than actually do.

Now to answer your question directly: If you live in a state with a low population, then your vote will count for more than in a highly populated state. For example, a vote in Wyoming counts for almost 3 times as much as a vote in California. This is because there is a minimum number (3) of electoral college votes per state, so even if a state doesn't reach the population threshold to get 1 or 2 electoral votes, it will automatically receive 3. Because of the proportions, therefore, a vote in a sparsely populated state is worth more to the national election than a vote in a heavily populated state.

I hope this answered your question. If it's confusing, let me know.

Answer 4

Yes, your vote counts. Judging from the razor thin election results in the latest US general election, one vote can make a difference on a national scale. If just 20,000 people had voted the other way, the Democrats would not control the senate. That says something.

On more local scales, your vote can make a huge impact. When a mayoral or aldermanic election has only 200 voters, sometimes the results come down to only 1 or 2 votes. Since your local government impacts you directly (taxes, ordinances, etc.) paying attention to local goings on and voting in EVERY election is definately worth your while.

Answer 5

In a democracy, a person's vote is meant to influence the outcome of any vote that comes up in the Parliament. However, with party politics, our votes become meaningless, as our candidate must vote along the party lines.

Who decides the party line? Well, I would think that it would be those who have the most influence on the party.

And who could that be? I would think that it would be those who contribute most to the party, such as the big financial/corporate donors.

If a person doesn't make a major financial contribution, then I tend to think that that person's vote really only means that he/she helped some person get a good pension via being elected to a Parliament .

Politicians are meant to be civil servants, that is , to be civil and to serve. They seem to do neither.

Answer 6

Yes, election still can be decided by one vote. Imagine if every each state was decided by one vote. And the electoral college only is used for the presidential election, no only national election.

I don't believe that any state uses an electoral college system for its governor or senators.

The idea behind the electoral college is not that you vote for the president, but you elect the elector who will vote for the candidate you want to be president. You see, the electoral college is actually a group of people who you elect to vote for the president.

Answer 7

Yes ... because that is your opinion.

I believe that you are NO nobody but somebody (an individual). I'm sure that you want your voice heard.

If everybody start thinking that their individual vote doesn't count then no one will go for voting and then you can't complain about elected person.

Answer 8

Yes - all votes count in the long run!@

Answer 9

Your vote pails in comparison to your right to free speech, if you feel strong about a subject let it be known. To influence others to vote, is to increase the power of your vote.

Answer 10

Absolutely