According to International IDEA, the United States has almost the lowest voter turnout in the world, ranked a measly 140 out of 163. Perhaps Americans are apathetic, or maybe they’re just concerned their vote is meaningless in the face of America's massive political machine. Can my vote really change the course of politics, or am I just a grain of sand on the massive beach of democracy?
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It Depends on What You Mean by "Matter"
- From Art Carden
By Art Carden - Economics Professor, Rhodes College
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If a tree fell in a forest....
I disagree.
Consider this, if a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it mean that the tree didn't fall?
Of course not!
Now consider this too, if an election is based on a count of 1 vote, which all are by the way, then how will you ever know that your vote wasn't that one your candidate needed? You can't, unless you're claiming Supreme Godhood!
Some where along the election process the pivotal point of 1 vote is passed, but on that road are all those votes being cast which tally up to that pivoting point. So what if 1,000,000 votes are cast afterword. Nobody knows when that pivotal point is reached until hours after it's actually been reached. So the weight of your vote isn't unknown to anyone but God.
Were I would agree is on your point of a vote being "decisive". Every vote is crucial, but only in a extremely close election or in the case of your example of a small polity like the Supreme Court, does a single vote become "decisive."
- michaelz
October 16, 2008 11:05AM
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