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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Economics Professor, Rhodes College
Pretty much all of these are "if you don't vote, you won't get goodies from the government." In bold caps, we are told that the government is deciding "YOUR FUTURE." If anything, this is an argument against the legitimacy of the political system because it requires the encroachment of coercion into situations where it is not warranted. But the question isn't one about philosophies of government but is rather about whether an individual vote matters, and none of the points made here provide evidence that a single vote is likely to matter. These may be broad reasons to participate in the political system, but these points do not answer the narrower question of whether an individual vote is likely to matter.
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