# Does it really matter if you vote if you know you are in the minority? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 30, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302 "2024-09-30T19:42:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2024, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302/21 "2024-10-01T21:29:15Z")
I haven’t studied much philosophy so I may be getting this wrong, but this sounds sort of like [Kant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kantian_ethics). > I ought never to act except in such a way that I could also will that my maxim should become a universal law. If you think that it would be good if everyone voted against Trump, then you should vote against him. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2024, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302/22 "2024-10-01T21:41:26Z")
To re-state again what many said already, Trumpers in a red Trump county will still behave differently if they see polls and election outcomes that show that their red-MAGA district is not 90% MAGA like they believed, but only 60%. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2024, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302/23 "2024-10-01T22:57:48Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Since they live in “X” area their vote does not count because they are in the minority. The vote total that matters for President, federal senators, and state-level executive positions is the state-level total. Choosing to not vote because your county, city, or neighborhood is heavily Those People is choosing to fail to affect the state-level total that is perhaps plausibly swing-able. If only you (rhetorical you) had bothered. For lower-level races most people have no real idea what the boundaries of their federal congressional district, statehouse district(s), or city councilmember’s region is. So they may conclude it’s hopeless over very little real data. And that’s above and beyond all the consequences mentioned upthread of the Other Guy winning by 80% or whatever when it could have been by 52%. ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2024, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302/24 "2024-10-02T14:22:11Z")
I don’t vote because I think that my vote will make a difference, I vote because I like to bitch about the state of things - and if I do that without voting, that makes me a blowhard. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2024, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302/25 "2024-10-02T14:38:02Z")
> [@CoolHandCox](#): > > Simply, If someone wins 70% of the vote, they can do as they please. But if someone only wins 51% of the vote, they cannot do as they please or they might not get re-elected. That candidate would need to listen to the minority. > [@ftg](#): > > Lauren Boebert was in a “safe” red district in 2022. She won by less than 600 votes. There were probably a lot more than 600 Dem. voters who didn’t bother since “their vote didn’t matter”. > > A tiny number of extra Dem. voters here and there and the mess in the House Both of these. Voting establishes a mandate, but you can’t know how strong a mandate if lots of people don’t vote. And, we are on the receiving end of a lot of propaganda. “Don’t bother voting, Candidate X is going to win in a landslide!” becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy if Candidate Y’s supporters believe it and don’t vote. But if they vote, and it ends up 51-49 for Candidate X, instead of 70-30, they know that next election, a win is possible. You never really “know” you are in the minority until the votes are cast. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2024, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302/26 "2024-10-02T14:41:57Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Voting establishes a mandate, but you can’t know how strong a mandate if lots of people don’t vote. As I mentioned before, when Bush barely beat Gore he had the furthest thing from a mandate a president could get. But, he governed from day #1 as if he won a landslide. In short, I don’t think presidents give a shit about mandates anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2024, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302/27 "2024-10-02T14:51:39Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > In short, I don’t think presidents give a shit about mandates anymore. Because of the Electoral College and term limits, Presidential Mandates are very different from Congressional mandates. A President only needs a 51% win twice to maximize their effect on the world. But for Congress, they know they need to pull that 51% in every election, for as long as they want to stay in office. That makes them a bit more responsive. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2024, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302/28 "2024-10-02T17:17:45Z")
> [@CoolHandCox](#): > > _If someone wins 70% of the vote, they can do as they please. But if someone only wins 51% of the vote, they cannot do as they please or they might not get re-elected. That candidate would need to listen to the minority._ Not my congressman. He slips by election after election by 1 or 2% and he’s made it pretty clear he doesn’t give a hoot about anyone who doesn’t vote for him. He holds no town meetings and refuses any and all media requests. He’s a real scumbag who was up to his eyeballs in the attempt to overturn the election. This time he has a pretty strong opponent, but people in this county will vote for anyone who has an R by their name, so I’m not overly optimistic we will ever get rid of him. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2024, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302/29 "2024-11-01T22:21:18Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > I vote because I like to bitch about the state of things - and if I do that without voting, that makes me a blowhard. Kansas City news just interviewed someone after voting and they said “I vote so I have a right to complain” ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2024, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302/30 "2024-11-01T22:22:58Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > How should I respond to something like this? Acknowledge that they have a point and that American “democracy” is profoundly broken. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2024, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302/31 "2024-11-01T22:24:58Z")
A nice sentiment but it solves nothing. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302/32 "2024-11-01T22:38:15Z")
I disagree, once we understand that our elections are little better than Soviet show elections, we can start to do something about it. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302/33 "2024-11-02T16:15:35Z")
My minority votes show that I am here and a constituent who is going to act if my interests aren’t represented. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302/34 "2024-11-02T22:12:36Z")
While not the “know your are in the minority” category, Sen John Fetterman won his first election (a Dem. primary for mayor) by [one vote](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fetterman#Mayor_of_Braddock_(2006%E2%80%932019)). He’d probably be a complete unknown if it had gone the other way. Don’t ever take things for granted. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302/35 "2024-11-04T04:29:37Z")
I like stickers. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302/36 "2024-11-04T16:00:22Z")
I look at it this way: my candidate (or cause) may be dead in the water. But if all of us who support that candidate say “fuck it” and don’t vote, that guarantees that the other candidate is going to win. Real life example: tRump is going to win Missouri. There is no doubt about that. I’ll eat my shoe if Kamala wins Missouri. But if all of us Missouri Kamala supporters say this one out, then it’s not even a contest. It’s like if I played chess with Magnus Carlsen, sure there’s a 99.999% chance he’d wipe the floor with me. But if resigned before the first move, then it’s 100%. I’ll also be voting on a couple of issues where it’s closer than Kamala v. tRump. Amendment 3 would overturn our abortion ban, and while polls indicate that it’s like to pass, I’m not taking any chances. I’m still voting Yes. Same with Amendment 2 (legalizing sports betting) and Prop 5 (allowing a casino in the Lake of the Ozarks area). ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302/37 "2024-11-05T18:29:11Z")
So one way to put jt… In the presidential election the popular vote does matter a _little_. There is a difference between a popular vote that is almost tied and one where Harris wins my millions of votes, whatever happens in the electoral college. There is a chance this election will be decided by the SCOTUS, after some GOP electoral ratfuckery in a purple state, and it will be harder for the MAGA majority on SCOTUS to give the election to Trump when he lost the electoral college. Would I bank on them refusing to so? Hell no. But it’s something we can do today that might make a difference, no matter how small, even if you are in a deep blue or red state. Whatever the slim chance of the popular vote making a difference, it has a much much bigger chance of making a difference than anything we can do after the election ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302/38 "2024-11-05T18:40:03Z")
I live in a purplish town (Biden by 7 points in 2020) in a blue state (Biden by 33 points). Almost every single person I have talked to in the 10+ years I’ve lived here who has started talking about politics (I never do) has assumed that the town is solidly Republican and only the few hundred nutters who had Biden-Harris or Harris-Walz lawn signs are voting Democratic. They seem to be completely unswayed by the actual election results. I vote anyway. I have voted in every single primary and general election for the 25 years I’ve been eligible. I grew up in a country where your vote didn’t count (at the time, arguably it’s different now). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-really-matter-if-you-vote-if-you-know-you-are-in-the-minority/1008302.md?page=1)