# If you don't care, don't vote **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 23, 2000, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998 "2000-03-23T23:29:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![billehunt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c37758/32.png) [@billehunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billehunt)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2000, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/1 "2000-03-23T23:29:00Z")
Or so say I. I’ve read two posts in the last couple of days where people have said, “I don’t care about the election results, but I vote because I’m a good American.” Nonsense. You aren’t doing anybody a favor by registering your political preferences. And if you really don’t care about the results, then your vote is diminishing the value of those who do. If you don’t care, sit back and let us drive. Response? ---
**Author:** ![Cooper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@Cooper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cooper)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/2 "2000-03-24T00:06:00Z")
Most people don’t vote. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/3 "2000-03-24T00:28:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by billehunt: > **If you don’t care, sit back and let us drive. > Response?** I thought it was “bend over and let me drive”? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WillGolfForFood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/82dd89/32.png) [@WillGolfForFood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillGolfForFood)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/4 "2000-03-24T00:39:00Z")
Note, though, that if you don’t vote, no politician is going to care what you think. You’re just extra revenue for the tax base. Politicians tend to pander to us older folks, because a higher percentage of us vote. Take that, young whippersnappers! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/5 "2000-03-24T01:05:00Z")
Is THAT why your username mentions an Old Person’s sport! (Ooh, I’m gonna get it for that one! If he can catch me on his walker, that is.) ---
**Author:** ![WillGolfForFood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/82dd89/32.png) [@WillGolfForFood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillGolfForFood)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/6 "2000-03-24T02:28:00Z")
(wheeze) come back here, you young punk! (gasp) Why, in my day… ---
**Author:** ![David\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@David\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_B)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/7 "2000-03-24T04:07:00Z")
I agree with the subject line (I’ve seen elections won because clueless morons went and just voted for the person with the best name), I also would add: But if you don’t vote, don’t bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/8 "2000-03-25T06:50:00Z")
I did care, I did vote, It didn’t matter, so why should I bother next time? ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/9 "2000-03-27T15:39:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by **fogmage** : > > I did care, > I did vote, > It didn’t matter, > so why should I bother next time? Just because your candidate lost doesn’t mean your vote didn’t matter. When some elections come down to literally hundreds of votes, every one really _does_ count. Voting is and should be a fundamental right of this country, and exercising that right is, IMHO, a responsibility. Esprix * * * [Ask the Gay Guy!](http://boards.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum7/HTML/001376.html) ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/10 "2000-03-27T17:11:00Z")
The subject line is exactly why I don’t vote in most elections. President, yes. Congressional representation, yes. Local elections? Nope. Take my current situation - living in Washington, DC. I am only going to be here for another year or two max. Why should I cast a vote for the mayor or a city council member when I have no vested interest in the long-term health or welfare of the community at large? Not to say that I don’t care about the community, but I just don’t feel justified in making a decision that will effect the city long after I am gone. So until I am mostly done with my education and reasonably settled in a location, I’ll vote in national and occasionally in statewide elections, but rarely in local elections. Thanks for listening, ## Rhythmdvl Once in a while you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right… ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/11 "2000-03-27T21:38:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by **Rhythmdvl** : > > So until I am mostly done with my education and reasonably settled in a location, I’ll vote in national and occasionally in statewide elections, but rarely in local elections. So when you get settled in your new home, will you vote in your local elections? Seems to me those have far more immediate impact on a person than national do. IMHO… Esprix * * * [Ask the Gay Guy!](http://boards.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum7/HTML/001376.html) ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/12 "2000-03-31T00:57:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by David B: > \*\*I agree with the subject line (I’ve seen elections won because clueless morons went and just voted for the person with the best name), I also would add: > > But if you don’t vote, don’t bitch.\*\* That’s an easy way out. I don’t vote and I have every right to bitch. Our government doesn’t represent us, and there is no possible way for it to do so. The vast majority of our government is apointed not elected. Those that are elected are elected because they serve the interests of Big business, not because they have popular appeal. I don’t vote for people because I know it won’t make a difference. Allow me to clarify that slightly. I do live in San Francisco, so I do vote on props. And I did vote in the last D.A.'s race, however I think that if someone else didn’t vote in that race because they felt they couldn’t make a difference, they would be more correct than someone who had voted. They understand how politics works much more than your average voter. ---
**Author:** ![WillGolfForFood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/82dd89/32.png) [@WillGolfForFood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillGolfForFood)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/13 "2000-03-31T02:57:00Z")
Bitch all you want. Nobody’s going to care, though, because you don’t vote so you don’t count. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/14 "2000-03-31T03:19:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Esprix: > Just because your candidate lost doesn’t mean your vote didn’t matter. When some elections come down to literally hundreds of votes, every one really _does_ count. Um, Esprix? I know I’m new here, and I don’t want to question someone with whom I so often find myself in agreement (I’ve lurked a lot), but…even if an election comes down to “literally” hundreds of votes, your vote **doesn’t** matter. Mathematically. If you vote for Jim Bob, and he wins by three hundred votes, _he would still have won_ had you not voted. If you don’t vote, and Cletus\* wins by **thirty** votes, he’d have still won if you’d gone out and voted against the dirty sumbitch. Sure, it’s a narrow margin of victory–far narrower than most–but your single vote ain’t gonna determine the outcome either way. One vote is still only one vote, no matter how close the race. Look, I’m as big a proponent of democratic principles as anyone, and I think voting is a wonderful, wonderful thing. _En masse_, it’s absolutely crucial that people get out there, get themselves informed, and take part in our ostensibly representative political process. And if you can mobilize other people who share your point of view to get out and vote, that’s fantastic–you can definitely make a difference. But the odds of your one vote actually influencing the outcome of an election? Well, let’s just say you’ve got a better chance of persuading CalifBoomer to tongue-kiss Ricky Martin. Now, if our system of voting was based upon proportional representation or preference list…naw, but those are sicko socialist European ideas, so who needs 'em? :rolleyes: \*I’m assuming for the purpose of these hypotheticals that you’re a registered voter in Alabama. ---
**Author:** ![David\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@David\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_B)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/15 "2000-03-31T03:19:00Z")
oldscratch said: > [@](#): > > That’s an easy way out. I don’t vote and I have every right to bitch. Sure, you have every _right_ to bitch – it’s in the First Amendment. But that doesn’t mean I want to hear it if you can’t even be bothered to use your _right_ to vote. > [@](#): > > Our government doesn’t represent us, and there is no possible way for it to do so. The vast majority of our government is apointed not elected. Those that are elected are elected because they serve the interests of Big business, not because they have popular appeal. I don’t vote for people because I know it won’t make a difference. Well, you’re certainly doing a good job bitching. Too bad you don’t put some of that energy to work in trying to change things – like by voting. You may think your vote won’t make a difference, but I can assure you that if you don’t vote, your opinion certainly won’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![billehunt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c37758/32.png) [@billehunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billehunt)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/16 "2000-03-31T08:24:00Z")
**oldscratch** wrote > [@](#): > > I don’t vote and I have every right to bitch. Our government doesn’t represent us, and there is no possible way for it to do so. […] Those that are elected are elected because they serve the interests of Big business, not because they have popular appeal. Man, I am so glad to hear you don’t vote. Especially since I live in the Bay Area as well. This post is for you, baby. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/17 "2000-03-31T14:56:00Z")
I’m happy to report that I very rarely vote because I rarely see a politician who I can get behind and who doesn’t appear to be pandering to the lowest common denomenator. Another reason is because voting only serves to encourages political behaviour… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/18 "2000-03-31T16:55:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by **Gadarene** : > > … even if an election comes down to “literally” hundreds of votes, your vote **doesn’t** matter. Mathematically. Yes, yes, blah blah blah. You should still vote. I’d resort to the “if everyone who didn’t vote actually voted things would change,” but even I would refute that. 🙂 Suffice it to say that everyone should vote - we’ve fought for it, we’ve earned it, and even if the system is far from perfect, it’s the best thing we got, and involvement by everyone can only improve it (IMHO). > [@](#): > > But the odds of your one vote actually influencing the outcome of an election? Well, let’s just say you’ve got a better chance of persuading CalifBoomer to tongue-kiss Ricky Martin. Well, I did persuade CalifBoomer to change his opinion on something, and Ricky Martin did dodge Barbara Walters’ question if he was gay or not, soooooo… [![](http://homepage.eircom.net/~bray/guests/00hahaha.gif) ](http://homepage.eircom.net/~bray/guests/00hahaha.gif) Esprix * * * [Ask the Gay Guy!](http://boards.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum7/HTML/001376.html) ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2000, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/19 "2000-04-01T06:05:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by David B: > **Well, you’re certainly doing a good job bitching. Too bad you don’t put some of that energy to work in trying to change things – like by voting. You may think your vote won’t make a difference, but I can assure you that if you don’t vote, your opinion certainly won’t matter.** How limited of you. 🙂 The only way to change is to vote? I don’t think so. I fo quite a bit of work to change things. I’m just not foolish enough **waste** my time voting. Silly me, I’m a socialist, a Sorelian, if you must know. And no, that is not a Star Trek alien. 🙂 I believe that the only way to create change for the positive is through direct mass action. How could people have shut down the WTO through voting? The end of Apartied didn’t come through voting. The EPA didn’t come through voting. Supreme court descions are not influenced by voting. Affirmative action wasn’t created through voting. The Spanish revolution didn’t come about through voting. Etc, etc. The death penalty ban in Illinois didn’t come through voting, it came through people putting pressure on the system. If anything I put in more work then your average voter, who is content to check a few boxes once a year and then complain when the politions don’t do what they promised. ---
**Author:** ![David\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@David\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_B)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2000, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998/20 "2000-04-01T02:54:00Z")
Oldscratch said: > [@](#): > > The end of Apartied didn’t come through voting. The EPA didn’t come through voting. Supreme court descions are not influenced by voting. Affirmative action wasn’t created through voting. … The death penalty ban in Illinois didn’t come through voting, it came through people putting pressure on the system. Baloney in all the cases above. All of those things happened because people _voted_ in politicians who made them happen. Even Supreme Court cases – because justices are appointed by the President, who is _voted_ into office. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-dont-care-dont-vote/17998.md?page=2)