# Why I Don't Vote **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 14, 2015, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-vote/712664 "2015-02-14T20:33:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-vote/712664/21 "2015-02-16T00:44:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m confused at the OP. You title your thread “Why I Don’t Vote”, and then give seven very good reasons why voting is critical. I was thinking the same exact thing. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-vote/712664/22 "2015-02-16T01:50:19Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > You can tell me one vote doesn’t make a difference. > > But if everyone who doesn’t vote because one vote doesn’t make a difference were to vote, _their votes would make a difference._ First of all, that’s not one vote, that’s many votes. Notice how, in order to justify “one vote matters,” you have to immediately jettison the “one vote” part. Second of all, no, it doesn’t make a difference. Without those people voting, it’s 6,400 for the Democrat and 7,200 for the Republican. With 1000 “voting doesn’t matter” people being whipped until they go to the polls, it’s 6,900 blue - 7,700 Red, and the Pub still wins, still goes to Washington, and still votes for whatever his party boss tells him to. Why do all the “your vote matters” folks seem to think everyone sitting at home is on the same team? ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-vote/712664/23 "2015-02-16T02:23:19Z")
Reminds me of a song from the Daily show Just remember this November that your vote will count a very very very very very small amount ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-vote/712664/24 "2015-02-16T02:36:02Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Why do all the “your vote matters” folks seem to think everyone sitting at home is on the same team? Non-voters tend to lean left. That’s why liberals try to get as many people as possible to vote and conservatives try to make it as hard as possible. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-vote/712664/25 "2015-02-16T03:28:44Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Non-voters tend to lean left. Do you have a cite for that? ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-vote/712664/26 "2015-02-16T14:49:04Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Is there no room for altruism, public service and the good of the community (define it as you will) in your worldview? i honestly don’t see how these are helped by a single vote that will have absolutely no effect on the outcome. Even if it did, that’s fine and great that “improving” those aspects is worth more to you than the costs. Still a personal decision and not more “right” than someone who comes tot the conclusion it’s not worth the bother. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-vote/712664/27 "2015-02-16T14:59:21Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Do you have a cite for that? > **[The Party of Nonvoters](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2014/10/31/the-party-of-nonvoters-2/)** > > Survey Report With just four days before the midterm elections, the spotlight understandably is focused on the estimated 40% of voting age adults who are Non-voters tend to be younger, poorer, and more ethnically diverse, all groups that tend to align with the Democrats. About 50% of nonvoters lean Democrat but only 30% of them lean Republican, while the regular voting population is split more like 50%/45%. So, assuming the swing in the middle splits evenly, an increase in voter participation will tend to move the needle to the left. If everyone voted, the Democrats would win more elections. Which is why the Republicans try to make sure as few people vote as possible. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-vote/712664/28 "2015-02-16T15:40:17Z")
I can sort of see what he’s getting at with #1 in particular. I mean, there are things I dislike extremely about both parties’ platforms and things I dislike extremely about individual candidates from either party. Often, it feels like I ought to make a huge matrix and assign scores to each question/issue, and calculate who I should vote for based on that. > [@BobLibDem](#): > > 6- Only one party is trying to make you jump through these hoops. If you give up without trying, they win. Read his response- he’s not talking about voter ID, he’s talking about having to have an ID in order to register to vote. AFAIK, that’s required in all 50 states , even in motor-voter states. It’s not reasonable to expect someone to just register to vote without some form of ID, and some form of ID is also required to get a driver’s license. I do agree that a voter registration card ought to be enough to actually cast a vote however. And where are the polling places a 3 hour ride away by public transit? Everywhere that I’ve ever lived have had the polling places no more than half a mile away, and that’s on the extreme side. Most of them used a local school or church within walking distance for everyone registered to that polling place. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-vote/712664/29 "2015-02-16T15:59:17Z")
When you do not vote, you hand the last piece of control over your own life to somebody else. Randomly. Vote. Hell, run for local office. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-vote/712664/30 "2015-02-19T09:15:39Z")
> [@polar\_bear](#): > > i honestly don’t see how these are helped by a single vote that will have absolutely no effect on the outcome. Even if it did, that’s fine and great that “improving” those aspects is worth more to you than the costs. Still a personal decision and not more “right” than someone who comes tot the conclusion it’s not worth the bother. Is “right” even a meaningful term in your lexicon? ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-vote/712664/31 "2015-02-26T00:32:48Z")
> [@BlindTyger](#): > > DISCLAIMER: If you have any strongly held religious beliefs or political loyalties, don’t read this. I don’t want to invoke anyone’s wrath. This is just venting. > > 1. Who can determine the lesser of two evils? > 2. Either way, taxes will still exist. I earned that money! (Yes, the people have the right to protest and petition against them…but for some reason, still haven’t) > 3. The Republicans are close-minded, the Liberals aren’t liberal enough to stamp out the Republicans, and the other parties must be obscure and unpopular for a reason. > 4. If and when the US falls apart in 2022\*, will it really matter who’s running it? > 5. It has been noted that Christianity is “falling in popularity among developed countries” including this one. So why do the God-centered Republicans dominate the House/Senate currently? > 6. It costs money to get a copy of one’s birth certificate to get an ID to get a voting license. And if that much is required just to vote, then it’s not worth the three-hour, $4.50 ride on public transportation. > 7. Over the past few years, it has become obvious that the rich will stay rich and the poor get poorer unless something changes. Voting cannot make that change. Voting is a closed-ended question: A or B? If neither A nor B has your best interests in mind, to heck with it. > > \*_Predicted via astrology. Yes, BlindTyger is one of those woo-woos._ 😛 I’m not voting either, so, my non-vote cancels out your non-vote. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-vote/712664/32 "2015-02-26T00:36:43Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > If everyone voted, the Democrats would win more elections. Which is why the Republicans try to make sure as few people vote as possible. Wrong. If everybody voted by party affiliation and voter registration rolls, as of today, the Democrats would win. Sometimes, a clown candidate (witness Jimmy Carter) would cause a defection from his party, and the Democrats would lose. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-dont-vote/712664.md?page=1)