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dackinthebox t1_ivv68xf wrote

Reply to comment by starcom_magnate in Any official updates to the State House election?? by [deleted]

Every election season I have a friend who doesn’t vote because “my vote doesn’t matter” and I tell him that every time, that it counts every time.

I also like to jokingly bring up that Kevin Costner movie when people say that their votes don’t matter

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orangesfwr t1_ivves25 wrote

The scary thing is that the one vote in this case may not just decide one race, but which party controls the state house for the first time in 12 years

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SnooRevelations9889 t1_ivv9dm5 wrote

People start their voting habit when they develop a connection to some broader community, whether it's your physical neighborhood, or some other group.

"My vote" might not matter, but "our votes" swing elections.

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CARLEtheCamry t1_ivyo1i8 wrote

> "My vote" might not matter, but "our votes" swing elections.

A lot of this stems from people not understanding how the elections work. I live in a red county, and a lot of people have the perception that their vote doesn't matter because of the way the Presidential elections work with the electoral college - they thing the entire county "goes" to a candidate and that's it, because that's the map they're used to seeing.

That's not how the midterms work. Every vote counts. If I was the only person in my county to vote for Fetterman, it still counts towards the statewide count.

The urban counties do the heavy lifting for sure - but my red county still had about 35% voting Dem. Without those votes the election would have turned out quite differently.

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SnooRevelations9889 t1_ivyqg6x wrote

And information people can be hard work.

It's sad but true that people have a general bias towards inaction that drives down voting rates.

People will tend to believe the things that mean they don't need to do anything.

I've had Independent voters insist to me they weren't allowed to vote in non-Presidential year general elections, because they weren't registered with a party.

FACT: There is an election ever November in PA, and all registered voters, regardless of party registration, are eligible to participate.

(The situation for the spring primary elections is a little more muddled. Unaffiliated/minor party candidates won't have primary candidates to vote for, but there are sometimes referenda for PA Constitutional amendments, or local issues. But November, every year.)

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badatmetroid t1_ivxvrd6 wrote

I think of myself as a member in a larger trend. If I think "my vote doesn't matter" and don't vote then people who think the most like me probably are also thinking the same. If we all do the same then suddenly our lack of voting does matter, and people like me won't get representation in government.

Then I suddenly remember voter turn out by age and realize that I basically just reinvented the age old problem of society being help back because the youth don't vote.

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