On Wasted Votes

**DumberDrummer** · 10-31-2007, 08:20 PM

Where does this delusion come from?

I was having a conversation with my mom the other day about how she was going to register Democrat so she could vote for Barack Obama (she really hates Hillary too).

I'm thinking about voting for Ron Paul in the primaries, but my mom got me thinking... what's worth more to me, voting for Ron Paul, or helping to keep Hillary out of the race? I wondered as such aloud

This is when my sister decided to chime in with something along the lines of "Ron Paul doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning the primary, don't waste your vote"

AGH!

Why do people always say this? How is a vote a waste?

It just bugs me to hell that everyone seems to perceive a waste in voting for someone unlikely to win. What if there's 40 million people who think the same way you do? Where are we then?

I hear everyone complaining about the government, but then they refuse to vote in someone who isn't a part of our dual-party system, just because "they are unlikely to win"

Yeah, one vote is 1/300 millionth of the total possible votes. So statistically speaking, your vote doesn't mean squat.

Unfortunately there is this attitude that pervades a lot of people that can't understand that statistically insignificant forces when averaged over a large amount of people can amount to a LARGE force.

RedScott · 10-31-2007, 08:26 PM

The only wasted vote is one for the wrong candidate.

**Drew1369** · 11-01-2007, 03:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedScott

The only wasted vote is one for the wrong candidate.

And hence the reason drummer is complaining...

There is no wasted vote, how is anything a wasted vote?

10-31-2007, 08:20 PM	#1 (permalink)
DumberDrummer Cymru am byth Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Oregon Posts: 5,385 OS: Windows XP Pro SP2 My System	On Wasted Votes Where does this delusion come from? I was having a conversation with my mom the other day about how she was going to register Democrat so she could vote for Barack Obama (she really hates Hillary too). I'm thinking about voting for Ron Paul in the primaries, but my mom got me thinking... what's worth more to me, voting for Ron Paul, or helping to keep Hillary out of the race? I wondered as such aloud This is when my sister decided to chime in with something along the lines of "Ron Paul doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning the primary, don't waste your vote" AGH! Why do people always say this? How is a vote a waste? It just bugs me to hell that everyone seems to perceive a waste in voting for someone unlikely to win. What if there's 40 million people who think the same way you do? Where are we then? I hear everyone complaining about the government, but then they refuse to vote in someone who isn't a part of our dual-party system, just because "they are unlikely to win" Yeah, one vote is 1/300 millionth of the total possible votes. So statistically speaking, your vote doesn't mean squat. Unfortunately there is this attitude that pervades a lot of people that can't understand that statistically insignificant forces when averaged over a large amount of people can amount to a LARGE force. __________________ Living with Louie dog's the only way to stay sane _____________________________________________ ... and with those words so begins my lifetime of longing for the devil's warm embrace

10-31-2007, 08:26 PM	#2 (permalink)
RedScott Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 496 OS: Windows XP	Re: On Wasted Votes The only wasted vote is one for the wrong candidate.