That is a question that I have often heard. frequently exemplified by the statement, “My vote won’t really count so I don’t bother”. That of course guarantees that the speaker will not have any say in who is elected to determine local and federal policies that will deeply affect everyone’s lives.
On the most basic level, municipal elections provide residents with the opportunity to select local officials who will hopefully represent the needs and desires of a majority of the local citizens. School board members, selectmen, mayors, and their appointees and in some instances judges and law enforcement personnel are thus supposedly subject to the approval of the voters or at least those who choose to participate in the process. I recently attended a candidate’s night in my town and was surprised at the small turnout – less than three dozen or so representing a population of approximately 5500. In a couple of weeks when the election was held and votes were counted, approximately 1100 voters had participated. One new member of the consolidated school board was elected and one new town selectman. One might only speculate as to how well informed those voters were since there had been no media coverage of any kind.
At the state level, elections become more impersonal since many people may never have much interaction with candidates other than carefully staged political events. At this level, media coverage comes into play and unfortunately so does campaign financing by special interest groups. to include national political party organizations whose goal is to increase adherence to their ideology at the grassroots level. State elected officials such as governors and legislations form immediate federal connections and become influenced by financial grants and administrative edicts from the ruling party in Washington and their state policies will often mirror the national trend.
But it is at the national level where the average voter feels the most disenfranchised. Here is where the big money comes into play and the wants and needs of the proletariat have little to do with national politics. Example: Recently our current President managed to find enough time and energy to attend a campaign gala in New York City that also featured past Presidents Obama and Clinton. This event garnered over $26 million, the least expensive ticket being available at a paltry $250,000. Now do you, as an average citizen, really believe that any one of these high rollers had your best interests heading the reasons behind their attendance? Or even the best interests of the United States of America?
So, this is where the political scene really opens up to manipulation. A national election is held. Members of Congress are elected by the people and hopefully they will fulfill their Legislative duties as outlined in the Constitution of the United States. The Judicial Branch of Government, headed by the Supreme Court whose members are nominated by the President but must be approved by the Legislative Branch, are charged with ensuring that the laws of the land are in accordance with the Constitution.
Also on the ballot are choices for the President, the highest official in the land. After all of the ballots are counted, an announcement is made as to who received the most votes for the office. Simple. Eh? But wait! Here is where confusion may reign. The Electoral College must meet and then declare the winner of the election. But haven’t the people decided? Nope. That is up to the 538 members of the Electoral College to confirm.
And who in hell are these people? Well, they are appointed by their state political parties, One for each member of the House of Representatives (determined by the number of districts in the state) plus two members of the Senate. Maine and New Hampshire, for instance, have a total of four Electoral College members representing two districts and two Senators. In most cases winner takes all: for instance, in a heavily Democratic state the members would be appointed by the State Democratic machine, e.g. California, New York, Illinois. etc.
But 270 Electoral College votes are required to declare a candidate the winner and now President. And that, my friends, is why sometimes the popular vote numbers are not enough to carry the day. A relatively few votes can be enough to enable one party or the other to claim the electoral votes and that is why so much attention is paid to getting out the vote in “swing states”.
So yes, your vote can count both locally and federally – but only if you exercise that privilege. And demand that the Democrats are not allowed to award voting privileges to those millions of illegal immigrants that they have encouraged and allowed to swarm across our previously defended borders.
Now what? 