General Question

rojo's avatar

Can you find fault with this political reasoning?

Asked by rojo (13281 points ) October 23rd, 2012

The state in which I reside is a hardcore red state.
The Republicans will win the majority by a large margin.
All the electoral votes will go to Romney.
Therefore it does not matter whether I vote for a Democrat or a third party candidate.
Is this correct?

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17 Answers

_Whitetigress's avatar

Hypothetically speaking you could be the only voter in your state, and no one else shows up.

The power of one makes a difference period, little, or a lot.

ETpro's avatar

It’s not correct if you care about the popular vote count. If Romney wins the popular vote but looses the Electoral College voote, Republicans who have always insisted the antiquated system makes great sense will suddenly change their tune. I think if I were in your shoes, I’d vote for Romney.

rojo's avatar

@ETpro What if I have an “Anybody but Romney” philosophy?

DrBill's avatar

You should vote for the person you want. If nothing else you can say “I supported my candidate”

ETpro's avatar

@rojo I was just enjoying a flight of fantasy but @DrBill is quite right, you should vote for the candidate you believe should win. Every vote counts in the political capital the winner comes out of the election with.

Jeruba's avatar

Even in a state that you know is going to go opposite to the way you voted, the numbers tell a story. So yes, it does matter.

woodcutter's avatar

Well there are state and county positions like sheriff etc that you could have sway.

josie's avatar

Defeatism ranks up there with jealousy and envy as a state of mind that should be avoided at all costs

filmfann's avatar

They have cowed you to the point where you feel your vote doesn’t matter.
Resist it. The Presidential race isn’t the only thing on the ballot. Go vote!
And never feel like you have to fit in.

Linda_Owl's avatar

You should vote for the candidate that comes closest to the things that you believe in. I live in TX & it is by far a Republican state. But I will vote for the candidate that I WANT to win. Hopefully every vote will count.

sinscriven's avatar

If enough people take your perspective, then everyone practically hands over the state to the GOP.

Defeatism and Liberal complacency is what gets GOP the control they have in the first place, they are counting on you to feel disenfranchised. Saves them the work of actively disenfranchising voters.

So damn right your vote matters.

rojo's avatar

@sinscriven, @filmfann, @josie I think you misconstrue my question. It is not whether my vote does or does not “count” or that I do not intend to vote.
It is that since I do not intend to vote for the Republican candidate and given that we operate an all or none award system and I am not voting for the party that will win the state, then it really does not matter who I do cast my vote for. There is a difference.
If there was a chance in Hell that Obama could win the state then it would be a completely different scenario.

wundayatta's avatar

Correct. Vote for who you want to. You do not need to vote strategically. Unless, you are strategically voting for a third party just to see their numbers go up, even though you are not really a supporter. But you can’t harm Obama by voting this way.

josie's avatar

@rojo Then let me be the first to encourage you to stay home on election day.

rojo's avatar

@josie why would you say that?

jrpowell's avatar

@rojo :: Josie doesn’t want you to vote since you are not going to vote for who he wants. At least he didn’t tell you to vote on the 8th.

pikipupiba's avatar

I’m in the same boat but with the opposite problem! I live in Illinois and I might as well vote for my neighbor’s pet rock…

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