Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Does Your Vote Count?

Maybe not -- what's the cynic's caution, "If voting could change anything, it would be illegal."

On the other hand, look here:No matter what the outcome, 20% of the registered voters in Marion County, Indiana will be picking our next Mayor and this year's crop of Councillors. Twenty percent -- and that's more like twelve percent of the adult population. (We're up to 25% at last check. A quarter of us to pick the fate of the rest?)

As one in a million, my vote might not be so much. One in a hundred twenty-five thousand? Yeah, that's startin' to look like something.

[Update: Factor of ten error! Sooooo lazy. Realized it as I hit the off button and have dug out my Eee to fix it from bed.] There are several races where ten one percent -- 1,234 voters -- will might tip the balance. We've got high schools with graduating classes that large around here! (With 99% of the results in, a bit over 29% turnout. You'd need a bit over 1,700 to swing a close election -- still not all that many.) [Update: Okay, you'd need 17,000 to have a big impact. Still, it's not enormous for a city of a million. There will be new City-County Councilors-At-Large seated with a tick over 11 percent of the vote. /Update]

You only get to pick the candidates they serve up (well, there is a spot to write in for the Mayoral contest) but you do get to pick. Even though the Libertarian hopefuls are getting trounced, it's an honest trouncing.

Vote. You might surprise the bastards.

6 comments:

Tam said...

I wasted my vote! Did you?

Roberta X said...

Did not. It's never wasted. The see 'em. They know there is a number on their days.

Drang said...

The Martin Luther King, Jr., Election Commission was running PSAs admonishing us not to waste our vote by writing in M.Mouse, D. Duck, or other such frivolous candidates' names.

Bad enough they made us switch to all mail-in ballots--"The voters appreciate the convenience!"--now they think they can tell me how to vote.

russell1200 said...

One of my neighbors was running in a multi-seat race. Lets just say his chances were never considered good. In his case one vote came pretty close to adding 1% to his total vote. LOL

Bubblehead Les. said...

24 hours later, by voting in my little burg, the Mayor and his Henchman lost 2 of their Cronies, and the Good Peeple said "No! You're not getting Free Money to pay on the Debt because you overspent the Free Money and had to Borrow Free Money like Greece!"

Now we will see Who gets laid off, and if they really will shut down Granny's Meal on Wheels like they threatened while keeping the "Sit on their Butts Union Thug" Service Dept. employees around.

perlhaqr said...

One vote may not count, but if only 20% of the population is voting, it's like you're voting for five!