[humanrebar]

> ...because the chance of your vote making a difference is so small.

...in national elections. Federal systems are designed with this in mind. In recent decades, more and more issues have become national issues, which erodes the influence of the individual voter. And, on top of that, if the power of the vote is ineffective, you can always move in a federal system. So the erosion of choice is compounded.

[jessriedel]

It really applies at all levels save perhaps very small town municipal elections. Whether the probability of influencing the election is 1 in 10M or 1 in 1M (or 1 in 100k) is all pretty much zero when multiplied by the change in benefits you could expect to receive.

[cookiecaper]

Votes aren't worth more in more local elections, but activism certainly is. A few highly influential advocates out of a pool of 100k voters could be the difference between win and loss.

Big organizations are the only entities that can compete on a national scale, but your actions absolutely can matter more locally. That's a strong reason to favor more local government, IMO.