[ssl-3]

We must always vote. Our voter turnout for elections in the US is approximately shit.

We must also do other things, too: Voting isn't the end-all, be-all solution to everything. (And that's OK; we can do more than one thing at a time.)

But the absolute necessity of actually-voting is a constant, and I'm equipped with a profound amount of intolerance towards any idea that may suggest otherwise.

[throwaway173738]

Yeah, the people who suggest voting doesn’t matter are either suffering from some nihilistic delusion or they’re spreading a self-serving lie.

[atmavatar]

Or, they live in one of the 40-something states where the election margins are large enough that it doesn't matter whether they vote.

My state hasn't voted Democrat since 1964. The only two elections with less than a 10-point spread since then were in 1976 (7.5% spread) and 1992 (5% spread due to Perot stealing votes from Bush Sr.).

I moved to this state in 1993.

[ssl-3]

I have three general questions:

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1. So it's about odds?

By what mechanism do you think that refusing to vote will improve your favored diminutive party's odds in your state?

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2. Or maybe it's about cost, instead?

What does it cost to vote in your state? How much time, and how much money, does a voter need to put forth in order to cast a vote in [wherever you are]?

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3. Are you a masochist? (Are you sure about that?)

[throwaway173738]

Local government and utility commissioners are very important too.

[gishh]

Hmm. Possibly.

I predict that California will “go blue” in the presidential elections for at least the rest of my lifetime. Someone who “votes red” in California can say that their vote doesn’t matter, and a reasonable person would understand why they feel that way.

You don’t seem like a reasonable person, or you’re also suffering from some nihilistic delusion, possibly.

[ssl-3]

The most sure method any of us can individually enact to help to ensure that our favored candidate is not elected is to declare that it doesn't matter, and then just give up and not vote.

This method is literally an example of nihilism.

[gishh]

So are you saying that, in this instance, understanding your vote doesn’t matters is delusional, or not? You never addressed that.

You latched onto the nihilistic part, which I suppose isn’t surprising.

[ssl-3]

Your vote always matters. Your vote gets tallied up along with all of the other votes, each of which individually have exactly equal weight compared to your own vote.

By extension: Any suggestion to the contrary is delusional.

[gishh]

I reject your premise.

Your vote doesn't always matter.