Does Your Vote Matter if You Live in a Red State or a Blue State?

Red and Blue really doesn't matter anymore. I vote every election here in California and will continue to, but in reality, there is one party that controls all elections, it's purple. We need a legitimate second party to challenge the establishment. I've reached my end, I will vote, but continuing to vote for a lesser of the two evils will only get us evil, so I will not be voting for a President. I'm tired of the "So Called" news media giving us two people to choose between, why don't the sheeple in this ONCE great Country stand up and demand we hear from all the candidates running for President! We'll continue to be slaves to the system if we allow only the voice of the Purple party to be heard every election.
Here in California, well we allowed the Purple party to create what is called an "Open Primary", so we will never see a third party in the General election ever again, we will only have a choice between a Democrat or a Republican, don't let your States do what ours has done, STOP open primaries!!!

I can't; borrow a book from the Library without ID, Drive a Vehicle, Enter State offices, get a season pass to Seaworld, Get on a plane or ride Amtrak, use a credit card, or get a passport, why not have to show ID to vote in America?? Four things that have ended fair and honest elections in our Country; Electronic Voting, Lack of ID, EARLY VOTING and Mail In Ballots! All lead to corruption from the Purple party, no matter who you support!
You want Early Voting? Fine, we go with the Afghanistan method, you stick your finger in a black dye that does not wash off for weeks! You want an electronic voting machine?? Fine, print me a receipt that I can review and place into another box as backup (and don't tell me the machines cannot do it, I've used ATM machines for years not that print a copy of the check I deposited!!!). You want a to vote by mail??? Fine, you have 729 days between elections to get a freaking ride to the elections office to prove you are alive, prove your address is legitimate and show some dam ID!!! If you fail to do so, you must vote in person at the next election. Lastly, if you are one that says we should not show ID to vote, you are obviously a person that does not participate in society at all, (i.e., cash a check, get a job, use a credit card, etc) and shouldn't probably be deciding elections....

P.s. I'm an Independent voter that voted for the Unknown guy that ran Four years ago "Obama", as I knew what we'd get with McCain! He proved to be just as corrupt as the rest and lost my support! End the wars? He started one in Libya! No Lobbyist? Check his cabinet! Open and Transparent Government???? This man doesn't hold press conferences, unless it's a teleprompter speech with no follow-up questions!!! By the way, Google Tyrone Woods; When is our President going to address the American People about leaving Woods to die in Libya!!!! Peaceful protest, Vote NONE OF THE ABOVE for President this year! Send the Message that we will not be manipulated into voting for the Lesser of the two they prop up!

I moved from Ohio to a red state 3 years ago and am the definition of an independent, swing voter. I have voted for both parties in past elections and my gut usually leads me to vote for who I find to be the least scary. This election, for me, that's the President. I've never felt like my vote didn't matter until now. Its just a very frustrating feeling and now I can really see how much of a problem the electoral college system is. For all you voters who are always going against the grain in a solid red/blue state I feel your pain. I'm going to vote any way, because it's part of my job as a US citizen, but for the first time I do with a heavy heart and a lot of frustration.

One of the biggest flaws of the electoral college IMO.

I live in Texas, where we haven't voted for a democrat since 1976 when Jimmy Carter ran.

Why should I even vote, when for the past 3 decades of elections the state always goes red?

It would make some sense if they divided electoral votes based on the popular vote in the state, but no it's winner take all. Everyone who voted democrat, your vote DOES NOT count.

That's also my problem. I'm originally from PA and have always voted Democrat. Now I'm in Texas in an area (according to the maps & history) that votes Republican. I registered to vote last week because to me, this election seems more like Religion vs Liberal. I want my vote to count and no matter what, I'm still voting but if my district votes Republican, my vote is basically useless. I really wish someone would start working on getting rid of the stupid outdated electorial college so every vote can be validated.

I feel the same way here in california it is always a blue state but I vote republican every year so what's the point in voting bc it is going to go democrat. I wish all votes counted!!

Yes and No. Your vote counts the most if you choose not to use it. Also, there are many more people and items on the ballot than just the Presidential candidate. Remember that congress - state and federal - make the laws and the real change begins with them.

Take California in 2004 (more of an average election than 2008). There were 16.5m registered voters but only 12.4m people voted. The D's won with a difference of 1.235m votes and had 54.4% vs 44.4% for R's. While there was actually only a very small difference between registered D/R voters and total votes for D/R, it is safe to say the 3m undeclared voters also contributed proportionally to the outcome. Therefore, take the 4.1m non-votes and you have a very powerful number. Apply the same proportions and you have 1.8m potential Red votes (and likely more due to lack of motivation in a solid Blue state keeping more R's at home). That is enough to take the state and the 55 Electoral College votes that go with it. Dont join the non-voters - it is possible to make a difference if you GET OUT AND VOTE!

The same can obviously be said for the other side but they wont be any more motivated until they realize they can actually lose an election. Until then, every R that votes is a vote that counts! Also, California has only been Blue for 5 presidential elections across 4 candidates. Before that, it was usually a Red state.

Wow I didn't know that! Thank you for motivating me to vote! I pray that one day California will go back to red!

It is like what my Grandma use to tell me " people will tell you anything just to sell the product". Well the same goes for anyone running for any office they will make the promises that they know will make you vote for them. And when they get voted in they don't follow through on their promises they made! We need to get rid of congress they are the ones who decide what will pass and what won't. Example make the rich pay higher taxes, well that will never pass because congress is in that bracket and they don't to lose any of their money!!! And they don't care about anyone but them selves.

One person's vote doesn't "matter" regardless of whether or not it's in a swing state, unless it's the deciding vote.

Voting itself, however, matters, in the sense that it's currently the only real way to hold our elected officials accountable.

Btw, Illinois is a swing state? Maybe in 1960, but not for the last twenty years at least.

i live in California, in years gone by the national election results were announced before I could even get to the polls. But I have still voted in every election since I turned 18 in 1968, it is a duty of citizenship in my book. I voted even when I protested the Viet Nam War and was tested in the Federal Court for refusing the draft.

Now I feel even more compelled to vote, knowing that the economic elite's corporate political propaganda machine is spewing hateful partisan ugliness intended to compel the most informed in the population to get too disgusted to vote and to cause extreme un-bridgeable positions so as to paralyze We the People and government from making true and meaningful change.

I call on the young to rise up, register to vote, run for office, organize around free internet resources and win without the corporate money. These actions would make money useless as to elections. We old farts are too comfortable in this environmentally failing world, take over before it is too late, please, I implore you!! Please join me in this cry!

No. Most of you need to grow up and learn how fascism's sexy twin capitalism ACTUALLY works...then these questions prob wouldn't be on these psy-op sites.

Capitalism is your enemy, and unless you are already rich, it always will be; inequality is INHERENT(built in) to this false competitive dichotomy.

But most of you won't understand what I'm saying and prob think I'm some sort of commie or socialist-lazy-hippie whatever...however, I do think capitalism was a natural culmination of trade in general and although a huge/difficult learning lesson; it was necessary like all things are via their natural cumulative evolutionary learning process.

But, like all major "trends" Let's hope it doesn't kill most or all of us on it's way out.

Well we suffer under this rigged for the rich, almost free market system, which modern capitalism underpins. My problem is with the rigged system that in the name of competition forever causes further consolidation and less competition, funny how the lobbyists sell Congress the goods every time. I also find the current capitalistic paradigm contemptible at best!

We need to level the playing field so us little guys can compete with the corporate giants. We need a new form of Capitalism, check out RMI.org and Natural Capitalism, this may be an option to consider. The banks do us more harm than the standing army, which also robs us of our vitality.

Technology, like the internet; will eventually phase out all perceived forms of for-profit trade ((IF)) and ONLY ((IF)) it is ALLOWED to grow and evolve naturally as all things do.

Yet we live in a competitive nightmare of obsolescent profit incentives and "break it to fix it" abhorrent corporate warfare that saturates at least 99% of all aspects of life. As long as the driving force is basic inequality in order to create the leverage of mass control to the irresponsibility of corrupt and immoral business...there will be NO fixing something that was never meant to work for E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E in the first place...

If you hate the capitalist system so much, why are you still here?

You could try China, I hear they're not so big on the whole capitalist thing

Um, you know they use money and the U.S. is their main way of profit and development right? You somehow think capitalist markets are separtae from other countries???

DO YOU ACTUALLY THINK THEIR ARE ANY DEVELOPED ((AND)) MOST UNDEVELOPED NATIONS THAT ((DON'T)) USE MONEY?!?!

Are you like a day old? Because it sounds like you were born yesterday to make such an absurd statement!

I know it's a control mechanism. I agree with you the system is entire flawed, and needs a complete overhaul from the ground up. My question had nothing to do with how we are just pawns to the government. My questions was Why are you still here? Not why haven't you left? I guess my question really should of been, Have you done anything to help fix the system? If you have, then I retract my previous question and please carry on with trying to fix our country because I agree we desperately need it. If you have not tried, then get up and do something about it, or GTFO. Don't just rant and rave here on the net and not do a damn thing.

I find you a very limited-in-critical-thinking person, YOU pay for my trip and living expenses to either South America/Northern Europe(I haven't decided)for at least two or three months until I get set up on my own and you have a deal.

What an absurd phallic debate to try to have with such a POOR person like me. LOL!!

You are a financial slave telling another financial slave to "Do something about it or GTFO", how very red-neck marine of you, do you live in a trailer and hope George W, runs again as well? Just curious...

When was the last time we heard about a state being determined by one vote?!? I still vote, but I feel like my vote doesn't matter.

Yes it matters. If it didn't the Republicans would be trying to suppress it.

It's sad but it's the facts.

Your vote hasn't mattered in a long time. In any large election the chance of any one vote determining the outcome is low. Some studies show that a single vote in a voting scheme such as the Electoral College in the United States has an even lower chance of determining the outcome.

All votes matter.

No, because the voting is fixed!!! Its been proven that the voting machines can be set up to whatever the corrupt government wants.
I don't care if it takes 2 months to count the votes we need paper ballots. Id should be required to vote. There's sooooo much more to fix this situation.

My idea is to throw out those expensive voting machines and require High School students to count the vote with tight adult supervision. At that age few would already be held under the seductive sway of partisanship.

About the I.D.s, if there is real proof that it is an actual problem I will agree. Let's get to the truth, if it needed, then provide a free and easy means by which legitimate voters can get them. The old and poor often do not have drivers license, no car, no need.

Shortened version for those with less than 10 min. span:


Full version once you get with it:


My feelings on voting, if it mattered it would be counted and do good than harm which is what it has been for the sea of people. If voting did any good, it would be illegal to the elite who would rather own you and slowly kill you off. That is the truth we all are running away from.

I live in Texas. I dislike Obama, but for the life of me I cannot STAND Romney.

Once again it comes down to the lesser of two evils. Wall Street just bent us over and pulled our shorts down, I don't think it is time for a rerun, which is what will get with Mit.

Base on the "promises" made and the actions taken, seems to me our elected officials could care less about the electorate.

It depends on how many Jackass votes are cast by dead people, pets, underage students, absentee ballots in dementia units, absentee ballots at facilities for the mentally challenged etc., etc.!

My room mate will vote the opposite of me, so he just cancelled my vote. Maybe I can drug him on Election Day? (Just kidding people:) Everyone I know, is voting against Obama; and I live in Illinois. My extended family is voting the same, and they live in other states. ( A few even in Florida.)

Chaney and other corporate Oligarchs own the companies that make the voting machines. If you consider the aggressive Republican plan to surpress the votes for the poor, old, and young, the entire system has been comprimised. After all, its always been the belief of far right conservatives, that only rich landowners and men should have the right to vote.

Spare me . . . . . . .

Yes, I agree. You should get yourself an education. That way you can respond to questions without having to use pictures

The picture was for your benefit, in hopes you might comprehend . . . . :-)

Since, during the Reagan administration, the media was no longer required to inform the public in an unbiased manner to insure a well informed electorate, to keep their broadcast licenses.

So now they can run false ads and report lies for profit. They now take the license granted by the public, for free, to profit off corporate propaganda, to weaken the electorate for a profit

That is when ignorance became point of view.