DOES MY VOTE MATTER ?

 

DOES MY VOTE MATTER?

Franklin D. Roosevelt once said; “Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.”

As we approach another opportunity to vote, you might seriously wonder, does my vote really matter? Having lived 38 years in a state where my political views were mostly in the minority, I often asked myself that question; but then I remember an experience I had years ago when my vote really did make a difference!

I was attending Weber State College and very involved in politics. I also belonged to a fraternity during those college years and through it, made a lot of friends and had a lot of fun. We were just about to elect a new student body president. I was leaning toward candidate “A”. He was popular among my fraternity brothers and many expressed their belief that I should vote for him. Finally, I was able to meet candidate “A”. As I listened to his comments, I sensed an arrogance about him. It became obvious that his running was an ego trip and his priorities for the college didn’t match mine. I privately decided that I should do a bit more research before voting so I began to study his opponent, candidate “B”. The more I learned about candidate “B”, the more I liked. He was running to serve his fellow students, not his ego. I appreciated his platform and so I decided to change my vote from candidate “A” to candidate “B”. This was a private decision and so I kept my intentions to myself.

Election day came and the atmosphere was electric as we all anticipated the outcome. Candidate “A” was expected to win but when all the votes were counted, it was so close that a recount was done. To my surprise, candidate “B” had won by 2 votes! I realized then but never told a sole, that my vote made the difference. Because I had changed my vote, candidate “A” received one less vote and candidate “B” now had one more vote- a 2-vote difference! Since that day, I have always cast my vote. More often than not, my candidates lose, and my propositions and my measures fail, but I still vote my conscience because you never know- your vote might just make the difference!

Hopefully, the majority vote of the people will be right more often than not. The Book of Mormon explains. (Mosiah 29:26) “Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore, this shall ye observe and make it your law- to do your business by the voice of the people.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reiterated its position again on June 1, 2023, “Political Participation, Voting and the Political Neutrality of the Church”. “...We urge Latter-day Saints to be active citizens by registering, exercising their right to vote, and engaging in civic affairs; always demonstrating Christ like love and civility in political discourse.”

Regardless of how you vote, we encourage you to exercise this God given right and give thanks that you live in a country where you can have a voice and where YOUR VOTE REALLY DOES MATTER!

Much Love- The Grandparent Chronicles