“Get out and vote!”

“Your vote counts!”

That’s what I have been hearing for my entire voting life.  BUT………did you know that if you live in 1 of 39 states, your vote could not matter at all.  As a matter of fact if all the constituents of these 39 states all voted for the same presidential candidate and the remaining 11 states voted oppositely, that candidate would win.

How so? ….good question.

It’s called the electoral college system.  The electoral college system is comprised of 538 votes.  Of which, a presidential candidate must win the majority, or 270 of those votes.  Well to get 270 votes, a candidate just has to win New York, Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey, Virgina, and North Carolina.  If you live in any other state – Sorry, your vote doesn’t really count.

Ok. Ok.  I know what you’re thinking now.  What if more people actually voted for Candidate A but Candidate B actually had more electoral votes?  Unfortunately, Candidate B has it sewed up.

Just in case you missed the 2000 Presidential Race, here’s what happened.  George W. Bush received 50,456,002 popular votes with 271 electoral votes, while his adversary, Al Gore, won the popular vote with 50,999,897 votes and 266 electoral votes.  And yes, you have it – George W. won the presidency (which I’m sure you knew).

So there you have it.  Is it right?  So how do you feel now?  Especially if you live in any of the 39 non-important states?

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