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“It doesn’t matter if I vote.”
“God’s in control — what will be will be.”
Do you believe you should always vote? It used to be that moral citizens believed voting was a sacred act before God in a proclaimed republic as ours. And voting has, for generations, been regarded as at least a duty of every patriotic citizen.
But just as Independence Day has devolved into simply a day off with fireworks and picnics, registered voters have forgotten the purpose of voting.
By now you might have heard that, after most of the counting has been done, around 25% of registered California voters actually voted in the June 3 statewide primary election.
As I wrote earlier, for immoral or irresponsible citizens, this is understandable. But this low turnout is unacceptable for moral citizens, who have bought into fuzzy thinking, laziness, faithlessness, and fatalism.
In the month before the June 3 election, I heard from people who complained that judges overturn their vote. But while corrupt judges have indeed destroyed moral ballot measures, such as Prop. 8, this has not happened with candidates. It is fuzzy thinking to claim judges will destroy your vote.
And others — stung by the defeat of moral-issue ballot campaigns and depressed by the two-thirds Democratic control of the State Legislature — utter fatalistic complaints instead of being fruitful in an election cycle. In elections, it appears that union bosses and homosexual activists have more “faith” than most pastors and churches!
An honest talk-show host told me it was such a struggle for him to vote this time. But I reminded him that if we think like losers, we will lose. And I explained why a low voter turnout expectation actually FAVORS moral virtues, if we’ll simply recognize and seize the opportunity.
How could this be, you ask? Think about it. Because when average or non-family voters have a LOW turnout and pro-family voters have a HIGH turnout, there will be victories for moral values.
It’s simple math. If there are 100 possible voters in an election cycles, and half of them actually vote in the election, my vote is 1 out of 50 or 2 percent. If 100% of registered voters go to the polls, I am 1% of the voters.
Here’s an example of 1 out of 100 voters (the highest possible voter turnout), where 1 voter has 1% influence:
Now imagine yourself in a low-turnout election where only 20% of registered voters actually cast votes. Now you are 1 of 20 voters — you are 5% of the electorate. Your influence has quintupled. It’s like having 5 votes per person!
As veteran political columnist Dan Walters of the Sacramento Bee wrote this week:
Although election officials are still counting votes from the June 3 primary election – and a few contests are still in doubt – the lukewarm tenor of the Nov. 4 general election is evident, and that could be bad news for California’s dominant Democrats.
The record-low voter turnout in the primary – about 25 percent of registered voters – is very likely to be reflected in November for many of the same reasons.
The outcome of the top-of-the-ticket contest between Gov. Jerry Brown and Republican challenger Neel Kashkari is virtually certain months in advance, there’s no U.S. Senate contest, and there will be no barnburner ballot measures to motivate occasional voters.
So my question is, are you only motivated by stuff on the ballot, and are thus an “occasional voter”? Or are you motivated by God’s values, patriotism in our Republic, or one who seizes the day because you understand the math and recognize the great opportunity that a low voter turnout affords?
Choose to make a calculated difference. The outcome of many state assembly, state senate, local races, depends on pro-family voters. If you love God and love people, you will vote and vote wisely. Even if you didn’t do this in the June primary election, plan now for November — to vote wisely and use creativity to influence many others to vote wisely. Seize the day!
“Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote … he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.”
Samuel Adams, 1722–1803 (The “Father of the American Revolution”)
“Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature.”
James Garfield, 1831–1881 (20th President of the United States)
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