Cliché or not, One Vote Matters
One vote matters.
It's probably the most overused cliché in the discussion of American democracy. But even though it can make our eyes roll, it's still true. And important.
Much has been written about one vote mattering. It seems every other year, the stereotypical chain e-mail lands in my inbox running through the laundry list of times that an election was decided by a single vote. And, yes, most of the time, those lists are historically inaccurate in some (or many) ways – check out the Snopes Web site for some of their debunking.
The sentiments that lead to these distorted e-mails are all grounded in the belief – and the fact – that every one of our votes matters. Those same sentiments also lead some who are more mathematically inclined to determine the exact odds that your vote will be the deciding one this November.
But a fellow communications staffer from Nebraska shared with me something he wrote that I think beautifully summed up the importance of a single, simple action, like voting:
Your simple action can affect many people.
Take, for instance, the action of one Dr. John Snow, the 19th century London anesthesiologist. Snow had speculated that contaminated drinking water may have been the cause of cholera outbreaks that killed nearly 11,000 in London in 1853. The following year, investigating a cholera outbreak that killed nearly 700 in the Soho area of his city, Snow did some footwork that led him to conclude that a single water pump was the likely source of the disease. He caused authorities to remove the pump handle, and the outbreak tailed off. His research was later supported, saving countless lives.
Casting a ballot on Election Day is not nearly so dramatic. Or is it? Your vote makes a difference in every election. Casting a ballot for children and public schools speaks loudly to candidates about the importance of quality education.
Your simple action can affect many people.
Please vote.
I couldn't have said it better if I tried.
By Doug Pratt, MEA Communications (with thanks to Al Koontz of the Nebraska State Education Association)