Voting Myths - What You Have Heard That May or May Not Be True

A Presidential election year is upon us and there is much ado about how we will be voting and who we will be voting for. Here are five myths that keep people away from the polls and the truth behind them.

"If I register to vote, I will get called to jury duty." Take it from someone who got a jury summons before turning in voter registration, this is not true. In many states, your name goes into the jury pool when you purchase property - be it a house or car - when you register with the Department of Motor Vehicles, when you file a State income tax return, just to name a few. The promise of jury duty would not stop you from purchasing your dream home, why should it stop you from voting? Register to vote.

"I have to vote for someone or they won't count my ballot." The lesser of two evils isn't necessarily the best choice. Even if you don't like the Presidential candidates, you should still show up at the polls to vote on other issues. All ballots are counted even if they come in with only one spot blacked in, one hole punched. Not counting a ballot with skipped items would be inadvertently forcing you to vote, and that would be un-Constitutional. Also, in a Presidential election year, the Electoral College is chosen in the same election so not voting for your district's Representative may mean those who do will choose someone who will not vote the way you would like in the Electoral College.

"Voting for a Third-Party candidate is throwing away your vote." Even though there are still states that do not recognize all of the Third-Party candidates, forty-six do recognize at least one. Voting for a Third-Party candidate may not get that person elected but it may help to shift the balance away from one of the other candidates. No vote is a wasted vote, even if it is a vote for a candidate who is unlikely to win simply because of a lack of publicity.

"My one vote doesn't make a difference." In 1880, James Garfield beat William English by 7018 popular votes, 4,449,053 to 4,442,035. Sure, that's more than just your one vote but there are easily 7000 people in the U.S. today who believe that their one vote won't make any difference one way or the other. Had that feeling been commonplace in 1880, history, and our present, may have been drastically different. And to top it off, there is always the realization that by not voting you are relinquishing your right to be dissatisfied with the results. If you don't like it, but didn't vote against it, you can't complain about it.

"My state is primarily Republican/Democrat so our Electoral College vote will go to that candidate." The Electoral College is a representation of the voting population of that state. They "speak" for their constituents and nearly always vote with the majority in their state. There are cases where they do not, such as a race that is too close to determine accurately (this being another example that every single vote counts). Voter registration and state governmental majorities are a very small factor in determining how the Electoral College will vote in your state.