AP US Government

Category - Elections & Influences

Some political scientists argue that, for most Americans, their vote for president doesn’t really matter. What is the strongest reason for this belief?
  1. Since most of the states are “winner-takes-all”, your vote only matters if you live in a swing state.
  2. Electoral College electors so frequently ignore the wishes of the voters that it’s as if your vote doesn’t matter.
  3. Each presidential candidate is going to do the same thing in office, so it doesn’t matter who wins the election.
  4. Most years the president is actually selected by Congress because there is no majority in the Electoral College.
  5. It is hardly ever the case that a presidential election is close enough for votes to actually matter.
Explanation
Answer: A - In 48 out of 50 states, the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes gets all of the electoral votes for that state. The two exceptions are Nebraska and Maine. Most states will strongly support either the Democratic or Republican candidate, so it won’t be close. In that case, your vote arguably doesn’t matter. If, however, you live in a state where there are a similar number of Democrats and Republicans, your vote could matter a lot.
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