When Not To Vote

I hate voter apathy in general – the idea that the government or politics is inconsequential is incomprehensible to me. Even on a college level, my alma mater’s Student Government manages over $12 million in student money – and yet few students care to participate in SG or even vote in SG’s elections.

Yet, today, I will likely not vote in Virginia’s legislative elections. Don’t get me wrong – I will be thrilled if the Democrats take over one or both houses. It’s just not practical. Neither my state senator nor my state delegate has Republican opposition (the state senator is opposed by the Green Party, the delegate is totally unopposed). And given that the senator’s Green opponent is someone I’ve not heard of and not seen any signs or volunteers for, I doubt he’ll have much trouble winning.

So is it really worth it for me to make it out to the polls if my only 2 ballot questions involve Democrats (who I’d support) who are essentially unopposed? No, probably not.

Now, if the governor was on the ballot, or this was a normal even-numbered year, I’d make the opposite case given the number of races where a candidate I support might lose. Until then, I’m going to tune in to the news and hope that thousands if not millions of Virginians in close contests don’t do the same thing I’m doing.