The Women’s Center started their Candid and Controversial discussion series on Tuesday with the first discussion focusing on whether or not voting matters.
Heather Rice, SRU political science professor, started the discussion with an overview of the electoral process that the United States goes through for a presidential election.
“You as an individual voter are not voting for either of the candidates this November,” Rice said. “With your ballot, you are telling the members of the electoral college in your state who to vote for.”
Rice also described why some states have more electoral college votes than others and highlighted a few of the flaws with the present day electoral system, including how in some states a vote may not matter.
“If you happen to be living in a state that is dominated by one party, you are basically ignored during the general election,” Rice said.
Rice went on to say that candidates focus on swing states with a large number of electoral votes and that three times in history, a candidate has won the 270 electoral votes needed but not the popular vote, losing the general election.
When it came to whether or not a vote mattered, Rice said it depends. She said that if one doesn’t live in a battleground state then their vote doesn’t really matter and that the likelihood of their vote changing the outcome of the election is small. Rice did, however, say that a vote matters in local elections.
“You don’t want to be left out of the process so you should go out to vote,” Rice said. “Your vote is your voice.”
After the presentation, Dr. Rice answered questions and attendees were given a chance to register to vote.
‘Candid and Controversial: Does Your Vote Matter’ is a student discussion series with the other two discussions coming up in the coming months.
