How many of you out there think that voting is a waste of time because you feel that 1 vote doesn’t make a difference? I know many of you do and because of that you say to yourselves ” why bother”. Well the truth is in the numbers.
In 2006 there were about 172,684 registered Republicans, 299,413 registered Democrats, 19,106 registered Independence members and 12,635 Conservative members and 93,367 unaffiliated voters in Erie County. Those numbers are always a little fluid but for the most part they stay very close.
Because of the fact that there are so many Democratic Part Members it is natural to assume that the Democrats will win most of the elections. That doesn’t need to be the case. Let me explain to you why.
If you are disgruntled with the major parties you are registered in then there is a place for you in the minors where your vote can make a difference. You see in all political parties only about 8-9% of people come out to vote in the general elections and in the primary elections there is only 4-5%. People don’t know it but most elections are won or lost in the primary election. That is where party members can get rid of the same old politicians who feed off your pocket book and tax, tax ,tax you to death.
In the minor parties your vote goes a lot further. For instance in your town for a major party about 2000 – 3000 members come out to vote in the general election and about 700 -1500 people vote in the primary election. For the minor parties in any town about 400 – 800 people vote in the general election and 100 – 300 people vote in the primary election.
That means that every vote counts for parties like the Independence and Conservative Party. This year can be a pivotal year for us all. The Erie County Legislature is up for election once again and once again you have a choice between hard line tax and spend liberals like Marinelli, Kozub, and Reynolds or very fiscally conservative candidates like Liegl, Mills, and Locklear.
Here is the difference that most of you miss. If you become a minor party member, and you actually vote, you can effectively approve or remove the endorsed candidate from the ballot. There are so few votes in those parties that if you remove the endorsed candidate you can change the outcome of an election. I say it’s worth it just to send a message to people like Orsini, Lorigo, Delmont, and Lenihan. Nothing speaks louder than knocking off their candidates from the minor party lines and putting forth a true fiscal conservative who thinks about you before themselves.
The time is getting close, the deadlines are near for switching parties or joining a party for first time voters. My hope is that anyone who reads this gives serious thought to joining a minor party and helping us reshape Western New York to be a better place to live.
