It's Nice to Live Where Your Vote Doesn't Count

I want to start this post by saying that EVERYONE should vote. No exceptions. I believe that voting, regardless of who you vote for, grants you the right to bitch about our elected officials. But if you don't participate in the process, then suck it up and shut your mouth. I don't care what you think.

Now, having said that, I acknowledge that it can be frustrating to vote in general elections in a state that is strongly red or blue. If your candidate is of the appropriate political bent for your neck of the woods, their success is a foregone conclusion. And people like to vote for the underdog. We enjoy the thought that maybe it's our ballot that gets the win. On the flip side, if you know there's no way your candidate is ever going to win your state, then casting your vote is like spitting in the wind. So from a motivational perspective, it's good to live in a battleground state.

And according to the politicos at CNN.com, I now reside in a battleground state(Virginia). But because my living arrangement here is temporary, I will still be voting in NY via an absentee ballot. As a result, I'm getting the worst of both worlds. See, I'm going to be casting my vote in a Democratic stronghold (NY), where there is a certain inevitability to the electoral outcome. But I'm living in a battleground state, where I will be bombarded with political ads for Barack Obama and John McCain for the next 4 months.

Now if I had to decide between living and voting in a battleground state and being in the crossfire of massive partisan ad-buys, or living and voting in a very blue state where the outcome is certain, but television remains ad free, well... I think I'd rather be in New York. Sure it would be nice to feel like a true decision-maker, but it seems like my candidates never win anyway.