As far as the Electoral College goes, yes your vote counts. Electoral College is set up as a all or nothing scheme. Candidate wins popular vote they get the electoral votes. If you want a particular candidate to be carried by the state you live in then you have to vote. This applies to all eligible voters.

The electoral votes for each state vary by population. The state gets the same number of electoral votes as there is representative in D.C.. The current system helps to distribute the relative weight of individual voters in the state. Candidates tend to campaign the heaviest in the states with the most electoral votes. If we were to go to a purely democratic system where each vote went absolutely toward the candidate we might find them only campaigning in heavily populated areas. The current system allows even the less populated areas to have a significant influence if the people running for office ignore them.

You may also find that if more people actually voted that politicians just might have to listen a little more to what America really wants. If they want to remain in office by popular vote, which influences electoral votes, then they would not be able to ignore us.

Instead of knocking the current system, go ahead and vote. When you do the research on why and how it works you will find that any alternative or reform initiative has its potential pitfalls. For right now this system works. It can be changed as needed by ammendments to the constitution. Again voting will help let congress know what changes need to be made and when.

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