DOES ONE VOTE REALLY MATTER

	Voter participation often suffers because of the generally accepted belief that 
    "one vote really can't make a difference."  
    
    Ask the students to consider:

1645, ONE VOTE gave control of England to Oliver Cromwell

1649, ONE VOTE approved the beheading of Kings Charles I

1800, ONE VOTE prevented Aaron Burr from becoming the U.S. President

1845, ONE VOTE brought Texas into the United States

1850, ONE VOTE admitted California and Oregon into the United States

1868, ONE VOTE saved President Andrew Johnson from Impeachment

1875, ONE VOTE ended the monarchy in France for a voting democracy

1876, ONE VOTE made Rutherford B. Hayes a United States President

1876, ONE VOTE elected the Indiana Electoral College member who voted for Hayes

1923, ONE VOTE placed Adolph Hitler as the leader of the Nazi Party

1941, ONE VOTE kept the military draft operational just weeks before Pearl Harbor

1992, ONE VOTE selected a member of the Town Council of Trinity, AL

1992, ONE VOTE decided the final member of the Selma, AL City Council


Consider further how decisions that change history are determined by just a few:

1788, THREE VOTES, ratified the U.S. Constitution in New York

1790, TWO VOTES, gave Rhode Island's ratification of the U.S. Constitution, making it approved in all 13 states.

1960, ONE VOTE changed in each precinct would have defeated John Kennedy

1976, ONE VOTE changed in each Ohio precinct would have elected Gerald Ford and not Jimmy Carter