For gamblers in our midst the chances of winning Powerball or Mega Millions has been estimated at about 1 in 292.2 million for Powerball and 1 in 302.6 million for Mega Millions. (See “What To Know About Playing the Lottery…” NBC Bay Area, Updated March 3, 2024.) You can, of course, buy several tickets and many do. Although you might be disappointed the day after if your ticket wasn’t chosen, the likely effect on your daily life would be minimal.
If you compare voting to a massive Powerball event that will impact your life over the next four years at least and quite likely more than that, then you might note your chances of winning in voting are substantially higher — probably one in two and possibly more. Fifty percent is pretty high. Also, you can yourself impact the results of elections and make a substantial difference that will affect your life, something you never could do with Powerball. You matter! If you are sitting on a couch worrying about what life would be like over the next four years, this is the time when you probably should get up and do something about it. Besides, you should note these incontrovertible facts.
— If you are a registered American voter you have the right to one vote. That is the same one vote that Barack Obama would have or Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, or Tim Walz. It does not matter whether you are very wealthy or very poor, or how old or how young, except that you need to be at least 18 years old at time of voting. Your vote is counted in the same way. If you think about it, there are not many activities in daily life where none of the other categories to which you belong do not matter. It depends on you. You can belong to a country club or a labor union or both, a faith based church or none. Moreover, you do not get more votes by being more angry or scary or aggressive or by being more enthusiastic or less so. The anger or actions of someone else do not count and you can decide privately what you want to do without sharing that information with anyone. Everyone gets the same number of votes, that is one, and their vote and your vote are counted the same.
— Unlike the lottery, you do not have to pay to vote. You have the right if you are a registered voter. Consider what that is like. If you lived in a country like Russia, or North Korea or Hungary, your preferences might land you in jail. Here, you do need to figure out where or how to vote and follow procedures but there are plenty of sources to help.
— You can understandably become discouraged or fearful or believe your vote does not matter. These are frequent reactions at a time when emotions run high. However, remember the one vote rule. Your vote is as good as anyone else’s. Also, note this regarding signs. Signs can give encouragement to voters who agree or concern or discouragement to those who believe differently. However, remember signs don’t vote. One person can place many signs. They might, however, help people feel they are not alone.
— The presidential race is not the only race. Check out the other candidates. At the federal level a difference of one vote or of a few especially in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives can make a tremendous difference regarding what policies are placed in effect. The Senate, in particular, can decide who would be appointed to U.S. Supreme Court vacancies. In view of recent Supreme Court decisions this has become much more of an issue. Pennsylvania has one Senate seat up for consideration.
— Television commercials do not help. If you race to the mute button and then fast forward to your regularly scheduled TV program this is understandable. It is difficult to listen to the purported horrors on TV. Maybe, although I doubt it, Pennsylvania receives more of this than some other states because we are considered a “battleground” state but the stout of heart might be well-advised to go to fact check if they can stand it while the rest of us can follow the regular news.
Janet Colliton, Esq. is a Certified Elder Law Attorney approved as a specialty under the American Bar Association and the Pa. Supreme Court and limits her practice to elder law, retirement, life care, special needs, and estate planning and estate administration with offices at 790 East Market St., Suite 250, West Chester, 610-436-6674, [email protected]. She is a member of the National Academy and Pennsylvania Association of Elder Law Attorneys and, with Jeffrey Jones, CSA, co-founder of Life Transition Services LLC, a service for families with long term care needs.
