Election Coverage

Nov 5, 2012 11:09 PM by Maddie Garrett

How Much Does Your Vote Count?


There's no doubt Louisiana's eight electoral college votes will go for Mitt Romney. So how does Louisiana stack up against other states in "vote power?"

"We have medium clout, some states have less clout," said Cross.

Louisiana comes in 31st as far as vote power, which is determined by comparing population to number of electors. Compare that to the state with the highest vote power, Wyoming, the state with the smallest population. Then there's New York -- the most populated state with the smallest vote power. You can compare the numbers:

1st - Wyoming 142,741 people per electoral vote
31st - Louisiana 426,920 people per electoral vote
51st - New York 519,075 people per electoral vote

Cross explained, "Because of population movements around the states, some states have more clout when it comes to electing the president."

Cross said while the Presidential race is practically a moot point in Louisiana , your vote could be the deciding factor on other key issues.

"There is a race that's crucially important and that's the Third District race, and your vote could really make a big difference," said Cross.

That's because the Third Congressional District race is close, between incumbents Jeff Landry and Charles Boustany. Cross said the only Democrat in the race, Ron Richard, could also mix things up Tuesday.

"Right now we don't know who's going to come in first second and third, and we don't know if it's going to be a run-off or no run-off," said Cross. "And that could hinge on just a few votes, 5, 10, 15 votes could determine run-off, no run-off, who makes it, who doesn't. I'd encourage people to go vote."

The bottom line - even if your vote might not be for the winning candidate, it's important to voice your opinion. And you never know just how close those state and local issues could be on election day.



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