ABSTRACT
Votes in elections are rarely so close that a single vote is critical. If there is reason to think that the vote will be close, or that apathy is leading to very poor turnouts and you should set a good example, then there is obviously good reason to vote. Moreover if there is some major issue at stake which will make a huge difference to people – nuclear policy, or massive redistribution of wealth, for example – even a very small chance of causing such a huge difference will be worth taking: a one in a million chance of saving millions should be embraced. But the differences between contestants are often not so dramatic, and may be more a matter of rhetoric than substance.
