Theresa Reidy: Don't be put off by naysayers who say your vote doesn't count

The Irish political system guarantees that a diverse array of political views are represented in the Dáil

Few countries share Ireland's powerful and enduing democratic legacy. Your vote matters: Be sure to use it on Friday. Picture: iStock

Your vote matters, be sure to use it on Friday. Don’t be put off by naysayers who claim that it doesn’t matter who you vote for, the same people get elected every time. 

There have been loads of these assertions over the last three weeks on vox pops, podcasts, radio shows and on social media. Indeed, research from the National Election and Democracy Study in June showed that among those that did not vote, 11% believed ‘my vote doesn’t matter’.