110 Patriotic Quotes About Voting and Democracy

Every vote counts–never forget it! Voting quotes to embrace your constitutional right.

By Norbert Juma

Master quote curator and editor on a mission to inspire

Published April 11, 2023

These quotes about voting are sure to convince you that no matter what, your vote counts.

Voting is a big part of our democracy.

In the comments below, share which one of these quotes you liked the most.

What are the benefits of reading these quotes about voting?

Many things in the country are decided by voting and elections.

It’s, therefore, surprising that many people choose to stay away from the ballot, even though they could determine the country’s future.

Although many citizens may feel their vote doesn’t count, there are plenty of reasons you should regularly hit the polls:

elections have consequences
it is your right
voting is a chance to create change

No matter what side of the political divide you subscribe to, your voice is important.

Voting is a crucial, meaningful way to express yourself and support the issues you care about.

It allows you to choose who is in office and have a say on what goes on in the political world.

To help highlight its importance, below are some powerful quotes about voting.

We hope they’ll give you the inspiration and motivation to vote and be engaged in our democracy.

Also, check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily wisdom.

See the rest of our quote database for even more inspirational ideas and thoughts.

Patriotic quotes about voting and democracy

1. “We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.” – Thomas Jefferson

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2. “Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

3. “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.” – Abraham Lincoln

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4. “Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country and this world.” – Sharon Salzberg

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5. “Somewhere inside of all of us is the power to change the world.” – Roald Dahl

6. “Too many people fought too hard to make sure all citizens of all colors, races, ethnicities, genders, and abilities can vote to think that not voting somehow sends a message.” – Luis Gutierrez

7. “The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.” – John F. Kennedy

8. Voting is the most precious right of every citizen, and we have a moral obligation to ensure the integrity of our voting process.” – Hillary Clinton

9. “Bad officials are elected by good citizens who don’t vote.” – George Jean Nathan

10. “Democracy is not just the right to vote, it is the right to live in dignity.”― Naomi Klein

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Powerful voting quotes to inspire patriotism

11. “One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.” – Plato

12. “Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”― Abraham Lincoln

13. “Voting is a civic sacrament.” – Theodore Hesburgh

14. “A man without a vote is a man without protection.”― Lyndon B. Johnson

15. “If you don’t vote, you lose the right to complain.” – George Carlin

16. “By voting, we add our voice to the chorus that forms opinions and the basis for actions.” – Jens Stoltenberg

17. “A man without a vote is a man without protection.” – Lyndon B. Johnson

18. “Resistance isn’t enough. If we want change, we have to get out the vote.”― DaShanne Stokes

19. “Someone struggled for your right to vote. Use it.” – Susan B. Anthony

20. “Remember, it is not about voting for the perfect candidate – there is no such thing. Presidents are human.” – Michelle Obama

More quotes about voting

21. “Voting is not only our right—it is our power.” – Loung Ung

22. “Talk is cheap, voting is free; take it to the polls…”― Nanette L. Avery

23. “Elections belong to the people.” – Abraham Lincoln

24. “Voting is as much an emotional act as it is an intellectual one.” – Monica Crowley

25. “The future of this republic is in the hands of the American voter.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

26. “Democracy is about voting and it’s about a majority vote. And it’s time that we started exercising the Democratic process.” – Debbie Stabenow

27. “Every election is determined by the people who show up.” – Larry J. Sabato

28. “The good thing about democracy is that every vote counts. The problem with democracy is that every vote counts.”― Charbel Tadros

29. “Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.” – Pericles

30. “Not voting is not a protest. It is a surrender.” – Keith Ellison

Voting quotes to inspire and motivate you

31. “Anyone who thinks he’s too small to make a difference has never been bit by a mosquito”, I’d tell people.”
― Jeannette Walls

32. If American women would increase their voting turnout by 10 percent, I think we would see an end to all of the budget cuts in programs benefiting women and children.” — Coretta Scott King

33. Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.” – John Adams

34. “Ten men shouting will control ten thousand who choose to remain silent.”― Joseph J. Haeggquist

35. “We can all agree on the importance of voting.” – Jenna Bush

36. “We’re very pleased. The most important thing is voters know exactly what they’re voting on.” – Dyana Mason

37. “The greatest threats to Democracy are comfort and apathy.”― T. Rafael Cimino

38. “There’s no such thing as a vote that doesn’t matter.”― Barack Obama

39. “I believe that voting is the first act of building a community as well as building a country.” – John Ensign

40. “The measure of choosing well, is, whether a man likes and finds good in what he has chosen.” – Charles Lamb

More Quotes about voting and democracy

41. “I would like to be a part, as much as I can, of the voting process,” – Kim Cattrall

42. “Voting is fundamental in our democracy. It has yielded enormous returns.” – Arlen Specter

43. “The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.” — Lyndon B. Johnson

44. “Voting is an individual, personal thing.” – Hill Harper

45. “The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.” – John F Kennedy

46. “Voting is the foundational act that breathes life into the principle of the consent of the governed.” – DeForest Soaries

47. “The power of choosing good and evil is within the reach of all.” – Origen

48. “Democracy is not simply a license to indulge individual whims and proclivities. It is also holding oneself accountable to some reasonable degree for the conditions of peace and chaos that impact the lives of those who inhabit one’s beloved extended community.”― Aberjhani

49. “With the right to vote, our choice should be for the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us.” – Monica Johnson

50. “Voter apathy is a civic abdication.”― Charles M. Blow

Inspirational quotes about voting and democracy

51. “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” ― Winston S. Churchill

52. “People shouldn’t be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.” ― Alan Moore

53. “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.” ― Franklin D. Roosevelt

54. “The first duty of a man is to think for himself” ― Jose Marti

55. “Voting gives us an opportunity to choose from options that were chosen for us.” ― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

56. “If voting made any difference they wouldn’t let us do it.” ― Mark Twain

57. “I love voting day. I love the sight of my fellow citizens lining up to make their voices heard.” — Beth Broderick

58. “Being adequately informed is a democratic duty, just as the vote is a democratic right. A misinformed electorate, voting without knowledge, is not a true democracy.” — Jay Griffiths

59. “Let the people decide whom to vote for, who has more authority. And only people, only our citizens, are able to place the final emphasis, voting for this or that person or political force, or rejecting it. That’s democracy.” — Dmitry Medvedev

60. “Polls can change; people’s opinions can change. Voting intentions can change, and I think it would be a silly leader, a silly political party, that would assume that we have it sewn up.” — Nicola Sturgeon

Thoughtful quotes about voting

61. “Bad officials are the ones elected by good citizens who do not vote.” –
George Jean Nathan

62. “Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

63. “Democracy is never a thing done. Democracy is always something that a nation must be doing.” – Archibald MacLeish

64. “Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” – Reinhold Niebuhr

65. “Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people.” – Harry Emerson Fosdick

66. “It’s not the voting that’s democracy; it’s the counting.” – Tom Stoppard

67. “The primal principle of democracy is the worth and dignity of the individual.” – Edward Bellamy

68. “Democracy is necessary to peace and to undermining the forces of terrorism.” – Benazir Bhutto

69. “The road to democracy may be winding and is like a river taking many curves, but eventually the river will reach the ocean.” – Chen Shui-bian

70. “In a democracy, everyone has the right to be represented, even the jerks.” – Chris Patten

More quotes about voting

71. “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.” – Mark Twain

72. There is no flag large enough to cover the flag of killing innocent people.” – Howard Zinn

73. A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.” – Edward Abbey

74. It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen.” – Aristotle

75. “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your government when it deserves it.” – Mark Twain

76. I should like to be able to love my country and still love justice.” – Albert Camus

77. “A love for tradition has never weakened a nation, indeed it has strengthened nations in their hour of peril.” – Winston S. Churchill

78. Patriots always talk of dying for their country but never of killing for their country.” – Bertrand Russell

79. “In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country can change it.” – Barack Obama

80. You’ll never have a quiet world till you knock the patriotism out of the human race.” – George Bernard Shaw

Short voting quotes

81. “I don’t vote. I don’t do no voting.” — Kendrick Lamar

82. “Voting rights are constitutional rights.” — Jon Ossoff

83. “I don’t really think voting changes nothing, personally.” — 21 Savage

84. “If voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal.” — Emma Goldman

85. “Thinking isn’t agreeing or disagreeing. That’s voting.” — Robert Frost

86. “We all know that an angry electorate is a voting electorate.” — Donna Brazile

87. “Oh no, the dead have risen and they’re voting Republican.” — Yeardley Smith

88. “Voting rights matter. They are a major part of who we are as Americans.” — Marc Veasey

89. “No one questions the validity, the urgency, the essentiality of the Voting Rights Act.” — Anthony Kennedy

90. “Pretending that voter fraud does not exist puts the integrity of our voting process at risk.” — Mercedes Schlapp

Quotes about voting and democracy to encourage you to participate

“A healthy democracy requires a decent society; it requires that we are honorable, generous, tolerant and respectful.” -Charles W. Pickering
“We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.” –Louis D. Brandeis
“Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on.” –Thurgood Marshall
“You’re not just voting for an individual, in my judgment, you’re voting for an agenda. You’re voting for a platform. You’re voting for a political philosophy.” –Colin Powell
“Voting is our right, but it is also our responsibility because if we don’t take the next step and elect leaders who are committed to building a better future for our kids, other rights – our rights to clean air, clean water, health, and prosperity – are placed directly in harm’s way.” -Tom Steyer
“Voting is how we participate in a civic society – be it for president, be it for a municipal election. It’s the way we teach our children – in school elections – how to be citizens, and the importance of their voice.” -Loretta Lynch
“What matters is voting for where you live: Who’s your mayor, who’s your police chief, who represents you, your city council, your judges. That matters that you vote.” -Joe Walsh
“If someone says, ‘Democracy is a sham, those people don’t speak for me… the system’s rigged,’ you say, ‘Vote.’ Someone says, ‘I was making a statement by not voting,’ and then you say, ‘Well I can’t hear it.’” -Jesse Williams
“As I have done in every election since I started voting so many years ago, I always like to take my time and examine the two candidates, see not only the two candidates but the policies they will bring in, the people they will bring in, who they might appoint to the Supreme Court, and look at the whole range of issues before making a decision.” -Colin Powell
“The voting booth joint is a great leveler; the whole neighborhood – rich, poor, old, young, decrepit and spunky – they all turn out in one day.” -David Byrne

Quotes About Voting and Democracy For Equality

101. “Democracy substitutes election by the incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few.” — George Bernard Shaw
102. “Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half of the time.” — E. B. White
103. “A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won’t cross the street to vote in a national election.” — Bill Vaughan
104. “Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be.” — Sydney J. Harris
105. “Democracy is supposed to give you the feeling of choice, like Painkiller X and Painkiller Y. But they’re both just aspirin.” — Gore Vidal
106. “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until a majority of voters discover that they can vote themselves largely out of the public treasury.” — Alexander Fraser Tytler
107. “You can never have a revolution in order to establish a democracy. You must have a democracy in order to have a revolution.” — Gilbert K. Chesterton
108. “Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state…” — Chomsky Noam
109. “Democracy consists of choosing your dictators, after they’ve told you what you think it is you want to hear.” — Alan Coren
110. “Democracy does not guarantee equality of conditions – it only guarantees equality of opportunity.” — Irving Kristol

Did you enjoy these quotes about voting?

Voting is your choice.

It’s your opportunity to back the candidates you think can affect the desired changes.

Whether you participate in the elections, the political officials elected into office, and the policies they implement will impact your life in the future.

If you care about public affairs, it’s your civic duty to express yourself at the polls.

Hopefully, these voting quotes have inspired patriotism and encouraged you to exercise your democratic right.