“People who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.”

— Joseph Stalin

Variant: Those who vote decide nothing. Those who count the vote decide everything.

Last update Dec. 15, 2023. History

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Joseph Stalin 95

General secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union 1879–1953

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“When told by a constituent that he would rather vote for the devil, Wilkes responded: "Naturally." He then added: "And if your friend decides against standing, can I count on your vote?"”

John Wilkes (1725–1797) English journalist and politician

“The people do not decide issues, they decide who shall decide.”

George Will (1941) American newspaper columnist, journalist, and author

Column, January 15, 2009, "Of Judges, By Judges, For Judges" http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/will.html at jewishworldreview.com.
2000s

“I consider it completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how; but what is extraordinarily important is this—who will count the votes, and how.”

Joseph Stalin (1879–1953) General secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

In Russian: Я считаю, что совершенно неважно, кто и как будет в партии голосовать; но вот что чрезвычайно важно, это - кто и как будет считать голоса.
Said in 1923, as quoted in The Memoirs of Stalin's Former Secretary http://www.panrus.com/books/details.php?langID=1&bookID=5905 (1992) by Boris Bazhanov [Saint Petersburg] (Борис Бажанов. Воспоминания бывшего секретаря Сталина). (Text online in Russian) http://lib.ru/MEMUARY/BAZHANOW/stalin.txt.
Variant (loose) translation: The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.
Contemporary witnesses

“The electorate voted to leave the EU, and therefore we leave. What is more, the number of people who voted to do so was higher than the number of votes cast for any government in our history. To me and many of my former colleagues in government who preferred to remain, the argument was over.”

William Hague (1961) British politician

World leaders asked how UK would 'get round' Brexit, says Hague https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40785322 BBC News (1 August 2017)
2000, 2017

“I believe people are not free if all they can do is cast a vote every five years to decide who should govern them. What does it mean to a man in a shack built by himself with no amenities and not knowing where his next meal is coming from, to vote? An election is about power. It is relevant to freedom only if those elected govern efficiently, honestly and carry out the electoral promises made.”

Harry Schwarz (1924–2010) South African activist

The Mercury (17 November 2009).
Final speech

“Every legally cast vote should be counted. Every illegally cast vote should not. This should not be controversial. This is not a partisan statement — free and fair elections are the foundation of our democracy”

Ivanka Trump (1981) American businesswoman, socialite, fashion model and daughter of Donald Trump

via tweet https://twitter.com/IvankaTrump/status/1324720284948193285 On November 6, 2020
2020

“Dad decided not to vote for Donner after all. He didn’t vote for anyone. He said politicians turned his stomach.”

Octavia E. Butler book Parable of the Sower

Source: Parable of the Sower (1993), Chapter 3 (p. 27)

“Mr. Obama decided to attack us, Now you want to win votes by attacking Venezuela. Don’t be irresponsible. You are a clown, a clown. Leave us in peace … Go after your votes by fulfilling that which you promised your people.”

Hugo Chávez (1954–2013) 48th President of Venezuela

On Barack Obama after he criticized Venezuela’s ties with Iran and Cuba http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70694.html#ixzz1pBQ11D9Z/.
2011

“In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.”

Donald J. Trump (1946) 45th President of the United States of America

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/802972944532209664, quoted in * 2019-03-19 The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President Bandy X. Lee Thomas Dunne Books (St. Martin's Press) New York 1250212863
Ref: en.wikiquote.org - Donald Trump / Quotes / Donald Trump on social media / Twitter
2010s, 2016, November

“In America, we vote, we decide as a group of people what our policies are, and that's the way we do business. We don't let violence make those determinations for us.”

Charles Moose (1953) Amerocan police officer and writer

Town hall meeting http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/AttacksU (8 October 2001)

“People who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.”

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Joseph Stalin 95

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