The people who cast the votes don't decide an election, the people who count the votes do.
Joseph StalinRead
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.
Interpretation
The process of counting votes is more critical than who casts them.
This quote emphasizes the significance of the vote-counting process in elections, suggesting that the integrity of the counting can influence the outcome more than voter participation itself. It brings attention to the power dynamics involved in determining the results of an election, highlighting the importance of transparency and fairness in the electoral process.
In practice
During a debate on election reforms, this quote can illustrate the need for transparent vote counting.
The people who cast the votes don't decide an election, the people who count the votes do.
If any foreign minister begins to defend to the death a 'peace conference,' you can be sure his government has already placed its orders for new battleships and airplanes.
The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic.
Print is the sharpest and the strongest weapon of our party.
You cannot make a revolution with silk gloves.
It takes a brave man to be a coward in the Red Army.
People see America through particular lenses, either their profession, their race or their gender. So the party that speaks to our racial perceptions and offers solutions to the racial difficulties which we face is the party that's going to be rewarded with our votes.
Struggles do not end when countries attempt the transition to democracy.
Among the numerous advantages promised by a well-constructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break and control the violence of faction.
There's good reason to be excited. You have the first woman running who is qualified, and a very attractive African-American who has demonstrated crossover appeal. I got involved in politics 40 years ago during the civil rights movement, so yes, it's an exciting thing.
That instability is inherent in the nature of popular governments, I think very disputable β¦ A representative democracy, where the right of election is well secured and regulated & the exercise of the legislature, executive, and judiciary authorities, is vested in select persons, chosen really and not nominally by the people, will in my opinion be most likely to be happy, regular and durable.
The president - every president - works for us. We don't work for him. We sometimes lose track of this, or rather get the balance wrong. Respect is due and must be palpable, but now and then you have to press, to either force them to be forthcoming or force them to reveal that they won't be.
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