★★★☆☆ Average
(Alternate-Reality Dystopia) With no more Congress, the country holds daily votes on just about everything, and voting in mandatory. Clausen doesn’t think anyone looks at the ballots, so he spoils one. (5,414 words; Time: 18m)
"All Votes Will Be Counted (We Promise)," by Paul Crenshaw [bio] (edited by Jason Sizemore), appeared in Apex Magazine issue 119, published on April 2, 2019.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.203 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: The message of the story isn’t just that everyone lives in a dictatorship—it’s that no one cares. People enjoy their lives and they vote mindlessly, not even noticing when there’s only one option on the ballot.
Con: Clausen sure is a slow learner.
Given how comfortable everyone seems to be, it’s hard to believe these people live in a totalitarian dictatorship that’s so intolerant that it tracks down every spoiled ballot. if the government cared that much, why didn’t it come after the people saying they doubted anyone counted the ballots?
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Pro: The message of the story isn’t just that everyone lives in a dictatorship—it’s that no one cares. People enjoy their lives and they vote mindlessly, not even noticing when there’s only one option on the ballot.
Con: Clausen sure is a slow learner.
Given how comfortable everyone seems to be, it’s hard to believe these people live in a totalitarian dictatorship that’s so intolerant that it tracks down every spoiled ballot. if the government cared that much, why didn’t it come after the people saying they doubted anyone counted the ballots?
Other Reviews: Search Web
Paul Crenshaw Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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