Why is it important to Vote?

Okay V., the Electoral College is easy to understand. It is an ingenious device planned by our founding fathers to protect the population against the tyranny of the bare majority.
Each state in the union has electoral votes equal to the number of Representatives to Congress they have. That is the number of Representatives and Senators combined. Each state has 2 Senators and a number of Representatives proportionate to the population of the state.
The states with the larger populations have more Congressmen, and therefore more electoral votes.
The popular vote is important because if a candidate wins the popular vote in the state, he or she gets 100% of that state's electoral votes. The first one to reach a majority of the total 535 electoral votes wins the election.
This is important because, without it the more populous states could dictate to the less populous states. Theoretically, California and New York could constantly pick the President and set the policy for the entire nation. Rural America would have no voice at all. The cities would control all of the time.
The Electoral College gives Americans an equal voice to one another, no matter where they live. The more populous states still have the most votes, so they are the most attractive to the candidates to court. However, the less populated states cannot be ignored because together they make up a substantial block of votes.
Your individual vote helps determine which candidate gets your states electoral votes. Every 10 years, there is a census. When the population shifts, so does the number of Congressional representatives are assigned to each state. For example, if most Californians decided they wanted to live in North Dakota, the number of Representatives for California would be decreased and the number for North Dakota increased proportionately, and North Dakota would become a very powerful state.
I vote every single chance I get. Most of the time, that is the only voice I have in my government. I'm not wealthy, so I can't gain influence by giving large sums to my favorite candidates, but I do believe my vote is important.
When people don't vote, it has an even bigger impact on the local level. Individuals running for county or municipal office generally have a specific group backing and supporting them. Therefore, if everyone doesn't vote you have you local leaders selected by a relatively small group of people, such as, 3000 people selecting a District Judge for a mere 14,000 people selecting the District Attorney for a county. Those are very pathetic numbers, indeed. When that happens you wind up with very poor choices for local leadership.
Also, how can you complain in good conscience if you don't exercise the most basic right that every individual has?
If we don't vote, doesn't that kind of mock those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our liberty?
(supplemental edit: By the way, the splitting votes states only applies to which candidate gets delegates in the party convention. That is only a primary thing.
When a candidate in the Presidential election in November wins a state, that candidate gets all of that state's electoral votes. There is no vote splitting in the electoral college.)