Your vote always matters. Just not as much as your money. More specifically, if votes didn't matter, they wouldn't do all of this redrawing of districts (among other things that may have been supreme court news last year

). Your vote is arguably your most important right but it's been trivialized from jump street. Votes matter when our guns force other nations to have them. Of course they are significant. The real trick is making us think we don't matter Ie the electoral college. Gore technically won, right?
I ain't quote you because you asked not to be.
Imo, folks are so sentimental over politics that they refuse to participate. It's deliberately convoluted to keep the participants, officials and everyday civilians alike, in control. Your vote is you personally taking control.