The mass media seems to only want to fuel the perception that their goal is to influence and sway public opinion during elections.

With the 24-hour news-cycle bombshell that Hillary Clinton has now locked in the nomination, will people just stay home and not vote?

Regardless of whatever happens today at the polls, there are going to be thousands of Sanders supporters left with a sour-taste on the whole process, from beginning to end: from the fact that superdelegates determined the contest for the media, to feeling like the deck was stacked against them by the Democratic Party, the state primary process, and the media's coverage (and at times lack thereof) of the ongoing battle that Sanders has waged.

At this point, it doesn't look like Sanders can stop Clinton from the magic number of 2,026, where she captures the majority of the pledged delegates, neutralizing much of the superdelegate argument against her.

But it's also equally unlikely that she'll outright win enough pledged delegates to win the nomination without help from the superdelegates -- and that is what the Sanders' camp is counting on.

Whether Sanders' campaign is willing to publicly admit it or not, he needs to stay in this race as long as possible, just in case Clinton winds up with a serious indictment in the private email scandal.

His presence serves as a safety valve. But playing the role of safety valve is not all that Sanders is interested in. He wants an outright win by presenting a compelling case at the convention.

Neither side, Clinton nor Sanders, can afford to have their supporters assume that it's a 'done deal.' They need every single vote in these last 7 races, and can't afford to allow the other campaign to gain lopsided victories.

Just a couple of months ago, I wrote about the growing possibility of the media calling races before they were even finished. The AP's decision to tinker with their delegate count on the eve of the most crucial contest yet seems awfully suspicious, and definitely like it was a purposeful ploy to skew voter behavior.

But in the end, crying foul about the media's influence on voters won't accomplish much. Regardless of whatever the media says, the voters of these last 7 contests need to get to the polls and vote, because their votes are still critical in deciding the long-term outcome of this race.

Photo Credit: Barbara Kalbfleisch / Shutterstock.com