Go. Vote.

[swan_tower]

This year, voting is more than just the core responsibility of citizenship; it is an act of defiance against malicious political forces determined to reduce access to democracy.

It sounds like an exaggeration, but after the litany of attempts this year to suppress the vote -- ID requirements, shortened or eliminated voting hours, changes in polling places and the number of machines there, striking voters from the rolls -- I really don't think it is. If you're an eligible voter in the U.S., please go vote.

Nobody here will be surprised to find that I think you should vote for Obama. Of the two candidates, he's the one who stands for economic fairness, women's equality, QUILTBAG rights, corporate oversight, and not just bombing the snot out of any country we decide we don't like. But fundamentally, I care most about us having a functioning democracy. Go vote. Even if you live in a state that's guaranteed to go red or blue in the presidential election, there are state legislative positions, local offices, ballot initiatives, and more in which your opinion really does matter. Go vote. Please.

Comments

[jesse bangs (from livejournal.com)]

Obama's actual record shows that he is in fact very happy to bomb the snot out of any country we don't like, and continuing all of the Bush-era policies of indefinite detention, declaring citizens to be enemy combatants, maintaining a secret kill list, etc. Both candidates are completely disqualified from consideration by anyone holding a responsible ethic. The only responsible vote is a vote for no one (or a third party, which amounts to the same thing).

Do your part for democracy. Don't vote.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

The only responsible vote is a vote for no one (or a third party, which amounts to the same thing).

Sorry, but no. Abstention only passes the buck to other people, and increases the odds that I will end up with somebody who has, not only the problems you describe, but worse versions of them, and more problems of other kinds besides.

The only responsible vote is for the person who comes closest to the ideal you want to achieve. And then you keep pushing for it to be better.

[6-penny.livejournal.com]

Those who don't vote have no right to complain about any political results for the next four years. I've known enough people who were denied the right to vote - or to vote by secret ballot- in their countries, that I feel a double obligation to exercise my right to do so!

[jesse bangs (from livejournal.com)]

If your political views are reasonably well-represented by one of the major parties, then by all means go ahead and vote for them. In my case, I find that all parties are wedded to reprehensible positions that I am not willing to compromise on. So I vote for None Of The Above, and I do so loudly.

A democratic system derives its legitimacy from popular consent expressed via voting. To refuse to vote is to derive the system of one vote's worth of legitimacy. It's a form of protest just like any other.

(And, FWIW, I did vote on two state referenda and a local bond issue, so it's not like I refuse to vote entirely. I just refuse to be complicit in the crimes of either party.)