Voting is the lazy option and requires minimal effort, zero courage and requires one to compromise on values/principles which should be steadfast.
Accepting that participation in a flawed and corrupt system perpetrating the illusion of choice is not brave or dutiful, in fact it is detrimental. It takes a hell of a lot more psychological effort to abstain from voting than it does to line up at the slave suggestion box every time the masters ring a bell.
Some common arguments against abstaining from voting:
The common claim that "you can't complain" having not voted is backwards. By participating in those elections you have given your implicit support to the results of the “vote”. “Elections have consequences”, remember? That is the line of thinking that you support by placing your stamp of approval on the charade.
Saying that “this is the system we have now” so you must choose between the options chosen for you just doesn’t make sense to me. Having participated in local (State) politics, I have seen firsthand just how little input citizens actually have on the candidates they are allowed to “choose” from as well as the differences between those candidates and party machines in action (despite what they say when they are pandering for votes or money.
“The lesser of two evils” rationale is an old one, and frankly I’m surprised people can still roll this out with a straight face. I don't want to support evil, no matter how much more evil the other guy is. Supporting the lesser evil is still supporting evil. If I actually had a choice, then there would be a not evil option, there would be an option that doesn't require coercion against my fellow man, one that doesn't authorize theft and violence. If I had to choose between dinner consisting of boiled fetus or fried poop, I wouldn’t eat. By choosing fried poop I am not taking a stand against boiling fetus, I'm legitimizing it.. This in no way means that I can’t complain about the serving of boiled fetus or fried poop, on the contrary I have a right to complain and I am consistent with my principles in doing so. Those who choose the “lesser evil” and eat one of the “choices” presented to them have much less grounds to complain than those who refuse to choose evil. Suppose they imposed a tax and let you choose between 10% or 20%, would you have no right to complain unless you voted for the lesser? Now on the other hand, Suppose they imposed a tax, and nobody paid?
Here are some reasons to consider why NOT to vote:
Voting is a coercive and unethical act. This is because the state is pure, institutionalized coercion. If you believe that coercion is an improper or immoral way for people to relate to one another, or to structure a society, then you shouldn't engage in a process that relies upon and formalizes the use of coercion.
It reduces your privacy: It gets your name and address added to government rosters, lists and databases.
Voting encourages Government: Your vote is implicit consent for the corrupt and violent system to continue and for all of the faceless overpaid bureaucrats and politicians to keep planning your life as they see fit. Sure, maybe you don’t agree with the current crop of sociopaths or maybe they were installed by your “lesser evil”, whatever the case if you participated in their dog and pony show you have validated it all in their minds.
Most people don’t vote for candidates they believe in, but against candidates they fear. (ie. lesser of two evils). Funny that the most common rationale for voting is one of the main reasons we have not to vote.
Your vote doesn’t count. Statistically, any person's vote makes no more difference than a single spec of dust in the air. People don’t truly get to choose their candidates, voter fraud is easy and routine. Dead voters, illegals aside… It’s not who votes that matters but who counts the votes.
Once you decide not to participate anymore, others will attempt to persuade, belittle or scare you back into the cage. They will say that you are not doing anything by not voting and it will never lead to change. I don't claim to be a “radical or activist”, but I disagree with the claim that starting with one’s own mind and behavior doesn’t change anything. Unlike voting, which has been proven time after time not to change anything, becoming a moral and consistent person (even in your own life) has a huge effect. People may not always agree with me, but they respect me because I try to live as I believe. Even those who have stark ideological differences with me may allow my thoughts to get past their ideology barriers a bit more because I am consistent.
So by beginning with my own mind, I am able to open the possibility for change within my friends, family and peers. Something I would never accomplish if I were to compromise my principles and fool myself into thinking that pulling a lever for for fried poop actually changes anything.
The only way to truly de-legitimize a corrupt system is by not voting. When tyrants around the world hold their bogus elections, and people stay home in droves, even the staunchest statist in the international community won't recognize the results of the election. Now, I realize that my not voting won't make that happen. My not voting doesn't matter any more than some naïve person's voting does. But at least I'll know that what I did was ethical. You have to live with yourself. That's only possible if you try to do the right thing. At the very least, I won’t have blood on my hands.