Those of you who don't vote, why?

My mom never registered to vote "because I don't want to be picked for jury duty!" (stupid boomer face)

1. Laziness / lack of any urgency that it will matter or make a difference to them personally
2. They’re a disinformation campaign, and taking time telling you about refusing to vote is their attempt to influence the election

I suspect that almost everyone will fall into one of those two categories

In some Canadian municipal elections, you can vote for school board trustees.

Before I had kids, I was too lazy to educate myself on their platforms, so I wouldn't cast a ballot. I'd rather leave it up to people who care to make the decision.

Now that I have kids and school boards have turned into a culture war battleground, I am researching and voting.

I didn't vote for years because I was busy trying to keep my head above water and I just couldn't wrap my head around politics. I had my own shit to deal with during that time.

Please consider voting. Don't ignore your political voice.

I moved from the UK in my early 20s, prior to that I was young and stupid, so I neglected to vote there. Then I moved to America and started the green card process, and didn't feel it was right to vote for things back in the UK as it wasn't my home anymore and it wasn't my place to say what should happen there. I finally naturalized around a decade after I moved here, and immediately signed up to vote. I actually cried at the polling station because I was so happy to vote for the first time ever!

I usually don't think to. I mostly just scroll All sorted by active so there's lots of people already voting on those posts. Plus my instance is upvote-only

I vote for Federal and Provincial. For local, I never seem to find out there even is an election until after it has passed

Still really irritating

Unfettered capitalism has masterfully created a self-serve corporatocracy that filters money straight to the political parties who, in turn, pose puppet leaders in front of the masses to grant a semblance of choice. No good will come of this "Weekend at Bernie's" farce of an election. Under current auspices, only more greed, lies, and violence are to follow.

Sorry, disenfranchisement and apoplexy are all that remain.

Who are you supposed to vote for when you feel it doesn't matter? Or when you feel that all candidates are insufficient?

Additionally, if we're speaking of the US, the electoral college can and will supercede the popular vote. We literally put these people in power just to say we're wrong and they will quickly say we're wrong and work against the popular votes because we gave them the authority

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I'm not allowed because I'm an immigrant, and I've only found out recently that I can vote while living abroad in national elections in the fatherland.

I assume a good chunk of people who don't vote live in non-contested counties/states and feel that it's pointless to vote.

Depends on what is getting voted on. Posts on Lemmy? Eh... Maybe if I find them especially good or bad. Can't be bothered otherwise.

In that one instance where I didn't vote... It was a local election with exactly two candidates. One of which told ahead of election day that should he win he would refuse to take office. So yeah... Didn't bother with that.

When all of the candidates on a ballot are going to actively work against my values, why would I vote for any of them? That said, I have written in choices before, but it's a lot of work to do when literally no one will be taking notice of that vote.

My state only does mail-in (AFAIK) and I don't have a stable address.

I'll preface this by saying that I am Canadian, not American, and I do always vote. I will find a way to make a choice and vote in our next election, but lately have been understanding why someone might not:

Everyone who has even a remote chance of winning has at least one position that I find entirely unacceptable. Like, I cannot in good faith vote for this person because this issue is an absolute deal-breaker for me. If I'm throwing my vote away by writing someone in, why even leave the house?

I'm from the UK, I don't vote simply because I don't trust the shit politicians come out with during election periods and because of this I worry I will vote the wrong way. Time and time again promises are made and you never really seem to see the difference.

For example, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but it's been promised since Brexit more money will go into the NHS to release the pressure on the service. Yet the NHS seems to be in the worst condition currently it's ever been in.

I once couldn't vote because I had to rush to my dying grandfather the day before the election. Apart from that I have voted in every single election.

Im a Canadian and I don't care for politics. And, I know it's supposedly "my duty as a citizen" or something but I just don't care. If the world blows up, okay. No more bills or rent. If the dollar tanks, okay. There are other ways of getting supplies. If the world fights each other, okay. Let them fight and see where that gets us.

I think I'm just jaded or depressed now or something.

Because our system is so broken it's like playing TF2 in 2020.

I've given up. Especially with my new address (same state), I don't think any of the races are even close.

I voted as hard as possible until (and including) 2022, but Dobbs hurt, and this latest round of SCOTUS rulings and it is going to be harder to get to a voting station. It just doesn't feel worth it.

I used to campaign and donate and vote every cycle, but 2020 made it abundantly apparent that the democratic party isn't actually a democratic institution. Why would I lift a finger to support a candidate ordained behind closed doors by Barrack Obama and Neera Tanden for the interests of the corporate backers of this shitty party that's been facilitating the neoliberal agenda of the right for my entire life? The DNC hates the left and I've discovered enough self-respect to hate them back now.

Not me but a friend of mine is just very black pilled on all the political candidates. That said, he's also the only person I know who regularly goes to protests and he very often calls his local representatives. So he's definitely politically active, he just doesn't vote. I don't really know why that's where he draws the line.

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I used to vote. Then people told me I was doing it wrong. So I stopped.

I do sometimes vote, but as for the times I don't, the ballot is one big trick question.

I have missed a few in the past but I don't expect that for future as my state as mail in and I signed up for it as did my wife.

Voting is harder in the US. I can almost get that the one party has made it more difficult to vote because it benefits that party. I am ever in awe at the hardship americans can sometimes endure to vote, and then see it nullified.

Voting in Canada is quaint but effective: I go to a polling place, I - now, Americans, this is gonna offend you - bring my driver's license to prove my ID, they write a line through my name on a piece of paper, I take the paper fn ballot behind the cardboard half-screen like it's high-school, and mark a big X in a few boxes, fold it and drop it into another cardboard box carefully marked 'ballots'. Then people count them by hand and by the end of the night we're 100% done.

Not everyone has a system as simple and effective. It's a massive effort to vote in America, and I'd love to see that fixed as well.

I come from a deep blue state, but haven’t lived in the US in years and every time I get an absentee ballot, it’s too late to send it in. I still apply, but we’ll see if it comes in time

I don't vote locally, because I live in a deep red state in which my vote doesn't matter. Because of the electoral college and first past the post voting, it also doesn't matter during presidential elections, but I vote in them anyway, because my dad always said you weren't allowed to complain about the president if you don't vote, and I like complaining.

I don't like either candidate. I don't believe either one is better than the other so I have no stake either way.

Also the electoral college I don't trust my representative will vote the way I want.

Also this country has been bought and paid for a long time ago. Most political affiliations are garnered by lobbyists employed by massive bureaucratic corporations.

Just look at the supreme Court.

You want change? Revolution is the only way. The tree of liberty should be fertilized by the blood of Patriots and tyrants from time to time.

Apolitical spectator.

I'm not sure the election system is not fixed.

But I would vote in this election if I were American. A lot is at stake. Which old man will smell the most.