It's been two weeks since the election and this midterm election reflect the lowest voter turnout in 72 years. National turnout was 36.7%. Absolutely pathetic! I have read all the reasons on "why" people didn't vote and after two weeks of thinking about it... I call BS!
I have listen to the various arguments and here is my rebuttal to those particular point.
1. I'm mad at Obama because of xyz.
Obama didn't appear on any election ballot. Not a single one. Not voting because you were mad at Obama was the equivalent of voting Republican. You vote for the people on a ballot, not the person who will NEVER appear on a ballot again. The time to vote against Obama was 2012.
2. I'm not voting because the Democrat was a "republican-lite", "centrist", more of the same, etc.
This argument frustrates me to NO extent. It's the biggest strawman argument EVER. You do not have to complete all sections of a ballot. You don't want to vote for the Democrat...you have three options...Vote for the other candidate, write in a name or leave it blank.
In almost (probably EVER) state, there was a section to vote on national, state and local issues. I don't really care if you are mad at the Democrats nationally. There are good local and state candidates that you SHOULD be voting for. In addition, there won't be "progressive" candidate to promote if they couldn't get in at the local or state level.
The second issue is that all these states had propositions or measures on the ballot. Some were progressive (see legalization of marijuana), some were boring but necessary and some were social issues (abortion, gay marriage etc). Again, what is your excuse for not participating in these votes. SF raise the minimum wage (an issue that should have brought out every single Democrat voter in the city). California had a proposition that allowed all low level offenders for certain crimes sitting in jail to apply for probation (SO PROGRESSIVE). I had local issues that didn't benefit me RIGHT now but laid the groundwork for the future that absolutely will benefit me. Some other bills didn't benefit me at all but benefitted someone and I'm happy that I was able to give an affirmative/negative vote.
3. The election didn't address MY issues or excite me. I need to be lured to the polls.
Again, see the above. Are you an adult? I don't need to be "excited" to vote. I need to be engaged. I need to make sure that my voice is heard. I need to vote for what is on the table that somebody put the effort in putting on the ballot. Each proposition represents true manpower behind the scenes. Voting is giving a bit of time back to the all the people who worked hard to bring a particular issue forward. And again, I reject the argument that nothing progressive or liberal was on the ballot. There was plenty things progressive and liberal as well as plenty of things that would do harm if passed.
4. I'm sending a message.
To who? If I'm a politician running for re-election in a midterm election, I'm going to have to make some serious calculations. Am I going to "pander" to an unreliable voting base or am I going to move to the center and hope I can hang on to my seat. Right or wrong, these politicians court the segment of the population that actually consistently show up to vote. There is no harm in ignoring the silent majority that don't vote.
What would have sent a super powerful message is if all those that weren't voting for political reasons had sent a message in the form of a write in protest. It would have been a power narrative if 75% of the population voted and said yes/no to propositions and instead of voting for D/R...wrote in a unifying message.
John Smith D (12%)
Mary Jones R (10%)
Write in candidate--- Not voting for you until you pay attention to my issues (88%)
That sends a message. Not voting doesn't send any message and leaves you out of the national dialogue.
I have less issue with people who vote for third party candidates than I do with people who just don't vote. One took the time to actually exercise their vote. The other just sat at home and let other's speak for them.
5. I can't vote due to new voting restrictions/laws.
This is the only time that I will give a pass. I do think that we should do everything in our effort to make voting as easy as possible. This includes mail in ballots, longer voting periods, multiple ways to register and broader id acceptance.
If you didn't vote, you are part of the problem in this country. The problem that loves to complain but doesn't seem to understand how change happens. It doesn't happen by writing angry diaries on DailyKos. It happens in a polling center and it happens with full participation of population voting. The other irony is that the people not voting are those that will be the greatest harmed by Republican policies.