If all of the people who didn't vote because "It would never make a difference" actually voted, we could have had a constitutional amendment by now removing the electoral college.
...okay, you've convinced me. As someone from a beige state that's been presidentially blue for over 30 years (meaning my vote means dick-all due to EC shenanigans), I will continue to show up and vote to make sure it stays that way.
Maybe one day I'll even get an inspiring candidate to vote for.
Since I moved from a red state to Colorado it's been mind blowing how painless and accessible it is to vote in this state.
Before every election all registered voters automatically get a mail-in ballot, as well as a detailed book explaining every issue & candidate on the ballot with sample arguments for & against. You can then either mail the ballot or drop it off in very convenient drop boxes that are usually less than 10 min from your place. In some ways it's difficult to not have at least some idea of the political landscape for most voters.
Ideally an electoral system should have the "none of the above" option. If it gets the majority the elections are repeated with new candidates, and previous ones are disqualified for a number of years.
I'd love to see something like ballot included in tax returns (for folks who don't otherwise request a ballot). Near-mandatory voting, with abstaining being allowed.
I'm not an American so I'm not sure I understand. Wikipedia says voter turnout in 2016 was 59.2% of the voting-eligible population. Even if we count is a percentage of the voting-age population (i.e. including people with felonies or without citizenship or barred from voting for other reasons) it's still 54.8% voter turnout.
But that bar at the top of the graph makes it look like only around 15% voted.
I live in deep red Utah. A lot of people I know do not vote because they do not see the point. These people, who stem from all political spectrums, believe “republicans will always have control over state and local political offices.”
Which is why we need to spend our energy this election on motivating voters who are already on side but think voting is pointless, rather than bothering to convince fence sitters who aren't already convinced by a Trump's behavior.
Get your friends in swing states to vote! Get them to get their friends to vote! Harris has this, especially if we can motivate even like 5-10% of non-voters!
This will likely be the first year I won't be voting. I moved to a state with no early voting, and it's all in person. Additionally, I'm in a blue city with a red state government, so voting locations are minimal, and my job only allows 2 hours to vote. I don't really see it happening.