I agree with your second statement, but in the case of my county, all options tend to be very bad. I realize this comment will be well unpopular, and am not trying to convince anyone of anything, just explain my perspective.
I don't vote.
Voting is mandatory here, so I show up and fulfill my civil duty, and have even been in charge of voting tables when "drafted" to do so by authorities. I just don't vote for any candidate because I've always disliked all of them, their policies and their discourse. Furthermore, our electoral process is so full of fake news, statements taken out of context and general mudslinging, it's nearly impossible to make a genuinely informed decision. Peer pressure gets wild too.
I don't want to vote for someone who will later on go on to continue the pattern of corruption, populism, nepotism, selling out to foreign interests, authoritarianism and incompetence that has been the hallmark of the vast majority if not all of our political leaders the last century.
People get very worked up about these things too, and I also don't want to jeopardize my bonds with loved ones due to my decision, which I didn't even believe in to begin with.
I'm deeply sorry but I've lost all faith, not only in the democratic process but also of any possible political candidate or system fixing society for the vulnerable and deprived.
It just seems to me that healthy societies emerge from social trust and solid values, not votes... So I try to do my best to be an example in those regards, hoping it will make a small difference in the long run. I wish we would all focus on that to be honest.
Whatever you believe in or do, I wish you, your society and our world the very best.