General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: If we don't vote... [View all]Chathamization
(1,638 posts)way of bringing about change. Of course a single vote isn't going to change things by itself, which is why GOTV is so important, and why we need to be pushing those around us to take the time to vote.
As for the argument that inside interests control who's on the ballot - that just not true from what I've seen. Plenty of progressive candidates get on the ballot, though their are many times they don't win in elections that have single digit turnout (though there are many times they do win as well). I suppose you could argue that the few people who show up to vote (or the smaller group who bother to pay attention to who's running for the state committee) are the small group of special interests that control things - but that's a very, very messed up message if you're trying to say voting doesn't change things.
"Every time we stay at home and Group A is the only one who bothers voting in the primaries, Group A ends up deciding who gets on the ballot. Since Group A keeps deciding who gets on the ballot, there's no point in showing up to vote in the primaries." Not sure if the vast majority of people continually choosing to cede their power to the few people that actually care gets to count as an oligarchy.