Ask HN: Do you vote?
Why or why not?
Looking at the historic turnout and voting patterns, regardless of who I supported there would be no point voting. It won't make a difference.
I'd only turn out if there was a specific local issue on the ballot which had a chance of going one of two ways.
Democracy under FPTP is largely a fiction to keep people inline. It MIGHT be useful to avert a civil war, but anything less than that and it only serves to provide people the illusion of choice.
Washington state has legal pot. Texas has strict abortion laws. The reason the laws of a state reflect the beliefs of the populous is due to voting. The fact that seniors vote in high numbers, while college students vote in low numbers, is why universities get budget cuts but social security is sacred.
The idea that voting doesn't make a difference is a fiction.
I consider it an obligation as a citizen to express my preferences, though I'll admit that I often get frustrated with our elected governments. I try to make the vote my own thing, I have usually supported a minor party with limited opportunities for government but some electoral wins at the candidate level.
Electoral campaigns are usually a circus that I have come to avoid, I think the important thing is to interact with people at an individual or small group level all the time not just during elections.
And if voting seems like a waste (or even if it seems valuable), go do something else to make things better. Arlo Guthrie once pointed out that if we lived in a perfect world it would be impossible to improve things but in a world that sucks "you don’t have to do very much at all! There’s never been a time in the history of the world when you could do so little and have it mean so much to so many people!"
And always be testing and adjusting your beliefs based on evidence and knowledge. You might find that people's beliefs are usually more complex than what you'll find on the news or on a political website.
Because then someone somewhere will use the turnout % as a way to legitimise whoever is in charge e.g. "X got voted in with a 80% turnout." Whereas if only 10% of the population turn up, no matter who wins they have no legitimacy or mandate.