Common opinion, but incorrect. The longterm near-complete lack of voter turnout in primary elections, especially Democratic primaries, especially outside presidential election years, and especially by all but the elderly, is by far the greatest predictor of the rightward political shift of the DNC, because it essentially abdicated agenda-setting power over which candidates end up on the ballot to DNC elites.
General election voter turnout has almost zero effect on the policies adopted by future candidates. Not voting in a general election, especially if you did not vote in the primary, is quite likely the worst possible way to communicate your preference as a voter.
If you didn’t participate in the primary, attempting to “take a stand” in the general by not voting is utterly ambiguous. That shouldn’t surprise anyone. There are any number of reasons you might have stayed home. The primary election was your chance to say why.
But let’s say you did participate in the primary, and can safely assume your reasons were recorded. It remains that, by not voting, you join the elgible-non-voter category of the population (majority of the electorate in most US elections) for an election cycle. Since those who don’t vote in one election are more likely to not vote in the next, future candidates have less incentive to consider the non-voter’s political concerns.
All to say, the general election is not the place to communicate your values, especially if you do so by not voting, and especially if you didn’t participate in the primary election. It works against you, against those you care about, against our planet, and may god have mercy on your soul QED
Common opinion, but incorrect. The longterm near-complete lack of voter turnout in primary elections, especially Democratic primaries, especially outside presidential election years, and especially by all but the elderly, is by far the greatest predictor of the rightward political shift of the DNC, because it essentially abdicated agenda-setting power over which candidates end up on the ballot to DNC elites.
General election voter turnout has almost zero effect on the policies adopted by future candidates. Not voting in a general election, especially if you did not vote in the primary, is quite likely the worst possible way to communicate your preference as a voter.
If you didn’t participate in the primary, attempting to “take a stand” in the general by not voting is utterly ambiguous. That shouldn’t surprise anyone. There are any number of reasons you might have stayed home. The primary election was your chance to say why.
But let’s say you did participate in the primary, and can safely assume your reasons were recorded. It remains that, by not voting, you join the elgible-non-voter category of the population (majority of the electorate in most US elections) for an election cycle. Since those who don’t vote in one election are more likely to not vote in the next, future candidates have less incentive to consider the non-voter’s political concerns.
All to say, the general election is not the place to communicate your values, especially if you do so by not voting, and especially if you didn’t participate in the primary election. It works against you, against those you care about, against our planet, and may god have mercy on your soul QED