McDuffies wrote:Going to elections and invalidating your form sends a clearer protest message than not appearing on elections. Just like how Rkolter leaves a tip of 1 cent to bad waiters: if you go to elections and invalidate, that means you're interested in elections but choose not to pick either candidate.
If you don't leave a tip, the waiter will either assume you forgot to tip them, or at least rationalize that you probably forgot to tip them. If you leave a nickel or a penny, they absolutely know you remembered them, and know you are commenting on their service. Just to clarify though - My base tip is 25%, and I work up or down from there. I leave 20% for good, but not particularly remarkable, service. I end up leaving 30-40% several times a year.
Anyway - likewise, if you do not go and vote, the people who look at the voting statistics and make determinations from them assume you are an apathetic voter. This is the exact opposite someone who says they aren't voting because they don't like either candidate wants. You want to be counted, and counted specifically for saying "I would vote, but I hate both main candidates."
On the other hand, if you go and vote but choose a third-party candidate or vote for a write-in candidate, your vote is counted. And the people who work up statistics and talk to the voting for the election will include you among those who didn't care for EITHER candidate. Which is what you were going for.
Plus, as someone else said, there may be other things you want to vote for other than the president - in Missouri we're voting on several initiatives in addition to the Presidency. If you don't go because you don't want to vote for a president, you also aren't voting for anything else local that you might care about.
I really, really like what Pimpette said can happen in Canada - go vote and deliberately choose neither and be recorded as an objector and not as an apathetic non-voter. I wonder why we don't offer that option in the US. Sort of a default third-party "I hate them both and want it registered" option.
Heh. Maybe because then neither candidate would get any votes.