Then spoil a ballot, write in a nonsensical candidate name, or vote third-party. If you refuse to vote your action is literally indistinguishable from someone who has no opinion at all.
No, because the spoiled ballots are, in many cases, actually counted. This is what people did in Hong Kong when the Government imposed electoral reform designed to prevent pro-democracy and localist groups from winning. Since it was illegal to tell people to not vote (pro-democracy groups had urged a boycott), people showed up to cast spoiled ballots. That election had among the highest numbers of spoiled ballots in the region’s history.
I’m trying my best not to call you names here, but the point of that exercise was not to exert democratic power but to cause embarrassment for the Government. The Government tried their hardest to make it look like a legitimate election but got utterly humiliated instead with low turnout and large numbers of spoiled ballots.
Not sure why you want to call me names. My guess is we probably agree on more than we don’t.
I was just (admittedly, sarcastically) pointing out that perhaps copying methods that have WORKED might be better than copying methods that… Maybe slightly annoyed a couple of CCP officials? I’m sure everyone in China still thinks the election was legitimate, and pretty much everyone outside of China didn’t need any sort of protest vote to tell them it wasn’t.
In the US we have been non-voting for decades. That’s exactly how we got into this mess. Non-voting isn’t going to make anything better.
I agree with that generally, but what “methods that work” do you suggest?
Edit: To add, the protest spoilt ballots and low turnout in Hong Kong did exactly what they were supposed to do. It convinced other Hongkongers that the elected Legislative Council is not legitimate and was installed, not elected. This is particularly troublesome for the Government, because Hongkongers have a famous tendency to protest, and sometimes rather intensely.
To clarify: I endorse voting because it takes, maybe, an hour of your time every year. (We should have a national voting day, but that’s another discussion.) Great, that disclaimer is now out of the way.
The two parties are playing good-cop/bad-cop for the oligarchy. Republicans push the ruling class’ agenda and the Democrats pretend to stop them.
Meanwhile, income inequality has been exploding for almost 50 years. The cost of housing, groceries, healthcare, college, child care, insurance, debt are increasing as money is systematically SIPHONED from the lower classes. Productivity increases, the rich get richer, and the bottom of the pyramid (i.e., those who have wages instead of assets) are forced to live on the edge of financial ruin. One missed paycheck or one medical emergency away from homelessness.
The implication of this post is the need for civic engagement in addition to voting. We’re going to need grassroots organization. Mass protests, boycotts, strikes, and civil disobedience are all required to take the country back from the oligarchy.
Then spoil a ballot, write in a nonsensical candidate name, or vote third-party. If you refuse to vote your action is literally indistinguishable from someone who has no opinion at all.
Spoiling a ballot is just non-voting with extra steps.
No, because the spoiled ballots are, in many cases, actually counted. This is what people did in Hong Kong when the Government imposed electoral reform designed to prevent pro-democracy and localist groups from winning. Since it was illegal to tell people to not vote (pro-democracy groups had urged a boycott), people showed up to cast spoiled ballots. That election had among the highest numbers of spoiled ballots in the region’s history.
Ah yes. Hong Kong, such a famous victory for democracy.
I’m trying my best not to call you names here, but the point of that exercise was not to exert democratic power but to cause embarrassment for the Government. The Government tried their hardest to make it look like a legitimate election but got utterly humiliated instead with low turnout and large numbers of spoiled ballots.
Not sure why you want to call me names. My guess is we probably agree on more than we don’t.
I was just (admittedly, sarcastically) pointing out that perhaps copying methods that have WORKED might be better than copying methods that… Maybe slightly annoyed a couple of CCP officials? I’m sure everyone in China still thinks the election was legitimate, and pretty much everyone outside of China didn’t need any sort of protest vote to tell them it wasn’t.
In the US we have been non-voting for decades. That’s exactly how we got into this mess. Non-voting isn’t going to make anything better.
I agree with that generally, but what “methods that work” do you suggest?
Edit: To add, the protest spoilt ballots and low turnout in Hong Kong did exactly what they were supposed to do. It convinced other Hongkongers that the elected Legislative Council is not legitimate and was installed, not elected. This is particularly troublesome for the Government, because Hongkongers have a famous tendency to protest, and sometimes rather intensely.
What if my choice of third party is being hunted down by the government?
To clarify: I endorse voting because it takes, maybe, an hour of your time every year. (We should have a national voting day, but that’s another discussion.) Great, that disclaimer is now out of the way.
The two parties are playing good-cop/bad-cop for the oligarchy. Republicans push the ruling class’ agenda and the Democrats pretend to stop them.
Meanwhile, income inequality has been exploding for almost 50 years. The cost of housing, groceries, healthcare, college, child care, insurance, debt are increasing as money is systematically SIPHONED from the lower classes. Productivity increases, the rich get richer, and the bottom of the pyramid (i.e., those who have wages instead of assets) are forced to live on the edge of financial ruin. One missed paycheck or one medical emergency away from homelessness.
The implication of this post is the need for civic engagement in addition to voting. We’re going to need grassroots organization. Mass protests, boycotts, strikes, and civil disobedience are all required to take the country back from the oligarchy.