Quote Originally Posted by a completely inoffensive name View Post
Voting should be mandatory. There is no such thing as refusing to participate. Politics is life in a democratic society. Refusing to vote is the same as voting for the winner. Blah, blah, blah but I believe it.
Maybe, but you shouldn't lionize voting per se. It's just one more tool.

Civic participation in general is the key thing. Otherwise, whoever manages to vote in the highest number of local, state, and federal elections for which they are eligible would be considered a paragon. Yet, by voting and then getting back to private affairs one probably would tend to accomplish less than someone who is an activist in their community and country yet never votes.

Three rules for voting:

1. Track how close the race is.
2. Evaluate the importance of the position in the context of the issues that matter.
3. If you're expecting to write in a symbolic vote, just stay away.