silveri wrote:How about I'm not registered to vote because I do not believe in the current system. Electoral reform would be nice.
That's already under "I don’t vote because I’m everything that’s wrong with America."
For people like yourself, I will inform you how some other democracies work--mandatory voting. Australia, for example, forces people to vote in all national elections. The only requirement is that citizens over 18 need to register to vote and turn in a ballot by the end of election day. They cannot tell people how to vote. One approach dissenters engage in is to turn in an empty ballot or a completely full ballot to nullify their vote.
While there is a philosophical debate about whether or not compulsory voting encourages the ideals behind a liberal democracy, that is not point. There are state and local issues that directly affect you and refusing to vote because you don't like the process or the people is childish or lazy and definitely short-sighted. You don't have to vote for a particular candidate for a particular office, but you should vote for a particular issue.
During the 2010 midterms, my ballot included a state measure regarding term-limits for state legislators. If you don't like the people in office, passing this kind of measure removes them from office and places new blood in more often. Eventually someone who touts electoral reform as their major issue will run for office and may not win because you don't like the process.
On a side note, you woot folks also forgot "I can't vote because of new stringent voter-ID laws put into place by Republican state legislatures based on the false premise of quelling voter fraud but was actually a method to purposely lower both the youth and minority vote in this upcoming election."
