Non Participation Trophy
posted by u/jenniebreeden · 2026-10-27 16:01 UTC
## Top comments
1. u/successfullynumb · 2026-10-27 16:17 UTC
Choosing not to vote because "both sides bad" is a tacit approval of MAGA, the GOP, and everything they stand for. The choice cannot be clearer.
2. u/successfullynumb · 2026-10-27 16:30 UTC
For the person who deleted their comment. My point is that, by not voting, you are supporting the right and all the racist, fascist, sexist, hate-filled, baggage that goes with it. You aren't above it, you've made your choice.
And yes, when one side is MAGA they are bad, wicked, evil, deplorable, wrong, take your pick.
3. u/BuckThis86 · 2026-10-27 16:53 UTC
This is also literally the mindset that the Russian government has cultivated in its people
Nonvoters should ask if that’s the future they want: an oligarchy run by a sociopathic authoritarian or a messy democracy where you should, at a minimum, be voting for the lesser evil
4. u/Crafty_Independence · 2026-10-27 17:20 UTC
The quislings hate this truth
5. u/YorubaOyinbo · 2026-10-27 21:30 UTC
Abstinence from voting is exactly half as impactful in favour of the winner, as voting for them.
Everyone in the US who didn’t vote in 2024 is mathematically half as responsible for Trump as Trump voters are.
6. u/HumanChicken · 2026-10-27 20:36 UTC
Only one side wants to strip the right to vote from citizens and throw minorities in concentration camps. That SHOULD BE ENOUGH.
7. u/BuffaloJoker · 2026-10-27 16:09 UTC
Apathy is death.
8. u/segwaysegue · 2026-10-27 19:42 UTC
Don't blame me, I voted for Nihilus
9. u/YorubaOyinbo · 2026-10-27 21:29 UTC
American entitled apathy has caused more harm to humanity than any other force in history.
10. u/BuffaloJoker · 2026-10-27 21:35 UTC
I would say the books of Abraham have us beat, we’re a close second though.
11. u/YorubaOyinbo · 2026-10-27 21:49 UTC
Did those lead us to the extinction events of climate and/or nuclear Armageddon?
12. u/redyeti-fuck-you · 2026-10-27 19:16 UTC
I am dead
13. u/apocalyptic_tea · 2026-10-27 16:44 UTC
Fascists love when people don’t vote. They also love apathy, hopelessness, and doomerism.
14. u/Saikotsu · 2026-10-27 17:02 UTC
Apathy is how we got to where we're at.
On election day, Google searches spiked for "is Biden not running?"
People were so tuned out, they seriously didn't know who was even running.
Democracy isn't a spectator government, it demands participation from its citizens.
15. u/bridgewaterbud · 2026-10-27 18:01 UTC
I honestly feel like that is a glaring problem with democracy at least as it’s structured in the US. The one part of our government that we have a direct say in is who gets elected. The fact that we only exercise this right sporadically encourages politics to fade from people’s minds as they focus on their day to day issues.
I often think about a concept of how direct democracy would work (spoiler I don’t think it would) with our modern technology. What if instead of getting deadlocked bills, single issue items were offered for vote for everyone across the nation via electronic voting? You could have direct voting on issues you care about and cut through the red tape. Again I don’t see how this would ever work in reality but it’s a fun concept
16. u/CrazyLi825 · 2026-10-27 20:00 UTC
It doesn't help that it's structured so your votes aren't 1:1 with the results. The electoral college is what matters in the end
Using ranked voting + making the results determined by popular vote would fix so much
17. u/Puhi124 · 2026-10-27 21:54 UTC
If you want to look at how that's working out, Switzerland has something similar to this. They have key issues that parties can introduce and that inidividual citizens can then directly vote on, and that happens multiple times a year. It's obviously not perfect and from what I hear from a Swiss friend, right wing parties seem to be using it lately to introduce ideas they know won't pass just to make them seem reasonable, for example, so that's one flaw in that system already, but yeah if you wanna dive deeper feel free.
18. u/Steppyjim · 2026-10-27 18:53 UTC
Vote for the person who you feel will do the best at making your life and the lives of your fellow Americans safer, peaceful, and prosperous.
Do not wait for a candidate to be perfect. There will never be one. Pick any politician in history. Any of them. All had flaws. All had bias. All had weaknesses and gross personality traits.
But you’re not voting for a god. You’re not voting for a perfect being. You’re voting for a human. If you can’t vote for someone who gonna do everything right, then vote for the one who will do the least wrong. And consider not just your one issue sticking point. Consider the entire picture. Otherwise, you’ll only set yourself to have your issue pushed further and further away
19. u/HenshiniPrime · 2026-10-27 19:12 UTC
Everybody has an ideal world they want the government to move towards. Like a bus, you’ll never find one that takes you right to your destination, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take the one that gets you part way there.
20. u/wydoom · 2026-10-27 19:19 UTC
Also, just like taking a bus, if you pick a candidate that takes you in the wrong direction, just not as far as a different bus, it is STILL WORSE than not getting on the bus at all. Also, if you select a candidate (or bus) that goes nowhere at all, that, too, is worse than not getting on the bus.