Declining To Vote

Here's what declining to vote says:

I paid attention, weighed the options, and I don't see anything here I want to vote for, so I am not going to.

I spent the time to come out and say none of these options are good enough.

I am engaged and willing to vote for the right platform.

None of the platforms engaged me.

My vote is there for the taking, should the right platform be offered.

That's totally different from just not going out to vote -- that is a solid "I don't care".

And frankly, if enough people go out and decline their votes, it will be a graphic illustration of the block of voters willing to vote, but not finding what they want to vote for.

If more people decline to vote than elect a party, it speaks volumes to the legitimacy of a government.  You can hand-wave away those who just don't show up, but if people show up and essentially say "Not you", that's a message.

Today that might be pointless.  But if nothing changes, and we can turn the failure-to-voters into vote-decliners, we just might create change worth voting for.

(Edit: here's a timely and informative link about the process from a source other than me: I Decline: A Guide To Refusing Your Ontario Ballot)