The Power of Not Voting

KM:   Another man who would have been proud of your conscious decision to not vote would have been the late George Boardman, an individualist/libertarian who lived in Chloride, Arizona.  Many years ago, he told me of a candidate for county attorney who visited his home seeking George’s vote.  George told him that he did not believe in voting, and why.  It really troubled this rascal.  George asked him why it bothered him so much, as it would mean only that he would garner one less vote.  The candidate came back to George’s home on two or three other occasions to discuss this issue, and seemed to be deeply concerned at the thought of one man in his jurisdiction who did not endorse this ritual.  When these slugs say “it doesn’t matter who you vote for, just vote,” they mean it.  They can live with your choosing one candidate over another;  they can even accept that many people will simply not show up at the polls out of laziness or indifference;  but they cannot abide the thought that there are some people out there who reject politics out of principle.

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5:49 pm on October 31, 2010