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Why I Didn't Vote (And Six Reasons You Might Not)

2016-08-09 · list · John · 3:37 · watch on YouTube

Topic: US politics & society · mode: Advocacy & fundraising · tags: civic or action cta, timely hook, self promotion

Responding to the six most common reasons Twitter non-voters gave, John argues each is a poor reason not to vote, recounts failing to register in 2000 as one of the great shames of his life, and asks eligible Americans to become registered, informed voters.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Thanks for How to Vote in Every State; John asked non-voters on Twitter for their reasons

  • ★★ John thanks Hank for the brilliant, astonishingly comprehensive youtube.com/howtovoteineverystate. — 00:00:01 · How to Vote in Every State
  • ★★ After seeing it, John asked eligible American voters on Twitter who don't intend to vote for their reasons, and answers the six concerns he heard most. — 00:00:05 · Twitter, United States

00:00:13 — Concern 1: the lesser of two evils; more than two candidates; down-ballot elections matter

  • ★★ To the most common concern, not wanting to choose the lesser of two evils, John says most states will have more than two candidates on the presidential ballot. — 00:00:17 · United States presidential election
  • ★★★ John says maybe you do want the lesser of two evils, since it is less evil; not voting ranks the candidates as equally evil, which he finds impossible given their very different policies. (hedged) — 00:00:21
  • ★★★ John says you're not just voting for president: down-ballot races for senators, congresspeople, state legislators and school boards are extremely important to your community. — 00:00:35 · United States Congress, United States presidential election

00:00:56 — Concern 2: not informed or not caring; how to get informed (sample ballot, Ballotpedia); ask for policy topics

  • ★★ To the concern of being uninformed or not caring, John agrees that people who don't care who represents them should not vote, but says getting informed isn't hard. — 00:00:56
  • ★★ John recommends finding your state's sample ballot at youtube.com/howtovoteineverystate, then candidates' websites, and Ballotpedia for US Senate or Congress races (link in the doobly-doo). — 00:01:03 · How to Vote in Every State, doobly-doo, United States Congress
  • ★★ John asks viewers who want videos on the candidates' policy plans and proposals to say in comments which topics they'd like explored. — 00:01:16

00:01:22 — Concern 3: minority-party voter in a one-party state; a strong minority moderates

  • ★★★ To minority-party voters in one-party states, John says down-ballot votes might matter and the vote matters regardless: not voting makes politicians think the state is less politically diverse than it is. (hedged) — 00:01:26 · Republican Party
  • ★★ John thinks a strong minority moderates the party in power at national and local levels, and says 'God knows we could use some moderation'. (hedged) — 00:01:40

00:01:49 — Concern 4: money corrupts the system; protest looks like apathy; turnout of millionaires

  • ★★★ John agrees the system is corrupted by money but says not voting won't fix it, because protest non-voting looks to the system exactly like apathy. (hedged) — 00:01:53
  • ★★ John doesn't think money negates the power of a vote, and thinks rich people know this. (hedged) — 00:02:03
  • ★★★ John says 57.5% of eligible American voters voted in the 2012 election, while 99% of millionaires did. — 00:02:07 · United States presidential election, United States

00:02:16 — Concern 5: illness, disability or transportation problems

  • ★★ On illness, disability or transport, John says US voting laws in many states make voting very hard for sick or disabled people, but state options usually exist. — 00:02:16
  • ★★ John says most local political parties will drive you to the polls on election day, even if you're not voting for their candidates. — 00:02:29

00:02:34 — Concern 6: registering is scary; John's failure to register after moving to Chicago in 2000

  • ★★★ In August 2000 John had just moved to Chicago, slept in a walk-in closet of an apartment not in his name, had a Florida license, didn't know how to register, and missed the deadline. — 00:02:41 · Chicago (city), Florida

  • ★★★ John says the system makes voting hard for people who move a lot, but he lacked the fortitude to stand up to it; not voting is one of the great shames of his life. — 00:03:01

    “it is one of the great shames of my life”

  • ★★★ John says his single vote wouldn't have changed any outcome, but the combined votes of even 10% of the thousands of people like him would have. — 00:03:15

00:03:25 — Ask to become a registered, informed voter; sign-off

  • ★★★ John asks everyone eligible to vote in the US to become a registered, informed voter and make their voice heard, especially if it's hard. — 00:03:25 · United States

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: How to Vote in Every State · lesser of two evils principle · paradox of voting · voter registration

Also: Organizations: Ballotpedia · Democratic Party · Republican Party · Twitter · United States Congress · United States Senate

Terms: doobly-doo

Concepts: campaign finance · voter turnout

Places: Chicago (city) · Florida · United States

Events: United States presidential election

Also centred on paradox of voting: Tiny Chickens Invade, But Still I Vote · You. Must. Vote. · Ten Terrible Reason to not Vote (and two good ones) · Our Massive Project: How to Vote in Every State

Also centred on voter registration: Our Massive Project: How to Vote in Every State · We've Got Some Weird Voting Laws…

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