Ron Paul (after winning CPAC 5 years in a row) won Iowa & Main in the 2012 primaries, but the news falsely reported the numbers & ignored the delegates that were understandably furious over the lies about the results they were responsible for reporting. There's no telling what impact that had on the rest of the election, & how much they lied elswehere too. There are plenty of other examples of cheating once you start looking. The voting & tabulating equipment is not open source specifically because the companies want to sell outcomes to political interests.

But beyond all that, democracy is *at best* lowest common denominator mob rule. And voting is basically just begging for someone else to fix your life. There's nothing just or sane about the system at all, & I generally think participation is in a way offering some form of consent. If I vote it implies that I'll support the outcome. And if my choices are both evil, then I am supporting evil whether the politician I choose wins or loses. I generally don't want any part in any of it.

That said, I do think local positions are more likely to be influenced by participation & they certainly matter more in my day to day life. So while all of the above still applies, if coloring a dot might help reduce the severity of the stupid that I have to face at home then why not 🙄