This still strikes me as an interesting topic. I know that you're the only representative for the "non-voter" side, Doulos, so I thank you for your continued participation.
Dolulos:
This is one of those areas in life where I just can't intentionally waste time on an action when it is only symbolic.
On the "time" issue, I simply don't believe that you lack the sufficient time to vote. If you valued voting, you would almost certainly make time for it, so I don't believe that this is a viable excuse. I think that you simply do not value voting, since you'd rather be "playing video games...Or sleeping...Or drinking coffee and enjoying the day," because, "All of those actions provide real enjoyment to my life and voting does not." Thus, I think this is the point that we should be focusing on: the reasons for which you don't value voting.
Doulos:
1) My vote will not change what will happen - and so the risk (getting hit by a car, slipping on ice on the way to the voting booth etc) is not worth the reward (ie zero) of voting.
I seriously doubt that you actually live your life in this fashion. Why not simply have food delivered to your doorstep, rather than go to the grocery store, then? Why drive to work, when you can work from home? We all make little risks every day-- it's part of being human.
Furthermore, simply fill out a mail-in ballot-- problem solved.
Doulos:
2) Becoming informed on the incredible nuances of the political system, and everything that is involved, is a massive job.
Of course it is, but that's irrelevant-- voting doesn't require that you be familiar with every possible nuance of the political spectrum, such that you could teach a course at the university level. It doesn't take too much brain power to consider if one is either in favor of "pro-choice," or "pro-life;" gay marriage or not; higher taxes or not; etc. While these issues are surely more complex, no one is asking that you become an expert on any of them. I tend to believe that human beings are competent enough to know their own preferences, and that enough should empower you to vote.
With regards to what candidates support what, there are a plethora of online resources available. I completed my mail-in ballot in about twenty minutes, using the League of Women Voters tool, which impartially outlined the stance of every politician in my area (since I was unfamiliar with them, having moved).
Doulos:
3) Those being voted in have proven they will rarely do what they say they will do, so informing myself on the issues is a waste of time in many (though not all) cases anyways.
In other words, you believe that your representatives will not act upon their promises. While it is true that voters may not get everything they want from their elected official, it is patently absurd to suggest that politicians will "rarely" act in the interests of their constituents. After all, they wouldn't continue to be re-elected, right?
Doulos:
4) Lobby groups have shown themselves to be the real driving factor behind political change as far as I can tell. If I really thought that changing things in certain areas was important I would use my dollars and lobby groups to try and change things.
Lobbyists are usually mere citizens like you and me. Politicians are happy to confess that their positions will respond to lobby pressure, and it's true. You have the power to lobby your politicians, just as anyone else does, but the difference is that most people will not. While I've never gotten a personal reply to a letter I've written for a politician, my voice was still heard. Lobbying is almost a kind of informal voting, in which politicians get to see how badly people really care about certain issues. Sure, people vote, but lobbying an extra step that most people simply do not take. However, it has an enormous impact on politicians, and rightfully so.
While corporations have their own lobbyists as well, you shouldn't underestimate the power of citizen lobbying for a cause you believe in. Politicians aren't experts on everything, and need their citizens to help inform them on important issues; they have a whole team of staff that works around the clock to interpret and summarize expert advice, or even the advice of an emotional parent, or a passionate school teacher. Your voice
does matter, but only if you make it heard.
Doulos:
5) I've discovered that my own happiness in life has zero connection to politics or voting. Almost all of what I truly care about in life comes from relationships, coffee time, leisure time, fun etc. I found that I became a much happier and more enjoyable person to be around when I cut out politics from my life. Does politics have an effect on the other areas of my life that I enjoy? Sure. But far less than most people might assume.
If your happiness has zero connection to politics, than you're arguing that none of the issues matter to you. After all, no matter the outcome, you could honestly care less. If that is
really the truth, then you're right-- there really is no reason for you to vote. However, I simply find it hard to believe that you don't even have an opinion on political issues. Do you pay taxes? Do you care about the curriculum of our children? Are you a feminist? Are you in favor of war, or against? The list goes on and on. Politics affects your life, even if "far less than most people might assume;" however, I think that politics actually affects your life in more ways than you realize.
Doulos:
Voting just shuffles around the deck chairs on the political Titanic - to get a different version of the same corrupt individual into power.
Here is another piece of rationale that I picked out, though it ties into your third and fifth points. It seems to me that your position also relies upon the notion that there is little to no distinction between our representatives (or, rather, what they might do if elected). While this is certainly true for certain issues (and in certain races), it is not true for all of them. While I myself did not vote for any particular judge (since I believe that either candidate could do the job), I voted in favor of other candidates that actually had significant differences of political opinion.
I wonder if you don't see any differences because there are no issues that matter to you. If so, then like I said before: you probably shouldn't vote. However, if you're not completely apathetic to the outcome of political elections (which would first, of course, force you to admit that the outcomes themselves matter, even though you've argued against that notion), then you really should have a vested interest in the political process.