What do you do if none of the candidates offer enough positives to make up for the negatives, or that a ballot measure is too muddled to vote “yes” or “no” on with good conscience?

In such a situation it is acceptable and even desirable to hand in your ballot without voting on a particular candidate or ballot measure—your right to vote includes the right to abstain. In rare cases, you may have a None of The Above (NOTA) option, but most jurisdictions don’t count blank votes. But not voting in a race or on a measure is nevertheless sending a message—you are defying the statist notion that you have an obligation to vote. Just remember that your ballot may cover a lot of races and measures, some of which you find that you can mark in good conscience and some that you can’t. So always hand in your ballot even if you decline to vote in one or more races or for one or more ballot measures.

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