I got to thinking about this topic after my friend @seanmclellan posted this great piece: A mathematical explanation how voting third party in 2016 is the only vote that counts.

Should anarchists vote in national elections?

Sean makes a good argument that a vote for "none of the above" would send a signal to the nation about the population's lack of support for the two-party system. He also suggests voting for an existing third-party candidate, which I'm not as onboard with, but I also see the value of voting in someone like @adamkokesh or Ron Paul who (I believe) would actively work to diminish the influence of rulers within our society.

I also think participating in the process validates the very chains which bind us. This comes back to transformer verses reformer thinking. Should we transform the existing system or do away with it and completely reform it from the ground up? I lean towards reforming, myself.

So instead of voting for a third party, what if we voted for no rulers?

(If you want more awesome images like this, check out http://www.incitetees.com/)

I think the non-participation rate in national elections is an important signal to society to invalidate the supposed "consent of the governed" idea, but I also agree with Sean's perspective that very few are not voting out of protest but more so out of complacency which implies the impact of "non voting" may not be as effective as we might pretend.

At the same time, the motivations for not voting may be irrelevant. If, as an example, 90% of the population don't vote, how would that impact the average citizen's willingness to comply to rulers when only 10% of the population agreed to be ruled? I like the "none of the above" idea, but I prefer a "no rulers" vote in that it clearly states, "I not only reject the options offered to me, but I further reject the idea that humans need to be ruled at all."

So maybe anarchist should vote after all. Maybe we should all vote for:

No Rulers

as a write in. That, combined with the non-participation, might send an important signal and clearly communicate the current system of the monopoly on the use of force within a geographic region that is government is archaic and primitive.

We can do better.

P.S. Go give @seanmclellan a follow. You won't regret it.