We, the Anti-Electorate, do not believe there is a need for "strong leadership" in government.
We are not drawn to "intellectual" authorities and political "heroes."
We are not impressed with titles, ranks, and pecking orders – politicians, celebrities, and gurus.
We do not struggle for control of organizations, social circles, and government.
We do not lobby the State for favors or permission to control those with whom we disagree.
Rather, we advocate freedom.
By its very nature, the State does not.
Exercise your right to say "No" to the warfare-welfare system.
Refuse to vote. Then tell your friends why.
-- Wally Conger, The Anti-Electorate Manifesto
But don't we have to vote to get the best people to run the government?
Most major social problems are caused by government itself. Attempting to reform the system is a losing game. Instead, it's far more important to raise awareness of the desirability of abolishing government entirely.
But that would be anarchy!
Yes. Anarchy simply means "no rulers". We advocate an alternative social order based on consent, rather than bullying people around the way government does. In this way, we hope to get rid of the enormous harms caused by government.
But how is anarchism even possible?
The anarchist tradition has an enormously diverse and rich set of answers to this question. The Vote for Nobody campaign exists not to promote any one anarchist school of thought, but to raise public awareness of anarchism generally.
In general, though, there are two basic approaches to explaining how a stateless society of unanimous consent could work.
1) A stateless socialism of voluntary associations and mutual aid. This emphasis is called "libertarian socialism".
2) A stateless free market of producers and traders. This emphasis is called "free market libertarianism".
These approaches are both just ways to describe how people might choose to organize themselves and their affairs on a voluntary, consensual, non-coercive basis.
Some mix of both approaches seems likely in practice. Ultimately, both approaches tend to address the shortcomings the other is perceived to have. Together, they reinforce and complement each other.
Browse the links below for more information.
But why a Vote for Nobody campaign?
Actively campaigning for people to Vote for Nobody is one way to try to raise awareness of anarchism as a desirable alternative.
Should I abstain from voting or actually go to the polls and write in "Nobody?
That's a personal decision. The official recommendation from the maintainers of this web site is to abstain from voting, but you could Vote for Nobody either way. The real point is to get out there before the election and actively campaign for Nobody.
But isn't it unrealistic to think you can get X number of people to boycott the election?
The question supposes that we're measuring success by what effect, if any, this effort will have on the vote outcome. That's a common misconception. Rather, progress for anarchists ought to at least be measured by how high the profile of anarchism is in the overall public discourse. Unlike a regular election campaign where the campaign is an investment designed to capture a potential payoff in terms of results at the polls, this campaign IS the payoff for anarchists who use it as an avenue to promote anarchism.
