There are good arguments for strategically choosing the lesser of two evils, or choosing a third party to vote ones conscience and/or as a protest against the two major parties. There is NO argument for not voting at all, because it accomplishes, can accomplish, NOTHING. I did not "take away his voice:" HE did. Sure, trzaska has raised a lot of Hell since 2008 (and previously,) but it is sound and fury signifying nothing.

The proof is 30% turnout would not be "ridiculously low." In a midterm, it would only be a few points below average (midterm turnout has not reached 40% in my lifetime.) It would be a significant drop for a presidential election, yes, but only mean hyper-partisans decided it. Neither they nor their candidates mind that; many prefer it, and, despite regular references to independent/moderate voters, returns and resulting policy suggest elections already work that way (to the extent they work.)

I hate to break this to you, but as long as you take it for granted each election has a maximum of two viable candidates, neither has any incentive to take the risky chance of offering you or anyone anything: They need only make the alternative too toxically unappealing for anyone to accept. Staying home does not exactly encourage them to reach out to you; their focus is (rightly) those who actually vote. As previously noted, Dems have been trying to transform non-voters into voters since the early '70s; 2008 was the first time it worked, and more because of Bushs unpopularity than anything Dems did. 70% of the country voting for no one would just tell the two major parties no one is minding the store; 70% of the country voting for third parties would send them a far more potent message (i.e. pink slips.)

So yes, voting is, in addition to a right for which countless American soldiers have selflessly died, civic duty in any participatory democracy. Everyone who denies their own voice in choosing their government has no business complaining about the government they let the rest of us choose for them. If they do not like it, they have repeated chances to do something about it every two years in November; it is no ones fault but their own if they do not.