*thinks about how felons can't vote,
No, they can’t, unless they’re fortunate enough to get their rights restored, and that’s not fair. Who can change the laws? Elected officials.
thinks about how the working class often have to choose between getting work that day or voting,
That’s not fair either, and all election days, both state and federal, should be holidays. Who can make them so? Elected officials.
thinks about how black people and indigenous people couldnt vote until 55 years ago,
But they can now. They’re enfranchised today. Because people lobbied elected officials and won their right to vote.
thinks about how gerrymandering is rendering low income/mostly minority districts virtually silent,
It is and it needs to be fought. Who draws districts? Elected officials. Guess when they draw them -- next year. This year’s election outcomes will impact the shape of your congressional district for the next ten years.
thinks about how the electoral college is still in effect and has more power than the actual popular vote,
It is in effect but I’m not sure it has more power than the popular vote. Twice it has happened in my lifetime, and both times the popular vote was a squeaker either nationally (2000) or in a few key states (2016). Democrats win when voter turnout is high. And the Interstate Popular Vote Compact is almost a reality.
thinks about how each state can set up their own arbitrary laws for voting, even at the federal level, thinks-*
Who sets the voting laws? Elected officials.
If the prevailing attitude is that “nothing ever changes” or “voting never changes anything” then nothing ever will change. We’re effectively a right-wing nation because elections over the last few decades have trended to the right because when voter turnout is low, the right wins in this country, and voter turnout is low in presidential midterm years.
If you want the country to look the way you want it to, you have to participate. And yeah, “fair and free election” is a pretty ludicrous concept right now -- but that’s no reason to sit it out.