We believe voting is, at its essence, part of a democratic (or republican) process, and that's true. But we only associate these processes with freedom because we have been conditioned to do so. The basis of any government, however, is still coercion, and the advantages of republican or democratic government do not negate that essential fact. When you vote, you are telling someone else what to do, pure and simple. You are not merely stating that your views are correct, which is generally harmless; you are causing others to live according to your mores. This is not deemed coercive in our society, however, because we assume that, through some intangible "contract," we have agreed to live according to these rules.
An entire essay could be written on the flaws inherent in such a system. Many, including myself, signed no such social contract, and yet we are told we must live according to its tenets nonetheless. However, I would instead like to focus on the fundamental difference between those who do follow this contract, and express it via voting, and those who do not.
When you vote, you are implicitly signing away your rights, regardless of who you vote for. Why? Because you aren't guaranteed to win. The same people who complain about Apple or Microsoft's Terms of Service, bemoaning that they invade your privacy or are restrictive, do not read your government's own Terms of Service. The Terms of Service of democracy state clearly that, should you participate, you must adhere to the decision of the mass and the mob. You risk everything by voting. If you win, you get your way (or so you think; again, an entire essay could be written on that subject). But should you lose, you lose everything.
I say you lose everything because you willingly chose to participate. You agreed that a system in which men and women, by virtue of their numbers, could do things in a manner with which you disagreed. By voting, you legitimated and participated in that system. To put it another way, if you vote, you have no right to complain about the outcome.
Oh yes, I can use that bromide as well as you, though I believe I have more justification. If you voted Republican and want to complain about Obama taking your guns, your money, and your privacy, remember that you agreed to a system under which the winner would be able to do such things. If you're a Democrat and you want to complain about Republican opposition to progress, be it social or scientific, remember that you legitimated and participated in a system that allowed such people to come to power. If you belong to neither party, and bemoan the ills of both, but still vote, remember that you knew the problems inherent in the two-party system, but chose to aid in its perpetuation. Don't tell me that you have the right to complain but that I do not. I don't play games I can't win, and I certainly don't play games in which, regardless of the outcome, millions of people's lives, liberty, and property are directly affected. I don't believe that I have that right.
If you vote, that's fine, but it's hard for me to understand why I shouldn't have a right to complain about the system you put in place and I didn't, and it's hard for me to understand why it makes you free if you willingly partake in a system you know and even admit could result in a lack of freedom for you if you lose, but I'm somehow neglecting my freedom if I refuse to participate in such a system. The reality of it is that you are free to the degree you choose to be. By casting your ballot, you voted away your right to freedom. All government is based on force. Some are just more honest about it than others.
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