Given your edit I feel compelled to point out that two things are true simultaneously:
- Direct action is effective and necessary
but also
- Direct action is not mutually exclusive with voting in any way.
Voting takes a couple of hours per year (at most) and is a tremendously effective way of keeping fascists out of power and reducing overall harm while we concurrently pursue direct action and systemic change.
I believe it is our moral obligation each day to do what we (reasonably) can, within the circumstances and powers we're given, to ease suffering in our community and our world. On most days that's direct action. On election days it's spending an hour voting for harm reduction. Participating in our shitty electoral system is not an endorsement of it any more than paying taxes is an endorsement of military funding or having a credit score is an endorsement of Equifax. It's simply the reality of having to live within a system we did not create and have limited control over. Refusing to engage with the realities we live under doesn't make them go away - it just means more people get hurt.
I've ruminated and ruminated and ruminated on all of this and I can't find any compelling philosophical or moral argument for allowing the greater evil to take hold, unless there is an imminent, likely possibility of a more just outcome following soon behind. If there was a groundswell of support in the US for a left revolution then perhaps a fascist victory could be the spark to push us towards structural change. But as it stands a plurality of Americans want (or are fine with) fascism, and they're armed to the teeth. The most likely outcome of fascists winning the election is that fascists take over and keep power, and that will cause unfathomable harm far beyond the disgusting shortfalls of our current administration.
It's a trolley problem, essentially. The trolley is coming down the tracks and all we can do is pull the lever to have less people die. I find that a lot of modern discourse around this in left-leaning spaces essentially comes down to "well I don't like either option" or "there shouldn't be a trolley!" or things like that. You know what? I agree. I don't like either option, and there shouldn't be a trolley. I hope we can take more direct action so there are less trolleys and less people tied to the tracks in the future. But here we are, right now, and the trolley is heading down the tracks, and we cannot stop it. It doesn't matter that there shouldn't be a trolley. It's here. Not pulling the lever doesn't make it go away, it just means that more people get hurt.
So please, by all means, prioritize direct action. Get those trolleys off those tracks. But once we're barrelling down the hill it is our moral obligation to spend an hour pulling the lever in whatever direction necessary to minimize harm.
This metaphor doesn't work, because in this case one of the two people will get shot no matter what. It's akin to the trolley problem, and the trolley is already barreling down the hill. Refusing to participate doesn't make the trolley go away, it just means that more people die.
Our federal-level politics have fallen very, very far. They do change the direction of the country, however, even if the changes are insufficient and not always exactly what I prefer. A simple example is the Inflation Reduction Act, which single-handedly doubled investment in clean energy and decreased the "gap" we need to cut in greenhouse emissions by 2/3rds.. Is it what I wanted? Is it "enough?" No. But it changed the direction of the country in a meaningful way.
The Biden Administration, in terms of enacted policies, is further to the left than the Obama and Clinton administrations were. Him being absolutely awful on Israel does not change that overall balance.
Does that mean he's "left" or pushing us there? Of course not. We're a right-leaning country where a plurality of people want fascism, and Joe Biden sucks.
The trolley is coming and will run over someone whether you participate or not. Pulling the lever for harm reduction is not mutually exclusive with any other form of direct action and is an effective means of short-term harm reduction while we work towards popular support for long-term systemic change. As it stands any sort of revolution in the US would be far, far more likely to lead to right-wing authoritarianism than it would be to push us left; not only is the country right-leaning, but the right-wingers are armed to the teeth.
Biden winning means we buy more time to change the tide that before fascists take power again. Trump winning means fascists take power now with an electoral mandate and popular support.
It is our moral obligation, every day, to do what we can within the circumstances we're given to reduce harm. Participating within the circumstances we're given isn't an endorsement of them; using the internet doesn't mean I endorse my ISP, and having a credit card doesn't mean I endorse capitalism. It's just the reality of having to navigate a complex world filled with systems and circumstances I did not set up and don't control. The trolley is already on the tracks; 364 days of the year we can talk about how there shouldn't be trolleys. I hope one day there won't be any more trolleys. But for the hour or two it takes to vote on that 365th day pulling the lever is the most effective means of harm reduction.
I have not seen a single compelling case for how allowing fascists to take power will lead to less harm or a better future. If there is one I'm all ears.