I live in Washington, it's a blue state and not a swing state. Because of how the electoral college works, my vote extremely does not matter For President.
But it's more than just the president! Yes, I'm going to vote socialist for president knowing that doesn't matter. But when it comes to congress, governor, local elections? My vote matters much more there and I will be voting for the democratic candidates for those roles.
The president has power, yes, but the president is not the be-all end-all of American politics. The theater of politics does not want you to remember this.
uspol, an actual take is in here
@coriander but anyway more broadly, if the race is decided before the election even happens, the least you can do is give the elected official a more interesting mandate than “do whatever you want”, and this applies broadly
i know the idea of elected officials receiving mandates thru elections is outdated here in estados unidos, but maybe we should resurrect it