“We Have To Get Money Out Of Politics,” Says Guy Who Needs To See Eight Hundred Professionally Produced Ads Before He Votes

“We have to get money out of politics,” says Alexander Watt, 38, “or nothing will change.” Watt, a software developer and aspiring landlord, didn’t consider “getting involved” until the 2018 midterms, when he saw a 300 million dollar ad campaign featuring actor Robert Downey Jr. “When Iron Man tells you to vote, you vote,” he says. “And I definitely thought about it.”

“I forgot the date, but that ad was cool. Then I saw a billboard on the highway where a kid was talking about being poor and how voting was helpful for that, like, for making him less poor.” Did Watt vote? “Not right away, no. Not in that election. I wanted to gather all the information,” he says, though Watt carries a smartphone which gives him access to virtually all of recorded human knowledge.

“I take voting very seriously,” says the guy who must be coaxed into voting at tremendous expense every two years. “There’s just too much you have to know to make an informed vote,” says the educated and relatively privileged grown-up with vacation time who can easily explain the complicated dynastic politics of television’s Game of Thrones as well as the internal dynamics and stakeholder incentive structures of multiple sports franchises over decades. “I don’t want to waste my vote,” he says. Will he vote in 2020? He says he will, if the “paperwork shit” is right. “I have to check my registration. How do I do that?”