Democracy is not self correcting and it doesn't seek the truth. All it looks to do is represent the majority of people. If you are feeling oppressed, voting doesn't give you a voice, it confirms your belief that you are in the minority and aren't cared about.
Voting is important because when you are in the majority, you want the polls to reflect that but trashing a guy for not voting just misses the point. Until there is an ideological change in the way people think in this country, elections will have the same results. What Colin is doing is a lot more powerful than a single ballot but the racist whites have also made their own voice heard and proclaimed that they're tired of minorities thinking that they matter.
Even with the local measures, the actual ballot doesn't really provide much description and most people are voting blindly.