> Voters thought Donald Trump and Joe Biden had merit. Clearly the voters are not a trustworthy source of discernment.

It isn't about being discerning. If you are going to vote and you are a swing/politically agnostic voter in a two party system (like the US/UK) you have the following three choices really:

* Vote for the least bad candidate / lesser of two evils.

* Protest Vote. In the US this would be probably the Libertarian Party / Green Party. In England this would be Reform / Liberal Democrats / Greens etc.

* Spoil the Ballet / Abstain from voting.

Red/Blue Team diehards aren't worth talking about as they don't decide elections. It is the swing voters.

> Why spend hours researching the issues and candidates for a 1 in 10 million chance of having an impact? It makes no sense.

It makes no sense because you have two actual choices (Red Team / Blue Team) or effectively to choose to not participate.

Additionally most politically agnostic that are over the age of 30 have worked out that you get shafted whoever you vote for.