But if you don't have very many dollars in your pocket, you don't have very much say.

Votes and Money are overrated. It's possible to change legislation without being in office and on a 0 budget. I don't have the t-shirt, but i've been there and have done it. Everyone can. The focus on votes and money makes people feel more powerless than they really are, this in turn, harms democracy ~ actually is at the expense of civil/individual power&influence.

People with lots of money vote. So even if money is more powerful, dollars are a supplement for voting, not a replacement. If you don't have enough money to lobby an elected official, that makes voting that much more important.

It's a difference of kind, not degree. A dollar is a vote within a marketplace; a vote determines the shape of the marketplace itself. The idea that the market can solve all things is core to neo-liberal capitalism, but has been widely discredited. In fact, Scott Galloway's excellent talk can be seen as the direct result of neo-liberal policies since the 90's.

That's why we should not try to solve problems using it, but power and influence it has; perhaps even more than only going to vote. Point in case: Democracy does not end at the vote boot, it's not even remotely where it begins. Policy and politicians don't spawn from a vacuum, and we are all part of their environment; some choose to be part of their environment more than others ~ by various means. This helps shape the society everyone shares.