voted with one's feet

Verb

vote with one's feet (third-person singular simple present votes with one's feet, present participle voting with one's feet, simple past and past participle voted with one's feet)

1. (idiomatic) To express one's preferences through one's actions, by voluntarily participating in or withdrawing from an activity, group, or process; especially, by physical migration to leave a situation one does not like, or to move to a situation one regards as more beneficial.
   • But Khrushchev's economic plan for the East Germans means a new kind of dependence on their old Russian foes, and its fulfillment is a political question—on which East Germans, whatever their phony 99.9% elections say, still vote with their feet by fleeing West at the rate of 2,000 a week.1958 December 8, "Most Useful Satellite", Time