The debate comes up every election year. Does voting matter? Looking at the margin, probably not. Especially if you live in Utah. Others suggest that there is more to voting than the motive of swaying the decision. Some, or most, see it as a moral obligation-their patriotic duty. Personally, this has to be the reason for voters in Utah where the majority goes to Republicans and where the electoral votes really don't matter. Yet, maybe in states such as Ohio, it does matter even at the margin. The coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team required all 105 of his players to vote in yesterday's election.
One writer at "Marginal Revolution" gives some suggestion on how instead of voting, one might better serve their fellow man.
I once had an Econ professor who lived by this principle and refused to vote. He argued that his vote would not matter. I don't know if he was Republican or Democrat, but he seemed to be at peace with himself knowing that his vote didn't matter.
Of course, proving this would not change the way people act. I agree that the moral and emotional elements are far too influential to stop people from voting. The paranoid public who do vote would always be asking themselves, "What if I don't vote? What if nobody votes?". Maybe next election I will heed the suggestions of certain bloggers who said working in a soup kitchen or even driving people to the polls.
4 comments:
I'm gonna take a stand and say that it does matter if you vote. Certainly that one vote isn't going to sway the election by any means, but it is a right that was bestowed upon us by our forefathers. They came to this country from a monarchy that basically decided all of their major decisions in life for them. To me it is mostly the freedom of having a say to what goes on, that brought them to this new continent an in-turn changed the world for good forever. Besides their are many initiatives placed on ballots and they most certainly matter if you don't vote.
I look at the person that doesn't exercise their freedom to vote, as sort of a person that just is taking up space in society. They complain about issues, but do nothing to fix them. There is more to be said about a person that doesn't vote, than just the fact that they didn't vote. It also means that they really don't deserve the freedom afforded them. It doesn't suprise me that the post and comment preceding this one are filled with the idea that voting doesn't matter. This is the idea that most young people take. Voter turnout for this past election was just 17% for those between 18 and 35. Young people must make their voice heard because one day it will be up to us to decide how our childrens lives will be.
Saying that my one single vote really mattered in this election would be like saying that me throwing a rock into the Grand Canyon would lead to the canyon being filled up. I didn't vote, do I appreciate that I can vote, of course I do, but when our forefathers fought for our freedom didn't they fight so that we would have rights too. I beleive that the right not to vote is just as important as the right to vote. If we were all made to vote we wouldn't be very free would we. I didn't vote because I didn't feel I could make an informed decsion. Maybe if I had studied what each canidate had to offer a litte more I may have been inclined to vote, but because I had no particular stand I didn't take one. That is my right isn't it?
Anonymous, I'm glad that you didn't vote since you weren't informed on the issues. Although to me that excuse lacks a lot of backbone, it still does carry some merit. There is a national movement for those that do not care to learn the issues and take a stand, to not vote. It is better to stay away, if you are not going to become informed.
I just can't imagine living in a world that I didn't know what was going on in. At some point a person has to try to know the issues and stay on top of current events in order to just to be a good person in society.
This was an interesting and emotional set of writings.
I have two thoughts. One, is that the big question is why do people vote if it can't make much difference? To me, this means that we are missing something important about the value of voting.
Secondly, I think we should view not voting as a choice. How would things turn out if every vote required a majority? I think we'd vote more seriously, but about far fewer issues. That seems like a good thing to me.
Post a Comment