None of the Above – An Endorsement for Not Voting

Posted by Enrique on 10.29.2008

The highest form of patriotism



As you may be aware, there's a presidential election scheduled for Tuesday. Once again, it's The Most Important Election of Our Lifetime™, so you can't afford to get it wrong AGAIN, ignorant voter. If you elect the incorrect president, you could set in motion an irreparable series of catastrophes, which may include famine, genocide, cannibalism, incestuous necrophilia, and high unemployment. Once you've made your solemn, well-considered decision, it is imperative that you exercise your fundamental civic duty and vote.

Or you could choose not to. There's nothing wrong with not voting. Personally, I've chosen to watch this election from the sidelines. If you want to vote, fair enough, I can respect your decision. But if you're in the mood, here are a few reasons why I'm not voting (and why you shouldn't).

The story so far…

Full disclosure – I've voted before. I may vote again, I haven't ruled it out entirely. In my previous life as a voter, I never missed an election. I turned out for primaries, circuit court elections, municipal ballot issues – I was a super-voting democracy junkie. My last voting experience was 2004, and I gave it up shortly thereafter. You might say I became disillusioned with the system. So just to be clear, it's not that I've simply never voted – I came to the conclusion that voting isn't worth it.

I imagine that many of you, my dear readers, may have contemplated the arguments against voting. After all, the process itself is irritating and inconvenient. And as far as the presidential election is concerned, your individual vote is purely symbolic unless you live in a swing state. It may be different in a local election where the pool of voters is smaller, and each ballot has more value. But regarding Obama/McCain, the turnout will be so large that one individual vote is all but worthless.

As I've suggested previously, there's a tendency for people to become emotionally over-invested in the outcomes of elections, especially the presidential variety. I think part of it comes from a psychological need to believe each individual plays an important role – it enhances our sense of self-worth and reinforces our desire to be part of a "good cause." Additionally, voting is a custom practiced by other members of our community – family, coworkers, peers – so there's an implicit (and frequently overt) pressure to participate. This leads to the sort of pious contempt for non-voters on display here.



I do believe these Hollywood celebrities are questioning my patriotism! Horrors! Not to be obtuse, but I don't understand what justifies that level of condescension. Why cast aspersions on people who choose not to vote? After all, it's a fairly large minority of the American public – in 2004, turnout of eligible voters was just over 60%, and that was the highest presidential election turnout in 40 years. It's not exactly unheard of for an American adult to abstain from voting, and many Americans have perfectly sensible reasons for not turning out. Allow me to share a few of them with you.

Your vote will not affect the outcome of the election. This really is the most persuasive argument, and I'm surprised it has so little credence among the voting faithful. Quite simply, there is no reasonable chance your vote will have an effect on any of the elections on your ballot, particularly the presidential election. 122 million Americans cast a presidential vote in 2004 – the relative value of one individual vote is barely north of nothing.

Obviously, the relative value of your nearly worthless vote is somewhat higher if you live in a swing state. But in most states, the winner is a foregone conclusion, i.e., Obama won't win Kansas, McCain won't win Vermont. If anything, you have to admit the quantifiable futility of it all sure sounds like a sensible reason to avoid voting. Still, even if you understand this futility, you may choose to vote anyway. Maybe you're voting not because you truly believe your ballot will make a difference – perhaps you're voting because of what it symbolizes about your level of compassion for the less fortunate, about your determination to oppose Islamists, about your commitment to equality and justice, about your patriotic duty to resist American imperialism, etc. That's all well and good, you're entitled to believe whatever you want, but that doesn't mean your vote has any real value outside of your own head.

There is no moral obligation to vote for a candidate you don't support. Why choose the lesser evil? There are only two candidates who have a chance of winning the presidency, and many Americans don't particularly care for either of them. Even if there was reason to believe your vote is meaningful (which there isn't), why use it on a candidate who doesn't substantially share your political beliefs? Personally, I don't find either McCain or Obama to be appealing. Whatever their differences, they both believe in the unending expansion of government power. Neither of them would be worthy of my vote, if it did count (which it doesn't).

Some voting evangelists say you should vote for a third party if you don't want to support the Democrat or Republican tickets. But then we're back to the futility argument – there's no chance that a third party can win. Come January 20, either Obama or McCain will be the new POTUS (or Palin, since the shock of a come-from-behind win might be enough to do the old man in). On Tuesday, I could vote for Bob Barr, or I could sit on my ass at home. Both actions will lead to the same outcome. Sitting on my ass requires less effort.

Still, there are some who will argue the act of voting is an end unto itself, as if writing in my own name on the presidential ballot is somehow more legitimate than not voting at all. As my coworker Nancy once told me (paraphrasing), "If you don't vote, then you don't have any right to complain about the government." Nonsense. For one thing, who's going to stop me? For another thing, no one is obligated to take my opinions seriously, regardless of my voting preference. But if you're going to judge my arguments not on their merits, but on whether or not I participate in some pointless activity, I think that says more about you than me. And besides, the First Amendment protects my right to complain, no matter how often I vote.

The process isn't fair. Every state has different laws that determine voter eligibility. As I've written before, my home state of Wisconsin lets people register to vote on the day of the election, with no photo ID requirement. Some states have stricter requirements, but there's no uniform standard of eligibility. And as Florida 2000 taught us, standards can be changed after the fact by judges. There's no sense in participating in a process where the rules are arbitrary, where there's no way to prevent cheating, and where the final results won't be tabulated accurately. Especially if your vote won't affect the outcome.

Another popular admonishment you'll hear from voting evangelists is "But what if everyone thought the way you do?" Well, if I controlled the voting behavior of everyone, then obviously I would vote. As it happens, I don't. I'm not responsible for anyone else's voting preference, and neither are you. Don't get so uptight about it.

On Tuesday, you have an unimportant choice to make. If you choose to exercise your right to vote, have at it. If you don't, there's no reason to be ashamed. The world won't end, no matter who wins. And if the world does end, it's exceedingly unlikely that your vote had anything to do with it. But whatever you decide to do, at least try not to judge others too harshly for making a different choice.