Why Vote?

Apparently their wasn't a good reason to do so in Brockton, Massachusetts as only 4.7% of voters decided to cast ballots in the city's preliminary races for mayor and school committee this past Tuesday. While preliminary elections tend to have lower voter turnouts than general elections, this year's percentage total was the lowest of the past two decades and was considerably lower than the voter turnouts in neighboring cities for comparative positions. The city spent $120,000 in order to provide a city wide election only to have 2,200 people turn up to vote. At $55 a ballot, it would seem that a preliminary race for mayor and school committee is not in the best interest of society (although that is another topic).

The article casts a negative light on the Brockton citizen as being undemocratic, providing voter apathy, "general satisfaction with the status quo," and lack of competition as reasons for a poor election turnout. However, the article fails to take into account the possibility that the Brockton non-voter might be simply being rational. The theory of rational abstention takes into account the physical costs of voting (driving, time, research, etc.), the probability of one’s vote actually being a deciding factor, and the differences between the candidates running. When the opportunity cost of a given action (voting) is greater than its perceived benefit, it is better to refrain – simple economics. Voters are not abstaining because they are apathetic, but simply because the value of their vote is not worth the time it takes to cast it. In the case of a preliminary election for city mayor, the costs almost always outweigh any perceived benefit.

Taking the theory of rational abstention a step further, one can see its possible damaging impact on democracy. If votes are democracy’s way of viewing individual preferences for the allocation of public goods, and yet in general it’s usually rational to abstain from voting because one’s vote is generally meaningless, what is the difference between living in a democracy and living in a dictatorship given certain rights and liberties are still in place? While this article doesn’t go as far as to say democracy has failed in Brockton, it does seem to articulate a lack of civic responsibility. However, voting isn’t mandatory and unless some incentive to vote (or penalty for not voting) is established, voters will continue to rationally abstain and turnout will remain low, especially in minor elections.