Is it wrong not to vote in elections?
An old friend chides me for regularly encouraging people to register to vote and then to vote in local, state, and federal elections. Among the reasons he cites for not having voted since 2012, are that he’s not a fan of any of the candidates running or that his vote is unlikely to make a difference. Nevertheless, I persist in encouraging him and others to register and to vote.
My friend is not alone in choosing not to vote. In the 2020 presidential election, only 66.9 percent of eligible voters chose to vote. That was higher than the turnouts in 2016 (59.2 percent), 2012 (58 percent), and 2008 (62.5 percent). Those voters who didn’t vote in the 2020 presidential election could have made a difference in the outcome given the closeness of four states: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Georgia. Joseph Biden beat Donald Trump by fewer than 125,000 votes in those four states. Back in 2000, George W. Bush beat Albert Gore by only 537 votes in Florida, a victory that put Bush in office over Gore (with the help of a Supreme Court ruling).
My friend hasn’t voted in state or local elections since 2012 either, even though he acknowledges that elections closer to home are likely to have more of a direct impact on his day-to-day affairs. But voter turnout in state and local elections is typically far worse than in presidential elections. In my home state of Massachusetts, only 51.42 percent of registered voters showed up to vote in the 2022 midterm elections. Even closer to my home in Boston, only 18.97 percent of registered voters showed up to vote in the 2023 municipal election.
Unlike the United States, at least 21 countries make voting mandatory. In Australia, where voting is mandatory, an average of roughly 92 percent of eligible voters cast a vote, even though the fine for a first-time offender is only AU$20 (roughly $13 US) for not voting.
We don’t make voting compulsory in the United States and I’m not arguing that we should. My non-voting friend will sometimes chide me for encouraging everyone to vote even if it’s likely many will vote for someone or something he doesn’t like. But I continue to believe that as responsible citizens we should vote and accept the results of any elections even if our candidate or issue doesn’t win. (Full disclosure, in terms of party affiliation, I am registered as an “unenrolled” voter in Massachusetts, which is what my state calls non-party affiliated voters or independents.)
My non-voting friend should not be stripped of any rights (including that of complaining about his elected officials or regulations) because he doesn’t vote. Not voting is his right as a fellow citizen.
But if we truly want to have a voice in how our cities, states, or country are governed, the right thing is to register to vote and then vote in every election for which you are eligible to vote.
To get started, consider consulting BallotReady and Vote 411, a site run by the League of Women Voters. Each site includes information on national and local ballots, as it becomes available. Type in your location to get local election information and then please consider exercising your right to vote.
Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of "The Simple Art of Business Etiquette: How to Rise to the Top by Playing Nice," is a senior lecturer in public policy, emeritus, at Harvard's Kennedy School. He is also the administrator of www.jeffreyseglin.com, a blog focused on ethical issues. Do you have ethical questions that you need to have answered? Send them to jeffreyseglin@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @jseglin
(c) 2024 JEFFREY L. SEGLIN. Distributed by TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.
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