Happy New Year! Whether we like it or not(!), we’re now officially in the 2024 presidential cycle. We’ll be posting civics content periodically over the next couple of years. For the first post on our new blog, we’re reposting the below piece from Prof. Dana Radcliffe of Cornell and Syracuse University on why voting (and participation, generally) do indeed rally matter:
You hear it all the time: You should vote in local, state, and national elections because “your vote matters.” Yet, in every election, a large portion of the electorate doesn’t vote. It’s not hard to understand why. Consider presidential contests: When tens of millions of votes are cast, how likely is it that one vote will change the outcome of an election? We’re all busy, and voting can take a lot of time out of our day. Indeed, some economists have argued that, from a strictly self-interested point of view, voting is irrational. You take the time to travel to and from the polling place and, in many cases, wait in line, sometimes for hours - time that could have been used in ways more directly beneficial to yourself. Despite the inconvenience, in national and state elections, there is little or no chance that your individual vote will win the election for your preferred candidates.
But the fact is, your vote matters more than you realize. For voting is irrational only if you’re doing it to try to obtain some personal benefit. If, say, you are voting for a certain presidential candidate because you want the tax cuts he promises, then it is exceedingly unlikely your single vote will make a difference in whether that candidate is elected and delivers on his promise. But this “what’s in it for me” voting - which may be irrational in terms of personal costs and benefits - fails to recognize why voting is actually so important.
When you vote, no matter who you vote for, you are putting yourself on record as a citizen committed to democracy. You are participating in our democracy, taking the most vital action you can to preserve it. There is a strong correlation between the evident decline in our nation’s civic health and diminishing voter participation. Tragically, too many of us are giving up on our democracy, and - either suddenly or over time - we could let it slip away, losing the system Abraham Lincoln called “the last best hope of earth.” The fact is, self-government has not been the norm for most of mankind, for democracy and the freedoms it secures have existed for only a tiny fraction of human history. We cannot take them for granted as the natural order of things. For what is true of so many of the freedoms we cherish is especially true now, collectively, of our precious right to vote: Use it or lose it.
So, do your part as a citizen of a free republic and make time to vote in every election. Declare yourself as a citizen who believes that people should be able to govern themselves. Don’t vote just for your own self-interest. Vote for whomever or whatever policies you think are best for society - vote for our common good, which is, of course, your good as well. Vote because it is the best way for you to act to ensure the survival and health of our democracy.
And, of course, your vote really does matter on a practical level as well. The old cliché is correct: If most people thought their vote didn’t matter and, so, didn’t vote, elections would not be legitimate - reflecting citizens’ desires. Moreover, especially in smaller races (which matter a lot too!), sometimes just a handful of votes do decide who wins. Don’t let someone else choose your government for you.