Online Lesson

EconomicsMinute
The Economics of Voting

Key Economic Concepts:

• Incentive

Description:

Why do so many voters stay away from the polls on election day? This is a puzzle to many people interested in the well-being of our democratic system. Economists try to explain this outcome. They suggest that voters are acting rationally in the sense that the costs associated with voting (such as advance registration, rearranging work schedules, getting to the polls, and gathering information on the candidates) appear to outweigh the benefits (influencing the outcome of an election or gaining the satisfaction of being a good citizen). In voting, as with other forms of human behavior, economists stress the incentives that might influence behavior. In fact, voters have an incentive to be rationally ignorant. The cost of obtaining detailed information about candidates (e.g., attending meetings, reading position papers) is so high that voters tend to depend on inexpensive forms of information about candidates such as using the media and talking to friends. If we favor encouraging higher rates of voter participation and voter knowledge of issues, we need to examine how to restructure the incentives at work in the voting process.

Introduction:

Economics
Why do so many voters stay away from the polls on election day? This is a puzzle to many people interested in the well-being of our democratic system. Economists try to explain this outcome. They suggest that voters are acting rationally in the sense that the costs associated with voting (such as advance registration, rearranging work schedules, getting to the polls, and gathering information on the candidates) appear to outweigh the benefits (influencing the outcome of an election or gaining the satisfaction of being a good citizen).

Reasoning
In voting, as with other forms of human behavior, economists stress the incentives that might influence behavior. In fact, voters have an incentive to be rationally ignorant. The cost of obtaining detailed information about candidates (e.g., attending meetings, reading position papers) is so high that voters tend to depend on inexpensive forms of information about candidates such as using the media and talking to friends. If we favor encouraging higher rates of voter participation and voter knowledge of issues, we need to examine how to restructure the incentives at work in the voting process.

Process:

Read about 'Low Turnout In State Primaries So Far ' at www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/06/19/turnout/ and "Voter turnout: the greatest unknown in Election '98" www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/10/23/voter.turnout/

• Why are Democrats concerned about the level of voter turnout? ["...low November turnout could cause them to lose even more ground in the Republican-dominated Congress."]

The level of voter turnout is often worrisome to people interested in preserving our democratic traditions. Go to www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781453.html.

• What seems to be the pattern of voter turnout in U.S. presidential elections? [The pattern shows the decline of voter turnout in the twentieth century. However, the apparent decline of voter turnout may be the result of a reduction in voter fraud. For example, until the turn of the century, it was easy for party organizations to encourage voters to vote more than once. You may wish to point out that the turnout for the 1988 presidential election was 50.15%.]

Who Votes Less?

1. Young voters (people aged 18-20) have the lowest voter turnout of all age groups.
2. Nonwhites vote less than whites.
3. People with less education vote less than people with more education.
4. Unemployed people vote less than employed people.
5. People living in cities vote less than people in rural areas.
6. People living in the North and West vote more than people living in the South.

Which groups of people tend to vote less? Why might this be the case? (Students should recognize that people who may not feel that they have much "stake" in society tend to vote less than others.)

Get information from the following site to make a list of costs and benefits of voting:

Alliance for Better Campaigns: Issue Brief "Voter Turnout"
http://bettercampaigns.org/issuebriefs/display.php?BriefID=9

Some Costs of Voting:

1. Voter registration: Many states require voters to register several weeks in advance of elections.
2. Time off from work: Elections are held on weekdays so many people need to re-arrange work schedules in order to vote.
3. Time preparing to vote: Gathering information about the candidates takes time.
4. Getting to the polls: Polls may be located in places that are not convenient for some people to get to.
5. Time in Line: There is often a line of people waiting to vote at the poll.

Some Benefits of Voting:

1. There is a chance that your vote will make a difference in the outcome of the election.
2. You will gain satisfaction from performing your duty as a citizen.

An important goal of our political system is to encourage voter participation. Imagine how we might reduce the costs of voting or increase the benefits. List as many ideas as you can.

[Possible way of reducing the costs of voting:

• Allowing voter registration at the polls on election day.
• Developing electronic voting systems allowing people to vote from their homes.
• Setting up voting booths at places of work.
• Encouraging more civic groups to offer rides to the polls.
• Holding elections on weekends.
• Allowing voter registration by mail.]

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