Most of what you do is for expressive value anyway, so you shouldn’t feel guilty about voting, if indeed you vote. The people who think they are being instrumentally rational by not voting are probably deceiving themselves more. They are actually engaged in an even less transparent form of expressive behavior (protest against the voting system) and yet cloaking that behavior under the guise of instrumental rationality. The best arguments against voting are simply if you either don’t like voting or if you don’t know which candidate is better. High-status people hardly ever offer the latter justification, even though the split of opinions among high-status people suggests that not all high-status people can in fact know which candidate is better.
In other words, both voting and not voting are motivated by the thought that you are better than other people. I am glad that we have an entire day devoted to this very important concept.
I would amplify Tyler’s remarks and say that if you are at all inclined to not vote because it is instrumentally irrational, then you are probably a very well-informed and intelligent voter, and ought to feel especially good about voting, if you do. I’m not voting today, but that’s simply because I didn’t change my registration when I moved. I like voting. I usually do vote on big elections, and I vote expressively. I’m a bit disappointed to not do it this time around, since I would like to almost vote for Barack Obama before finding myself paralyzed by the Holy Spirit and then finally voting for Bob Barr. I would also like to vote for absolutely every Republican running for absolutely every other office. I learned a new phrase this weekend in NYC from an ex-roomie : “cognitive Madisonian.” I’m one of those.
I actually wrote in James Madison (i'm not kidding), one of my favorite presidents. I've voted straight libertarian every 4 years but Bob Barr was too crazy even by standards of the whack-a-doo Libertarian Party
Will they not permit you to cast some kind of provisional ballot? Many jurisdictions allow you to do so if you moved after the registration deadline (although I realize you don't specify that you moved after the deadline). At any rate, it's worth a call to the board of elections.
I voted exactly as you would have, albeit in Cook County, Illinois.
I am with you except that I wrote in Ron Paul and went down the line Republican. Usually I do mix up between parties, but my contrarian streak took over.
yeah, whatevs. there is no wrong answer on this one. i only voted so i could say no on some pretty lame local ballot initiatives, and so went the straight “Lib” ticket to simplify the rest. in the end i am too many standard deviations from the mean to ever have a meaningful candidate to vote for, but the local elections actually do matter – kinda.
Powell's endorsement of Obama was totally about race.
Nonetheless, we need to have a black president.
That's why I'm voting for Alan Keyes.
“if you are at all inclined to not vote because it is instrumentally irrational, then you are probably a very well-informed and intelligent voter”
I assume this relies on reading instrumentally irrational de dicto, no de re?
Justin, Yes, de dicto “… because you think it may be instrumentally irrational”
To anyone who is not voting because they think it is instrumentally irrational, I would recommend the article 'It makes no difference whether or not I do it' by Jonathan Glover. He makes a convincing argument, I think.
Madison was a great man, but how can you claim he was a good president? He got America in a destructive, divisive and unnecessary war. At a time when that was a bigger deal than it is today.
Now maybe the newest 44th President of the US can begin to raise the country from the slump Bush put it in. Obama will be a great change.
Mr. Wilkinson, I heard you on NPR's Marketplace this morning and tried to leave a comment there but their site didn't play well with my browser. So I am leaving my comment here.
Your advice to Obama was well thought out but your tone was wrong, if you want to preach to the NPR crowd don't talk down to the President we just elected. You are intelligent, for sure, but need to learn civility, thats where Freedom is exercised.
Mr. Wilkinson, I heard you on NPR's Marketplace this morning and tried to leave a comment there but their site didn't play well with my browser. So I am leaving my comment here.
Your advice to Obama was well thought out but your tone was wrong, if you want to preach to the NPR crowd don't talk down to the President we just elected. You are intelligent, for sure, but need to learn civility, thats where Freedom is exercised.