Nov 03 2008
It’s Irresponsible to Encourage People to Vote
That’s a pretty bold statement isn’t it? Well it’s true and I’ll tell you why. Around election time there is always a big push from big television networks etc. urging people who wouldn’t normally vote, to vote. All this does is makes the numbers more inaccurate.
Elections are held so the people can choose who they believe to be the best candidate and there will always be people who like one candidate over the next… there’s nothing wrong with that.
BUT, when someone votes without knowing much, if anything, about politics and the job in which the winning candidate will be holding, the numbers are simply flawed… they hold no meaning!
Those who follow politics and have a good understanding of what each candidate can do for their city, state or Country, WILL vote.
Those who DON’T follow politics, don’t have any idea what either candidate can offer, other than the biased promotions put out by each candidate, most likely won’t vote and they SHOULDN’T vote!
I’m sure there are a select few people who do follow politics, but don’t know how to vote or for some other reason don’t vote. They SHOULD be encouraged to vote, but how many people out there fall into that category? VERY few I would say!
That’s something I’ve wanted to get off my chest for a while 
Take it how you will.
19 responses so far
My name is Josh Spaulding and this is my personal blog. Follow my journey through life as a Husband, Father and Internet Marketer who is constantly striving to get the most out of life, mentally and physically!
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I understand where you are coming from. However, I see voting as a fundamental right in our democracy. As such, I think everyone should be encouraged to participate as fully as possible. One of the ways to get people involved is to simply get them voting. While I see the problems associated with the uninformed masses voting for various reasons. I also see it even more problematic if we fall into a pattern of a small number of “informed” people deciding the direction of the country.
I suppose I would partially agree with you that more energy should be put into engaging every citizen into the democratic process (not just weeks before a general election) as opposed to just trying to get every single person to vote regardless of their level of interest or knowledge.
Finally someone makes this point!
The freedom to vote includes the freedom to not vote if you so choose - just like freedom of religion includes the freedom to have no religion.
It never made sense to me to encourage people who aren’t interested to vote anyway, since they likely do not follow the issues and would be voting randomly. The politicians do this because the higher the turnout, the bigger a “mandate” they can claim to have, just like when American Idol brags about how many votes they get. For the same reason Saddam always claimed 100% turnout.
I predict within hours, someone will misread your post (maybe on purpose) and accuse you of trying to “suppress the vote”.
You’re post has made me really think about this issue. I still feel like we should have a more robust methodology of getting people involved in the issues of their country. I think my aversion to the premise of your post is just my strong desire for people to care about what is happening in their country/world.
I do think that many straight-ticket voters fall into this category of uninformed voters.
For websites, we measure user engagement. Wouldn’t it be great if we could measure voter engagement (versus simple voter turnout)?
I would have to agree with Noah that it’s important to get MORE people informed about politics. Myself, I am VERY concerned about elections, especially this current one. I don’t understand the people who refuse to even think about the issues at all.
I think it would be better for the country if more people got information about the candidates and the issues and then got out there and exercised their right to help make decisions about who is going to run this country.
I think the more informed voters we have, the less effective mud-slinging attack ads will become. Not that I think mud-slinging will stop any time soon.
Angela, isn’t it each person’s responsibility to inform themselves? There is plenty of information available- you almost make it sound as if “we” are supposed to keep “them” informed. It’s not.
@Chris It’s not about “us” keeping “them” informed. It’s about the informed helping others learn how to inform themselves. That whole ‘teach a man to fish’ idea.
If people truly don’t want to be informed, fine. But, I think it is worthwhile to reach out and attempt to get everyone involved. But then again, I believe that the more involved we all are in our democracy, the better off we all are. Not everyone believes that.
Amen Brutha…
I couldn’t agree more. You’re right on with this post.
I’m even more disgusted by the groups like Acorn that are paid to gather up voters, register them, and then take them to the poll. There was even one report by a family in Virginia whose daughter is mentally retarded and stays at a public facility part of the time and at home part of the time.
When the mother picked her up one day, the girl told her all about being registered to vote and being taken to the poll. When the mother checked with the workers where her daughter stayed, it turned out it was true. One of these Acorn type groups had come in and registered and taken all those over 18 to the polls.
The mother who was outraged called her state officials only to be told since her daughter was over 18, there was no crime committed. RIDICULOUS!
I wished we required citizens to have at least a high school diploma to vote. Why not? We provide everyone the chance to get this level of education. If you’re not smart enough to take advantage of it, why should we put any weight in who you think should run the country?
Josh,
You are dead on. If people want to “get active” they should learn to reason, use their minds and become educated. Notice that the more watered down voting restrictions have become, the more money the voters have “given” to themselves through welfare policies. Correlation? I think so.
Ignorance begets unsustainable government. This is a one-way path, at least for the foreseeable future.
Good read.
Great post, Josh, and something I’ve thought about many times. I believe in a healthy democracy the majority of people should vote because the more involved the better, but what about those people who are completely uninformed…is it really a good thing to have them voting based on appearance, race, or a commercial? It’s a hard one, but I think you’re on to something. I think encouraging mass voting is the right idea, but you need to encourage people to get in the know of current events, as well. Good thought provoking post, though.
Makes perfect sense to me.
The TV station urges people to go out and vote who wouldn’t normally - ie, the people who don’t know any more about politics than that which they hear on the nightly news of that same TV station in the first place… So the people who own the TV station and have their own political motivations see to it that their agenda’s are solidly represented at the ballot box.
I totally agree. Especially when they people trying to encourage people to vote are pushing a single issue and the voter is uneducated about all the other issues but still casts a ballot that is equal in weight to the person who educates themselves about ALL the issues.
The problem when people nothing better to do try to become politician. That’s why
LOL, it is quite a bold statement… but I agree 100%
I know way too many people who vote without having the slightest clue what the candidate stands for. They follow what campaign commercials say, and what their friends are doing.
people need to be more educated before heading to the ballots, and that just wont happen.
ya thats true its nor good to push people to vote, it must be voluntary.
I agree that everyone looking to vote, should inform themselves on what each candiate stands for.
I think the real problem is when Religious leaders influence people to vote for a candiate.
But how do you educate people on politics? Its a never ending debate. People do not have the time or seem to care enough to either educate themselves or learn from someone who knows.
I learned from a minister out of Arizona that the Constitutional Republic allows us 3 votes. The first (weakest vote) is the one you are referring to. The second is when you serve on a Grand Jury. The third is the most powerful vote we have: this is when you are acting as a jury member during a courtroom trial. At this point, “the buck stops” here with you. The only power a judge has over the Jury is their ignorance. Nice article Josh. As marketers, we need to be reminded about our freedoms and responsibilities.
I completely agree, if somebody doesn’t care enough about the system to vote, they probably don’t care enough to analyze the issues at hand and make a rational decision.