So, this isn't a problem for us progressiveu people, but I bet you are wondering why people don't get off their lazy rears and vote! Well, I don't really think that there will ever be a good enough explanation for that, but here's an economic explanation that I found quite interesting.
Allright, so first of all we have to establish that everyone faces an opportunity cost for voting. This is the cost of the time they could have spent doing something else (work, studying, fun) instead of voting. So one of the reasons that people don't vote is because they think the opportunity cost exceeds the payoff for voting.
Why do they think this way? Well, everyone thinks that their opinion doesn't matter, but I personally don't take the stance of futility. I don't care if there's so many people that vote that my one vote might not matter in the grand scheme of things. Voting matters to me and that one vote makes a big difference to me.
Finally there's the free-rider problem. This is where people who did not vote benefit from the government action that arises from our voting. So people think, well why should I vote and waste my time when those losers who didn't vote get to benefit from it.
So there's just one explanation why so many people don't vote, but it doesn't excuse our low voter participation. I personally don't care about the free riders and the opportunity costs. I believe it's my civic duty to vote and even if people think that their one vote doesn't make a change, it does. The first step toward change is individual action.
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
funny article. especially with the use of economic terms. Simply, I think people don't vote because they don't care. But thats one reason why people don't vote. Not everybody is like that.
You mentioned "opportunity cost" and you referred to time. I don't really think that that is true because it takes about 5 seconds to read the answer-options, maybe 10 seconds (if you are not sure) to decide which one, and its a matter of miliseconds to click on "vote". So it takes you about half a minute to vote. What can u trade-off for half a minute that you could spent on voting?
Since you used economic terms and since a lot of people don't vote, do you think the poll thing is useless? Unefficient? ProgressiveU doesn't make a lot of profit out of it meaning they don't get a lot of information about ProgressiveU users?
I have to give you propps though because your article reminded me that I have a econ. test tomorrow and now I have to study :).
Van.
first of all, for opportunity costs, you have to take into account the time it takes to get to wherever it is voting is held. I personally think a lot more people would vote if there were weekend options. Second of all, I don't think the polling thing is a waste of time. I think progressiveu gains a lot out of their polls. They learn a lot about our committment I think. Hope you did well on your test.
I am an African-American female. People who looked like me did not always have the right to vote and so I feel some obligation to vote. My husband on the other hand does not think about history but our current political show. Often times, I think that the current political environment does not encourage one to vote. Between Superdelegates and the electoral college, one needs to ask, does my vote really count? Should I move to a State where my vote does count? How many debates do I watch until I know that this canidate is for me?
Choosing one of the lesser evils is not voting and so he chooses not to waste his time.
A grown lady trying to ascertain knowlege for a brighter tomorrow
Absentee its just too much work
Good for you. Voting is very important, and it's a shame people don't realize that. Too bad people don't take into account the possible overall cost of not casting a vote. Who knows what one vote has the power to do? Of course, I think that this is tainted by the electoral collage when it comes to presidential votes, but a vote still has some power even there.
Peace
Tahni
-------
"Tell me - if no one ever hears what you say, then why don't you shout it?" -- Floater