Written May 20, 1996
Revised Sept 2, 1996
"In the last election, I wanted to vote for Perot, but I knew he couldn't win, so to avoid wasting my vote, I voted for Bush instead"" - Anonymous, heard on NPR
Folk wisdom has it that if you vote for a candidate that has little chance of winning, you are "Wasting your vote" and, therefore, you really should vote for someone who has some chance, that is, a Republican or a Democrat!. This interesting bit of wisdom is shared by the "man on the street", the college professor, and the news person alike. Let us take a closer look at this unchallenged piece of "logic".
The significance of your vote depends on the perspective from which it is viewed. Of course, votes in mass determine the result of an election and your vote from that point of view -- the group view -- increases the chances of your candidate winning.
But there is another way to look at the importance of your vote and that is from your own personal perspective. Strangely, most people do not take this view -- instead they always view their vote from the "vote solicitors" view, the group view. From your perspective, however, there is a very disturbing conclusion: your vote will make no impact on the election results! [Note 1]
Think about this: Let us say that you know that if your candidate wins you will receive a tax relief of $10,000. Further, let us say that you were unable to vote. Did the loss of your vote result in you not getting the $10,000 break? Not very likely! [Note 2]
From your perspective then, we have to conclude that voting for the purpose of making an impact on the election results is not rational. The only way your vote can make an impact is if there is a tie -- which has never happened and never will (in a national election, for sure!). [Note 1]
Fortunately, there are other reasons for voting, a major one being the internal self-satisfaction of "doing your part" for democracy. This reason, along with others such as the respect of neighbors and friends, is a very legitimate reason for voting.
Then if you agree with my assertion that your vote will not actually impact the election results in any way, why lose the major benefit of voting -- your personal satisfaction -- by voting for someone you don't really want? You truly are wasting your vote if you do not vote for your true preference.
From your point of view, voting for your candidate of choice gives you the major benefit from voting: personal self-satisfaction. And from the group view, there is yet another good reason for voting your true choice: true popular choice is realized. How can a third party ever become established -- since it must start small -- if people always follow the strategy of voting only for one of the top two parties? Such a voting practice completely eliminates any chance of a third party ever becoming established. Is that what we want? I think not -- but that is certainly what the two major parties want and that is why they promote the idea that voting for other candidates is wasting your vote.
In conclusion, we see that, from a personal point of view, our tiny vote cannot impact the results of a national election. Still, we should vote and we should vote for our desired candidate. An individual who does so, will have the satisfaction of standing true to her beliefs while at the same time knowing that she has not caused either of the top candidates to win or lose. Only when you do not vote your honest choice is your vote wasted!!
Further, if we all vote honestly, new candidates and new parties have a chance of becoming established. To vote otherwise is to endanger democracy.
Note 2: To further emphasize the point: assume that there are two candidates in a national election and if your candidate wins you will receive $10,000 in benefits. How much would you pay to vote?
Back to my home page.