Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
POLIT
ICAL P
ARTIC
IPATI
ON
WH
Y P
EO
PL E
VO
TE
AN
D W
HY
PE
OP
L E D
ON
’ T
VO
TE
WHY PEOPLE DON’T VOTE
WHY PEOPLE VOTE
WHAT KIND OF VOTER ARE YOU?
Deep in your brain, voting is just like buying cereal. You have a choice to make. You obtain information from the box, from experience, from commercials, from friends. You can't taste every cereal, so you end up buying the one you've always bought. In other words, you take a mental shortcut. When faced with an important decision like picking a President, we often struggle to see through the blizzard of conflicting information.
THE RATIONAL VOTER
You actively seek as much information as possible about all candidates, consider the positives and negatives and evaluate them against your personal interests.
• Because you learn so much about both sides, this strategy is highly likely to lead to a vote across party lines.
• This strategy is also the most likely to result in a incorrect choice — picking a candidate who does not reflect your views. Researchers think that many people can't process all they learn and simply become confused.
THE PASSIVE VOTER
You don't look for facts about the candidates, other than their party affiliation. You retain some information but use it only to reinforce your existing beliefs.
• This strategy maintains mental consistency. You give little or no consideration to alternatives. Your vote is basically a standing decision.
• Party identification is your primary driver, but you also consider factors such as the incumbent's performance and your impressions of the candidates.
THE FRUGAL VOTER
You learn the candidates' stands only on topics you really care about, ignoring all else. Although people who do this are often called single-issue voters, you may have multiple concerns.
• These issues usually are symbolic or emotional — abortion, for example — rather than technical policy choices.
• This strategy maximizes efficiency. You don't need to invest a lot of time seeking information. For you, the candidates' positions on the issue you care about explain all you need to know
THE INTUITIVE VOTER
You seek only enough information to reach a decision. Some call this low-information rationality, but the process appears to be almost unconscious.
• This approach seeks the best possible decision with the least effort. You try to avoid making value judgments about which issues outweigh others.
• You use as many shortcuts as possible. For example, you learn about a candidate endorsement from a group you support, and you assume it did the evaluating for you.
UNDECIDED VOTERS
Undecided Voters
