Is there a right to not vote?

The right to vote in the direct election of public officials is today taken for granted by citizens of the United States. In the 1960s, a series of civil rights movements finally banned election discrimination and guaranteed the right to vote to every citizen, regardless of race, sex, or religious affiliation. However, because only a minority of Americans actually do vote in local elections, another controversial issue has arisen regarding elections and nonvoting: is there a right not to vote? Nonvoting, which has become much more frequent in recent years, has been viewed as a dangerous sign of voter apathy and a threat to democracy. On the other hand, it has also been dismissed as a minor problem that has been blown far out of proportion. But which view is correct? The answer can only be determined through an analysis of the types of non-voters and the motivations behind their decisions to not vote.

The reason citizens most often give for their decision to not vote is that they don't care about who gets elected because the result will not directly affect them. Curtis Gans notes that although in recent years "the United States has made it easier to vote," fewer ordinary Americans actually do vote, "sapping the voluntary spirit of participation" that is essential in any democracy. In contrast, J. Austin Ranney takes the position that "there is no reason to believe that a high level of nonvoting is, by itself, a symptom of sickness in American society." Quite possibly, if those voters who truly "don't care" were forced to vote to avoid nonvoting fines, their random votes could distort the opinions of voters who did care about the issues. Gans's picture of an "interested few" influencing issues is legitimate, but these people should not be regarded as a political elite. His argument can just as easily state, "if the few who do not care do not vote, then each issue will be settled in favor of the many who do care, satisfying the voters and doing no harm to the nonvoters." Although some European nations require all citizens to vote whether they want to or not, American democracy relies on a sacred doctrine called "majority rules," referring not to a majority of the people, but to a majority of those people who care strongly enough to vote.

The bureaucratic process itself presents another difficulty in getting citizens to vote. In many countries, citizens are registered automatically, but in the United States, a citizen must take it upon himself to register and re-register, especially if he changes his place of residence. Sometimes obstacles in the registration process may frustrate the voter to the extent that he decides that his vote "will not make a difference." Although Ranney agrees that "clearly it is a bad thing if citizens who want to vote are prevented from doing so by law or intimidation," he also cautions that "the most we can realistically hope for ... is a modest increase ... in our average turnouts." Same-day registration might also make elections more susceptible to voter fraud. Although Gans advocates drastic measures such as "reducing the length of ballots" and "establishing a commission to look into ... discrimination and intimidation which still plague our polls," he gravely undermines his own arguments. One of the actions he recommends, an initiative to "reduce the number of elected offices," will in fact reduce democracy and give voters even less of a reason to go to the polls. In contrast, Ranney asserts that even though the registration process can and should be streamlined, "the right to abstain is just as precious as the right to vote."

One real problem pointed out by Curtis Gans is that many Americans do not have enough knowledge to make an educated choice for or against a political candidate or issue; therefore, they have no reason to vote. He laments the breakdown of consensus since the 1960s and points to political factionalism as the cause of many present-day problems such as pollution and big-city crime. Even though a diversity of interests is a strength of American politics, not all the interests of the electorate are represented fairly; Gans describes one group of nonvoters as being "poorer, younger, less educated ... and more urban underclass than the rest of the population." Ranney agrees that this is somewhat true, but he predicts "a major increase in our voting turnouts" once members of minority groups realize that voting can give them a voice in government. This time, both sides are pushing their arguments too far. Ranney's rosy prediction of a "70 to 80 percent voter turnout" once minorities mobilize in politics is clearly high. In addition, Gans's demand for more comprehensive voter information is unreasonable; such information will most likely come from the candidates themselves, who will naturally present themselves in a favorable light. Obviously, voters do not weigh every single detail of an issue when they go to the ballot box, but this fact will not stop most of them from making an educated choice based on their own political beliefs.

Finally, there is the question of voting in a democracy; has a decline in civic responsibility led to a decline in voter turnout? The Declaration of Independence, which set forth the principles of American democracy, states that government derives its powers "from the consent of the governed." Gans points out that low voter turnout has greatly eroded the strength of political parties, but the Founding Fathers did not envision political parties as forums for issues in the first place. Ranney, who believes that voluntary nonvoting does no harm to democracy, feels that voting is not the only way to express "consent." Indeed, many studies show that Americans are more likely to become involved in special interest groups than citizens of other countries with a larger percentage of voters. Therefore, civic responsibility is not on the decline; people have found that a better way to influence government is to find strength in numbers. Voting is an individual act, but political participation, which goes beyond voting statistics, cannot be accurately measured.

Citing low voter turnouts, Curtis Gans mistakingly assumes that "we are ... in danger of becoming a nation governed of, for, and by the interested few." However, Austin Ranney reasons that "we need not fear that our low voting turnouts ... deprive us of the right to call ourselves a democracy." Voter apathy, registration difficulties, and a lack of unbiased information on important issues has always hindered voters and will continue to do so in the future. Although efforts to encourage more people to vote will continue, measures should not be undertaken to require every citizen, whether he or she cares or not, to fill out a ballot just to keep the United States a democracy. Fortunately, American democracy protects a citizen's right not to vote; otherwise, elections might very well be decided on the whims of those people, who in Gans's words, "just don't give a damn."

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This is the first of three recently unearthed essays on elections and political institutions that I wrote in 1991, when Donald Trump was a recently divorced real estate developer and owner of a money-losing airline ("Trump Shuttle") and Kamala Harris was a deputy district attorney in Oakland, California. If you wonder what politics has to do with health care, you haven't been reading my blog for very long.