the right to vote, a moral obligation
Is the right to vote, at least in the United States, a moral obligation?
I used to think like most people do: if you do not vote, you do not have a right to complain about what happens in the election, after the election, and/or anything regarding the government or economy or citizenship in the U.S.
I don’t think this way any longer. In fact, I think that if one registers to vote and then doesn’t vote, this is one of the two most powerful ways to express one’s discontent with the status quo. (The other way is a vote for a third party candidate. This isn’t a “wasted vote” either, because just think: if no one ever “wastes” their votes, how do we ever leave this two party system?) This is much like a vote for “none of the above”.
Ethically speaking, there are two things to look at here: blanket ethics and individual ethics. On a blanket level, I do not believe there is any moral obligation to vote. In fact, like I already expressed, I think there is good reason to not vote, which should alleviate any moral obligation here. Individually, however, one may feel led to vote in a certain way and if one does not follow through, then it is on his or her own conscience. The level of intensity here varies: one might be lazy or have an emergency situation that prevents him from physically going to vote, or one might live in a country where the right to vote was granted for the very first time. In any case, it is a conscience issue and cannot be judged here.
There are two other claims here to address. “If one doesn’t vote, what gives one the right to complain?” Well, frankly, the right to complain has no actual relationship to voting. A citizen, again, at least of the United States, has this right regardless. Voting is not a special ticket or fee to complaining or expressing an opinion.
“If one wishes to complain about the government, then one should do something to change it”. This is simply absurd. There are other ways to change the government or to have a voice in the government, whether one chooses to participate in them or not. One could run for political office, start a grassroots campaign or participate in journalism/media. One could protest, rally, or simply educate his or her friends. To assume that a vote is the only voice is rather naive. It is a powerful voice, but in some cases it is more of a symbol than it is effective, so it is surely not the only voice. In fact, it is my own opinion that change is more effective on the grassroots level, working one person at a time. The change must manifest itself into a vote at some point or another, however.
In the United States, as it stands currently, we do have some freedoms left. And, despite popular opinion, voting is one of these freedoms. To not vote, or to vote, are both ways of exercising this freedom. The fact that a vote is a private decision– no one may see another’s vote or in most or all states, there are laws enacting boundaries on electioneering at the polls– is a significant testimony of how this is a personal decision. It is not one to take lightly, by any means, but it is a private issue nonetheless.
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Tags: government, politics, rights, voting
September 24th, 2008 at 10:29 am
No, I don’t think we are morally obligated to vote. I think it would be better not to vote at all than to vote for someone or something you don’t believe in.
I’ve been put down for choosing not to vote for either Obama or McCain because I don’t like either of them and can’t feel good about voting for either of them. I’ve been told that voting for a third party, conservative candidate is the same thing as voting for Obama because I’m taking my vote away from McCain.