Fox: I would vote for Bob Barr
Voting is irrational, says Glenn Fox, but if he really had to cast a ballot, he'd vote for Libertarian Party candidate Bob Barr
Glenn Fox - November 3, 2008
This question actually brings back some ironic memories from when I was living in the United States during the 1984 presidential election (Mondale vs. Reagan for those of you who were not yet born in 1984).
We were living in married student housing at the time and the two main parties were active in trying to register and recruit voters. Most of the students in our housing complex, including us as it turns out, were foreign. So the party recruiters had a frustrating job.
But then they came to our door, saw us and heard our voices and their eyes would light up. I would have to disappoint them by explaining that we were not citizens.
I remember one recruiter in particular. His response to my explanation of my ineligibility was: "But you look like a citizen, you sound like a citizen, are you sure you don't want to register?"
I told this story to one of my (U.S. citizen) classmates. He explained that the rules in the state where we were living were that someone who was registered could vouch for a person who was not registered on voting day. He said he would be ready, willing and even eager to vouch for me on voting day, if I wished.
I declined.
And, if you look up the results of that election, my decision had no impact on the outcome.
Which brings me to my conflicted answer to this question. Part of me just wants to scream "voting is irrational", which is what my economics professors taught me. The probability of one person's vote--Kevin Costner movies notwithstanding--being decisive, are almost zero. So if you attach any opportunity cost to your time at all, voting involves throwing away utility. That may not be a big deal to you, but it is a big deal to economics professors.
Page 1 of 2