Why Vote? Let’s Cite the Reasons

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by Mark Lacter

Next Tuesday morning, I’ll be heading off to our neighborhood junior high school to cast my ballot with that familiar mix of pride and disaffection.

Why do we bother? It’s certainly not out of any allegiance or passion for the current crop of candidates. Gray Davis, the self-anointed Godfather of California politics, cannot be stopped, so like him or hate him, we’ll be stuck with him for the next four years.

There also are races for stuff like secretary of state, controller and treasurer, although if you’re like me you barely know who is currently in office, much less who is running. Which means it’s either the party line or endorsements from your favorite newspaper editorial page. That’s a snap compared to the elections for judges and community college officials where, alas, the decision might come down to sex, ethnicity, or even the sound of some upstart’s name.

If that seems goofy, try California’s long-standing tradition of asking its citizenry to consider ballot initiatives they are in no position to adequately consider. This time around, the measures are significant funding for trauma care centers, classrooms and earthquake retrofitting. Many will go down for no other reason than likely voters tend to be older, tight-fisted and believe the less government, the better. That is the democratic way, but it’s also a stacked deck and hardly reflective of how the population at large feels about such initiatives.

Then there’s Measure F, the Special Reorganization of the San Fernando Valley Area of the City of Los Angeles a.k.a. secession. Six months ago, the proposal would have been reason enough to stoke our civic flames. But because secession is almost certain to go down, big-time, there’s little urgency about getting to the polls. Even the one remaining question whether a majority of Valley voters will favor a breakup seems a bit hollow because the final tally, one way or another, is likely to be close and leave a sizeable portion of the electorate disaffected about their city.

Mediocre candidates, misguided ballot initiatives, a fractious constituency why, I repeat, do we bother?

There is the obvious reason that voting is one of the very few responsibilities Americans are asked to perform, no matter who or what happens to be on any particular ballot. The principle of voting, in other words, far outweighs the particulars. Or as Emerson wrote: “Those who stay away from the election think that one vote will do no good: ‘Tis but one step more to think one vote will do no harm.”

The other, less profound reason to drag yourself to the polls is that there really isn’t any good reason not to. Barring the occasional glitch, voting isn’t a big deal. The process is pretty fast, the precinct workers are friendly and when it’s over they give you an “I voted” lapel sticker to impress your friends and co-workers.

What’s the worst that can happen? That you invested a few minutes on the bet that something or someone on the ballot might actually do some good, be it one of those anonymous judges doling out reasoned decisions from the bench or the attorney general going after bad guys or a funding measure helping kids to read and write.

That’s why you bother it’s one of society’s most risk-averse exercises. When you consider what else you might be planning to do next Tuesday, the answer seems obvious. C’mon, do yourself a favor. Go vote.

Mark Lacter is editor of the Business Journal.