Why Do You Vote the Way You Vote?

One evening last week before the start of one of my graduate classes, some of the students and I were talking about the upcoming presidential election and all of the historical aspects of the Conventions and particular vicissitudes of this specific election. Later as I was driving home, I reflected on our pre-class conversation and wondered, “Why do people vote the way they vote?”

A brief investigation into this question revealed some interesting findings. For example:

hockeydino suggests, “How about voting for someone who stands for defending the constitution? How about voting for someone who will bring our troops home around the world and protect our freedom here? How about someone with a proven track record for never raising taxes? How about supporting someone who is not on the take by special interest groups? How about voting on principle rather than emotions that is fueled by media human drama stories?

An article linked to the APA (American Psychological Association) website addresses some of the “psychological reasons” why people vote the way they do.

Another site, the guardian, ponders the extent to which people vote “with their head” (what they think) and/or the extent to which they vote “with their heart” (how they feel).

A very intriguing article, “Why Voters Vote the Way They Do” by Bill Steigerwald, asks fascinating questions such as, “How do voters choose their candidates? How do they process all the political information that they are bombarded with so they can make intelligent choices during elections like next week’s primaries?” He then goes on to talk about some of the research results Richard R. Lau, a politics professor at Rutgers, and his colleague, David Redlawsk, wrote about in their 2006 book, How Voters Decide: Information Processing in Election Campaigns.

I also revisited what my Dad once said to me, as I wrote about in my pop-psych book, Mom and Dad’s Pearls of Wisdom: You Gotta Love ’Em, prior to the 1960 presidential election. I shall share this with you below:

*************************************

Elected Officials

One Saturday evening in the fall of 1960, I was shooting darts at my father’s VFW post with my dad and a few of his friends. When the conversation turned to the upcoming presidential election, I began telling everyone why I thought John F. Kennedy was the best candidate. Some in the group agreed with me, and some disagreed.

In between games, when most of the players were either ordering more beer or getting rid of it, I went over to my father and whispered, “How can Mr. Arnold say Kennedy’s just another politician?”

“He just doesn’t like Kennedy,” my father flatly replied.

“But, Dad, John Kennedy is such a great leader, a brilliant thinker, and a—”

“Bill,” my father interrupted, “when it comes to what people say about a candidate in any election,

If you agree with him, he’s a statesman;

if you disagree with him, he’s a politician.

(p. 27)

*************************************

As I further reflected on this November’s presidential election, I also wondered, “When I go into the booth and cast my vote, to what extent will I be considering…

• What’s best for me personally? My family? Future generations? My community? The United States? The world?

• The candidates’ education, public speaking ability, religion, family, previous experiences, party affiliation, running mate, gender, ethnicity, and likableness?

• Am I voting the way I have told others I would vote (or was I saying one thing and herewith doing something else)?

• Is he/they “good” or the lesser of the two options (or would I prefer to write in someone else)?

Obviously, there are many reasons such as those above, as to why we vote the way we vote. The most important thing is that we vote! However, I also urge that before you cast your ballot give some serious thought as to why you are voting the way you are voting.

Question: What are some of your reasons why you will vote the way you will vote?

Bill