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grade level: 9-12
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posted on: November 8, 2000
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The Mystery of the Voters Who Don't Vote
Key Economic Concepts:
Americans are known around the world for their love of liberty and democracy. Many Americans have fought and died to protect their system of government and way of life. Free elections are central to that system of government. Together with safeguards for protecting individual rights, free elections are the heart of American democracy. Yet many Americans do not vote. Only about half of all eligible voters vote in presidential elections, for example. This lesson plan asks and answers the question: "Why don't more Americans vote?"
Students will:
- Given a series of clues, students will evaluate their applicability to voter behavior.
- Students will indicate what basic economic principles best describe voter behavior.
Americans are known around the world for their love of liberty and democracy. Many Americans have fought and died to protect their system of government and way of life. Free elections are central to that system of government. Together with safeguards for protecting individual rights, free elections are the heart of American democracy.
Yet many Americans do not vote. Only about half of all eligible voters vote in presidential elections.
Read the Handy Dandy Guide and the mystery. Read the clues. Be careful. While all the clues are correct, only some are useful in solving the mystery. Decide which clues are most relevant to solving the mystery. Use the clues and one or more of the ideas from the Handy Dandy Guide to figure out a solution to the mystery.
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Handy Dandy Guide
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Which of these clues are most relevant? Click on each picture for more information.
[Clues 2,3,4 and 6 are the most important for solving this mystery.]
| 1. Because of "Motor Voter" legislation and other innovations, it is relatively easy for most Americans to register to vote. | www.fandm.edu/x3791.xml [1] |
| 2. At the federal, state and local levels, there are many elections in the United States. An American who voted in all the elections for which he or she was eligible would do a lot of voting. | www.sos.state.mn.us/home/index.asp [2] |
| 3. In presidential elections, long lines of voters often form at the polls. | www.sptimes.com/News/ 110800/ Election2000/ Eager_voters_met_with.shtml [3] |
| 4. It can be difficult for voters to find reliable information about candidates and issues -- especially local candidates and state or local issues addressed in referenda. | www.ontheissues.org/default.htm [4] |
| 5. Each state elects two United States Senators. | www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/e_one_section_no_teasers/org_chart.htm [5] |
| 6. Few elections in the United States are ever decided by one or two votes. (Although the 2000 Presidential election came very close!) | www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0876793.html [6] |
| 7. There are two kinds of elections -- primary and general. | www.magazineusa.com/lv2/ politics_elections/ i_election_def_primary_general.asp [7] |
| 8. The 26th Amendment to the Constitution made 18 the legal voting age. | http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/26th+Amendment
[8]
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| 9. Voting takes place in polling places. | www.vote411.org/ [9] |
Evaluate the clues in this interaction.
[People decide whether to vote or not vote, taking into account the costs and benefits associated with the choice. What does it cost to vote? Some time and effort spent registering, gathering information about the candidates (Clues 2 and 4), waiting in line at the polling station (Clue 3), and so forth. Not a high cost, you might say, especially not for citizens who value their participation in the electoral process. But many citizens see little benefit in such participation. The odds are that no single vote will determine the outcome of an election, they say (Clue 6), and the outcomes don't matter all that much to them anyway. Any cost at all, then, seems too much. Let others do the voting these non-voters say, in effect: we'll "free ride" on the good citizenship of the voters and benefit as much or as little as they do from the outcomes.
Just for fun, you might invite your class to discuss possible ways of reducing the cost of voting. For example: what might the effect be of holding major elections on national holidays? Would a scheduling change of this sort increase or decrease the cost to voters?]
What might be the effect of holding major elections on national holidays?
Interested in more economic mysteries to use with your class? See Great Economic Mysteries Book - Grades 9-12 [10]
Also see:
"What are the Costs and Benefits of Voting?" Civics and Government: Focus on Economics [11] .Council for Economic Education, 1996.
"To What Extent do Economic Conditions Determine the Outcome of Presidential Elections?"Civics and Government: Focus on Economics. [11] Council for Economic Education, 1996.
"Economics of Voting" Capstone: The Nation's High School Economics Course [12] . Council for Economic Education
"Public Choice: Economics Goes to Washington and Into the Voting Booth" Focus: High School Economics. [13] Council for Economic Education.
Links Used:
1. ^ "Motor Voter and The Politics of Voter Turnout" - (www.fandm.edu) Provides historical information on voter turnout.
2. ^ "Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State" - (www.sos.state.mn.us) Provides information on the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State.
3. ^ "Eager voters met with long lines" - (www.sptimes.com) Provides information on voter turnout in the November 2000 elections in Crystal River, FL.
4. ^ "OnTheIssues.Org" - (www.ontheissues.org) This site provides reliable information on every political candidate for those that are not sure where to look.
5. ^ "Senate Organization Chart for the 111th Congress" - (www.senate.gov) The Virtual Reference Desk provides resources about Senate leadership, committees, and officers.
6. ^ "Presidential Election of 2000, Electoral and Popular Vote Summary" - (www.infoplease.com) A table providing information about the 2000 election results between candidates Albert A. Gore, George W. Bush, and Ralph Nader
7. ^ "Primary & General Elections - The U.S. Election Process" - (www.magazineusa.com) Provides an overview of the U.S. primary and general elections.
8. ^ "Twenty-Sixth Amendment" - (legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com) Provides an overview of the 26th Amendment.
9. ^ "Vote 411" - (www.vote411.org) Provides voting information like Absentee Voting, Candidate Information, and Election Dates.
10. ^ "Great Economic Mysteries Book - Grades 9-12" - (store.councilforeconed.org) This textbook provides lesson plans in economic reasoning for students.
11. ^ ^ "Civics and Government: Focus on Economics" - (store.councilforeconed.org) This text book for Civics and Government teachers ties directly to Economics.
12. ^ "Capstone: The Nation" - (store.councilforeconed.org) Capstone provides exemplary economics lesson plans for teachers.
13. ^ "Focus: High School Economics." - (store.councilforeconed.org) This text book is a great resource for high school economics teachers.
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