Voting in elections

שו”ת › Category: moral › Voting in elections

asked 6 years ago

As you wrote, voting in elections has no effect on the list of candidates, and the reason for voting is not utilitarian but deontological. In your opinion, is there any point in voting for a party that I know will not pass the threshold (by a significant margin)?
Although I am unable to define it precisely, the situation seems different to me than voting for a party that does pass the threshold, because there it does receive mandates for some of its voters’ votes, especially since the remaining votes have a negligible effect on the list’s index, and it has already happened and parties have won a mandate by tiny margins of a few dozen votes.

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מיכי Staff answered 6 years ago

I think so, but not just the categorical order but because part of the lack of chance for this party to be elected is due to considerations of this kind. It perpetuates the existing garbage (if they vote for them, the other parties will understand that they need change and may even offer them a merger, etc.). The mere fact that there are votes for such parties is your way of expressing a public position. This is how you explain what you want. If we all don’t make such considerations, it is possible to bring about real change. The fact that parties passed by a few dozen votes is meaningless to the discussion. I already explained this in the talkbacks to my column about the vote and the categorical order.

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יוסי replied 6 years ago

You wrote: “The mere presence of votes for such parties (that do not pass the threshold) is your way of expressing a public position”.
If I put a blank ballot on the ballot, is that also a way of expressing a position? And if I do not vote at all (as a defiance, not out of laziness)?

מיכי Staff replied 6 years ago

If you don't vote at all, there is no expression of a position here. No one knows if it's laziness or indifference. But a blank ballot is definitely a position.