Does My Vote Matter?

• “No”

  

  “Evidence Suggests That Voter Errors are Systematically Biased”

• No Objections Yet

Evidence Suggests That Voter Errors are Systematically Biased

Art Carden

Economics Professor, Rhodes College

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In his excellent book The Myth of the Rational Voter, economist Bryan Caplan shows that voters tend to have systematically biased views on economic issues, which leads democratic systems to select policies that give them the opposite of what they actually want. Farm subsidies are a perfect example.  Agricultural commodities come as close as we can get to the neoclassical model of perfect competition, and yet farm subsidies are every bit as popular in non-farm as in farm states. Votes are very, very noisy signals but prices, on the other hand, convey information very clearly. Caplan argues that deciding things through elections rather than through markets means that we are more likely to make mistakes. Therefore, we should limit the range of things that are decided politically and increase the range of things that are decided through market channels.

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"No" Art Carden

• It Depends on What You Mean by "Matter"
  2
• Electoral College: Your Vote Matters Less in Presidential Elections
  1
• Your Vote "Matters" as a Signal of Your Policy Preferences
  1
• Not Everybody Thinks This Way, So You Can Take Others' Votes as Given
  1
• Evidence Suggests That Voter Errors are Systematically Biased
  1

"No" Rob Nelson

• Face the Facts. Increasingly Your Vote Doesn't Matter
  1
• Every Vote Gets Counted, But Often it Doesn't Really Count
  1
• There are Reasons for Low Voter Turnout...Apathy is the Least of Them
  4
• Voting out of Obligation is Worse Than Not Voting at All.
  1

"Yes" Rock the Vote

• Letting Your Voice Be Heard
  1
• Independent and First-Time Voters are Proving Pivotal in This Election
  0
• A New Electoral Map Has Brought Youth Voters Into the Spotlight
  0

"Yes" League of Women Voters

• One Vote Can Make the Difference - Will It Be Yours?
  1
• Why Should You Vote in the November 4 Election?
  1
• Why Vote? Your Legislators and Governor are Deciding...
  1

Most Objections

• One Vote Can Make the Difference - Will It Be Yours?
  1
• Why Should You Vote in the November 4 Election?
  1
• Why Vote? Your Legislators and Governor are Deciding...
  1
• Letting Your Voice Be Heard
  1
• Independent and First-Time Voters are Proving Pivotal in This Election
  0

Does My Vote Matter?

• Yes
• No

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