On Elections, a Three Part Series: Part Three: What Are We Voting For? 

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Troy Chavez
June 7, 2024

“Democracy… is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder, and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequals alike.” – Plato, The Republic (Book VI)

“There is no point in complaining (about) the political climate of the world if you don’t exercise your right to vote.” – Coco Gauff, No. 3-ranked American Women’s Tennis Player in the World

Why should one vote in an election? It’s a silly question on its face, but why do we march into the voting booth every election cycle? Well, not everyone does….  

We all have reasons why we choose (and don’t choose) to vote. That is democracy at its rawest; having the freedom to choose, without pressure from the state to do so. Nevertheless, it is implied we must all practice that duty to vote, or else fall victim to representatives unmoored to our values and principles. When citizens sleep at the wheel, politicians yank it into oncoming traffic and swerve away from their intended route.

FiveThirtyEight published a story in which Richard Brown, a man who voted for Obama once and not the second time, planned on voting for the first time in “twelve years.” He had not grown tired of Obama when his second term careened around the corner, but said, “He’s already in office … [so] I kinda figured he didn’t need my help.”  

Fast forward to the 2020 election where Joe Biden would be named the winner, Mr. Brown found himself in the voting booth because “Trump is bringing racist rhetoric out of a lot of people.” And those sentiments were antithetical to him as a black man in a country riddled with a tumultuous past regarding race. Mr. Brown decided to vote because of social pressure. He did not want to be blamed if Biden lost because he did not cast his vote—for anyone—let alone Biden. His vote was a ticket to speak his mind. Otherwise, if he did not vote, what ground did he have to stand on?

Election(s) 2018 to 2022 yielded the highest voter turnout since 1900, according to an article published by the Pew Research Center. Regardless of this statistic, “intermittent” voters hold a sizable share of the voting populace and are inconsistent when it comes to completing ballots. Intermittent voters are often seen as those determining winners when margins are slim.

“Given how closely divided the U.S. is politically, these intermittent voters often determine the outcome of elections and how the balance of support for the two major political parties swings between elections.” Moreover, “70% of U.S. adult citizens who were eligible to participate in all three elections between 2018 and 2022 voted in at least one of them, with about half that share (37%) voting in all three.”

This also differs when race and education are factors. According to the same Pew Research Center article, White Americans vote more often than Black, Hispanic and Asian voters. Education also determined who one voted for, and how consistently they voted. College graduates were the highest share of voters in the 2018, 2020 and 2022 elections.

I have spoken about the surface reasons why we vote (See “On Elections, a Three-Part Series: Part One: Democracy and Elections”): to preserve democratic principles and values. But just as an election has more moving parts than those seen on election day, the issues hauling us to the voting booth are similarly myriad and complex. This is because of our uniquely, individualistic notions as American citizens. We cherish our inherent heritages and embrace our newfound American identity simultaneously. However, this has not always been freely accepted or wielded by all Americans. This history haunts our public institutions’ halls concurrently. Regardless of this history, we all have a right to vote for those who represent our values.

How will you be voting in this upcoming election? What issue supercharges you? Infrastructure and energy? Palestine or Ukraine? Social equity and diversity? Education? Social justice? Immigration? Mental health? Healthcare? Climate change? The economy? Abortion and reproductive rights? And so on and so forth…. There are so many important issues out there that it would be impossible to name them all. But what we can do, based on polling, is look at what Americans are thinking about when strolling into the voting booth.    

In a poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies and published in Newsweek, the economy came in first, as the “single most important issue for voters,” when the article was published in July 2023. This remains poignant for voters in early 2024, leading into the middle of the year.

In an article published by Data for Progress, written by Kirby Phares, researchers combined the economy, inflation and job creation, and were seen as the greatest issues top of mind for voters. All three pertain to the economy broadly. The survey is predicated on the question: Which issues do you consider most when deciding which candidate to vote for? Second, came immigration (12 percent), and then programs like Social Security and Medicare (10 percent), threats to democracy (9 percent), abortion (7 percent) and lastly, national security and foreign policy (7 percent).

The Wrap-Up

Public administrators wear many hats and perform myriad functions under the government’s circus tent of acts and spectacles. Understanding where voters are—idealistically and logically—will inform administrators on where their attention must fall. Politics and government will forever be intertwined. However, there is still a fine line between the two disciplines. Government is the formation of policies and regulations machinated by politicians and lawmakers. Laws are written for issues like those listed above. Remaining abreast of their developments informs and prepares administrators for their bureaucratic duties lying ahead.

I wrap up this series on elections like this because they transcend any one government agency or citizen. Elections encapsulate our daily lives. How we vote reflects how we want to live. When we mark those ballots in 2024 (and onward), let us collectively embark on a journey, together, on a steady train towards a future we can all be proud of.

Citizens: choose wisely. Administrators: regulate diligently. Politicians: legislate earnestly.

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Author: Troy Chavez, M.P.A. is a PhD candidate at Liberty University with a masters in public administration and works in government doing community relations. He can be reached at [email protected].

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