How voters think about voting

In several papers, including one recent paper that has been rejected by several philosophy journals, I have analyzed people's approach to voting in terms of whether they consider the good of "the world" (cosmopolitan voting), their nation, or themselves. It seems that all three ways of thinking exist, perhaps even co-exist within the same person. I have argued that, for most people, voting out of self-interest alone is irrational, but cosmopolitan voting is usually rational if the voter cares somewhat about the good of other people. This argument is apparently not a great insight for philosophers, and that is why the paper keeps getting rejected. However, the rationality of cosmopolitan voting, and the irrationality of self-interest voting, are apparently not ideas that most voters, politicians and journalists have considered.

In looking at what people say about voting, especially "undecided" voters in the upcoming U.S. election, I see another classification of how people think about voting for candidates, cutting across the one just described. This distinction is based on what people attend to.

The stated or likely policies of the candidate are one focus of attention. Candidates state policies to appeal to voters who think this way. The stated policies are usually selected for appeal to voters rather than experts. Policies may still be valuable indications of a candidates general approach to issues. This strategy can be harmful when voters focus on some single issue, such as inflation, or support of Israel, as the basis of their decisions.

Another focus is the character of the candidate, especially at the traits that would make a good office holder, according to the voter. These are not necessarily the same traits that would make a good co-worker or spouse. These voters might feel that policy statements are not very predictive of what will actually happen, and it is better to choose the sort of person who can deal with unforeseen problems. For example, some Trump supporters think he will be "tough" with other countries (ignoring prior harmful effects of such toughness such as Iran's nuclear ambitions).

A third focus is blind empiricism. Voters look at how things were (for themselves, for their nation, or for the world, but mostly for themselves) under the candidate's previous administration, or that of the candidate's party. ("Things were better for me when Trump was in power.") In the long run, this strategy might be slightly better than chance at picking good candidates by any criterion. But I think it actually represents a kind of laziness, and unwillingness to consider either policies or character.

More generally, people don't seem to have given much thought to the question of how they should approach citizenship. This question is not part of the civics curriculum. The right to vote, which comes with citizenship, implies a duty to vote thoughtfully, and, more generally, to take responsibility for the actions of one's government. (The utilitarian justification for this principle of duty as a general social norm is clear.) For national elections, these actions affect residents of the nation, foreigners, and people not yet born.