Economics
Voter Turnout and the Costs of Electoral Participation
Quick fact
In the 2016 U.S. presidential election, only about 56% of the voting-age population actually voted, but in 2020, with expanded mail-in voting, turnout surged to about 66%—a jump of 10 percentage points, largely attributed to making voting easier during the pandemic.
Why this is interesting
You probably know that in the last U.S. presidential election, about two-thirds of eligible voters cast a ballot. But why do the other third stay home—and what if it's not about being lazy or uninterested?
Read the full explanation
Understanding Voter Turnout and the Costs of Electoral Participation
Think of voting as a decision you make like any other: you weigh what it costs you against what you get back. The cost includes the time it takes to register, to learn about the candidates, to get to the polls (or request a mail-in ballot), and to fill it out correctly. The benefits are the satisfaction of fulfilling your civic duty, the chance your preferred candidate wins, and the feeling of having your voice heard. For most people, the probability that their single vote will decide the election is minuscule—so the benefits seem small. When the costs are high—like a long line, complicated registration forms, or confusing ballot measures—many people decide the effort isn't worth it. This cost-benefit calculation is a core idea in political science.
A deeper explanation
The decision to vote can be modeled as a rational choice: vote if the expected benefits exceed the costs. The benefits come from the chance that your vote decides the election (tiny probability times the difference it makes to you) plus the intrinsic satisfaction of participating. The costs include the time and effort of registration and voting, as well as the information cost of making an informed choice. Since the probability of being the pivotal voter is very low, the rational model predicts that most people would not vote—yet many do, so the model must be refined by adding civic duty and social pressure as benefits. Importantly, costs are not the same for everyone. People with higher income and more education can more easily absorb the time and information costs, so they vote at higher rates. This explains why turnout varies across demographic groups and why policies that reduce costs—like automatic registration, early voting, or mail-in ballots—can boost overall turnout and reduce inequalities.