Do we have a patriotic duty to vote or a moral duty to abstain?

Laura Longobardi / News Editor / The USD Vista

The USD Philosophy club hosted a unique debate Monday night entitled “To Vote or not to Vote.” The highlight of the discussion was Dr. Kevin Timpe’s unusual view that voting is immoral. “This came up because I made some off-handed comment about democracy,” admitted the professor of Philosophy.

Timpe argued that most people should not vote, because most people vote badly. Bad voting, Timpe says, is characterized by ignorance and bias. Furthermore, Timpe stated that Democracy is inherently flawed because it values quantity of opinions over quality of opinions. He believes that not all opinions are equally good, and should not be given equal weight. Our system, of course, gives equal weight to all opinions.

He compared the political system to healthcare. Most people would agree that a few expert doctors should be consulted regarding the proper treatment of a seriously ill person. Democracy, he said, is comparable to asking a room filled with random strangers to decide the appropriate treatment of a patient by show of hands.

Responding to Timpe’s argument was Dr. Casey Dominguez of the Political Science department. She argued that voting is incredibly important for individuals because our system favors those who speak up intensely. She also addressed the common feeling that a single vote cannot make a difference “It is a big country, there are lots of opinions,” she said.

In response to Timpe’s argument about bad voting she asked, How do we decide whose beliefs are better than others?”

Timpe admits that he can think of no real solution to the moral issue of voting. Still, he feels that it is not always necessary to suggest a perfect solution when pointing out a problem.

Shortly after the professors presented their arguments and rebuttles, students were encouraged to present their own questions. An interesting and engaging discussion followed:

John Rodeno, a senior Political Science student was enthusiastic about the debate, “This is an interesting question. I thought that it was a really fun debate because everyone tends to think that voting is good. The immorality of voting is a view that isn’t usually discussed.”

Even those who found Timpe’s argument to be flawed took away one important piece of advice, vote absentee. Timpe urges those who intend to vote to opt for an absentee ballot because it is much more likely for a person to be seriously harmed on the way to the polling place than it is to cast a vote that actually makes any significant difference.