What question did this study set out to answer?

To explore the concept of an expressive duty to vote based on the need for citizens to show support for just laws and democratic institutions.

June 9, 2026Open Access

The Expressive Duty to Vote

Key Points

To explore the concept of an expressive duty to vote based on the need for citizens to show support for just laws and democratic institutions.
Analytical discussion of existing moral arguments for voting
Discussion of circumstances where abstention may be justified
Exploration of the implications of voiding a ballot as an expressive act.
Establishes the moral obligation to vote stems from a duty to demonstrate support for democracy.
Clarifies scenarios where abstention is morally permissible and the act of voiding a ballot can express dissent.
Highlights the importance of treating others with equal concern through the act of voting.

Abstract

Standard arguments for the moral duty to vote in nationwide elections or referendums appeal to citizens’ general duty of reciprocity not to free ride on the provision of the public goods of democratic governance and its benefits, to a nonreciprocal duty to maintain and strengthen democratic institutions, or to a general duty to bring about just outcomes. In this article, I argue that citizens are under an expressive duty to vote, as grounded in a more general duty to manifest support for just and democratic laws, and for democratic institutions as the instantiation of the requirement to treat one another with equal concern and respect. Even if (in circumstances I elucidate) citizens are morally permitted not to vote for either of the options on offer, it does not follow that they are morally permitted to abstain: sometimes, participating in the poll and voiding one’s ballot is, on expressive grounds, the right thing to do.

اسأل الذكاء الاصطناعي

Bookmark

View Full Paper