Being a Good Samaritan Requires You to Vote

Do citizens have a moral duty to vote, or is the franchise just a right they are free to exercise or to abstain from, at will? The prevalent position in voting ethics is that citizens should be free to choose whether or not to exercise their right to vote. This article situates itself in opposition to the prevalent account and develops an argument supporting (1) a moral duty to vote and (2) a moral duty to vote well. I argue that a duty of Samaritan justice can require us to vote with care for the sake of the well-being of society. Samaritan duties of aid bind us when an intervention would not be unduly costly—not when it would be costless. I argue that voting with care is a cost that society can reasonably expect citizens to assume given what elections have the potential to achieve: minimally just governments.