After covering six presidential elections and five midterm elections for more than 20 years, I’ve long believed that there are many reasons why a person votes the way they do. And all are valid. Many vote on pocketbook issues, and, especially in times of economic pain, who could blame them for prioritizing things like gas prices over esoteric and intellectual concerns about democracy or limited government? Democrats, for their part, finally seem to be acknowledging that the economy may technically be strong, but stats can’t compete with feelings.
Others may be perennial single-issue voters. I’ve met plenty of voters on the left and the right who go to the polls with only abortion in mind, or gun control. Many have also voted in protest of events overseas — of the war in Iraq, for example, or now the war in Gaza.
Who’s to tell them those aren’t worthwhile causes? Others still vote strictly along partisan lines — Democrat or Republican down the line — because they believe that their party generally has the better solutions, or because they want their party to be in a position to implement their policies. And some vote because of representation — they see themselves reflected in someone running for office: a man raised the way they were, a woman who’s confronted similar challenges, someone who’s close to their age, or a product of immigrants like their parents, or someone of their faith. But there’s another reason people sometimes vote, and it’s more in.