The undecided voter: An appeal to rational voting

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By Andy Kaiser
Article ID: 1255

Approximately one month from the writing of this article, the United States is going to have a major election. We’re getting a new President! And the campaigns on all sides have overspent and probably overpromised. Some ran attack ads. Some have taken the high road, indicating they are above any “dirty political scheming”. Others have lived by the motto, “dirty political scheming”.  And through it all, the American public and the rest of the world look on with what I can only describe as bemused fear.

In other words, it’s politics as usual.

However, as I get older, as I pay more attention to the process, something nags at me. This is an aspect central to every campaign I’ve seen, and every time I see it I wonder more and more at why it’s such an issue.

What is the problem with the “undecided voter”?

Near the end of the campaign cycle, there are always a bunch of “undecided” holdouts, a group of people over whom the press salivates, proclaiming them the new target group for whatever politician happens to be falling behind in the polls. As recently as one month before the election, CNN estimates that 8% of voters are undecided voters.

And, frankly, honestly, depressingly, I don’t get it. I don’t understand how a group of people – a noticeable, sizable group of people – can get this far in the process and still don’t know who they’re going to vote for.

Here’s a rough timeline of what happens:

The campaign season begins. We’ve got contenders from the big parties debating their points on overcrowded stages. At this point, the loyal party hardliners have of course formed their opinion. Be they Democrat or Republican, they’ll vote to support their party, and the only question mark for them is what party representative will get that vote. That’s the hardcore voting block out of the way.

The season moves on, and political parties select their champion. In this year’s case, it’s either Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain. The voters now see the field cleared of all chaff, and can focus their energies deciding between these two people. (Yes, there is also the Vice Presidential pick, but to my knowledge an otherwise qualified president has never lost because of a poor choice of running mate.) Now is when people really start making decisions.

So the pollsters crank up their adding machines, plug them into a telephone jack, and the American public gets multiple annoying phone surveys every day, ringing on every phone in the country. We get detailed graphs of who is voting for who, broken down into geography, income, sex, race and pizza preference.

Yet there are always holdouts. Right up to the point when everyone’s lining up at the polls, there are undecided voters.

My fellow Americans, my friends in foreign lands, can someone please explain to me why this is?

I’ll use myself as an example of an undecided voter, because, well, I happen to be one during every election. You see, I’m a Libertarian. That means I like the Republicans’ fiscal policy and governmental downsizing. And I also like the Democrats’ liberal social views on issues like The War on Drugs, civil rights and Separation of Church and State. (Whether or not said parties actually hold to their supposed standards is another story. But I digress.)

My job is to look at the candidates and decide which person most closely represents my viewpoint. If it turns out that someone’s policy closely matches what I feel is the right way to run a nation, and the other does not, I’ve got my choice. If one person appears untrustworthy or an idiot, or acts in a way I wouldn’t support, that’s my indicator to look closely at the other candidate.

My method isn’t a secret. My mother has said that I’m special, but I know the truth: I’m not. I’m very similar to the other 300 million Americans. Yet to me what seems an obvious and easy choice – particularly as the election season ends – seems to be an enigma for others.

The Daily Show from Tuesday October 7, 2008 attempts to answer this question. These undecided voters, they say, are just stupid. The episode itself was incredibly funny (scroll to the 6:00 mark to see the appropriate part of the show), but it also expressed an amazed frustration that I also feel.

My point: Why there are so many “undecided voters”, when tie-breaking can be determined by an examination of party affiliation and policy statements?

How can a voter be this far in the process and still not know their pick? If they’ve been paying attention at all, they’ve been given plenty of information from which to form an opinion. Is this trait something local to the United States? Do other countries also suffer from this malaise of commitment?

To those undecided voters, your part in this election process is arguably miniscule, just as mine is. Yet every vote does and should be counted. Settle down. Focus. Examine the facts. Analyze the information in whatever way is easiest for you to process. Make a decision matrix if it gets too confusing. But whatever you do, this country cannot afford random decisions, recommendations based on TV ads or talking heads, a conversation with your best friend, or any other method absolving you from your responsibility. We’re past the time to debate policy and personality. Do what you have to do. Make up your minds.

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