The Spurious Claim of the "Wasted Vote"

As a political science graduate student, a few things get my goat:

• People who still think that the definition of democracy is black and white
• People who try to talk politics with you at otherwise leisurely dinners (yes, studying politics, reading new about politics, and writing a thesis about politics actually IS enough for me)
• And the term “wasted vote”

Maybe I’m just being idealistic here (never been accused of THAT before), but I think a vote that is put in the ballot box is NEVER a wasted vote. You see, I come from a country where there really only are two choices on election day. Ok sure, I get to participate in electing candidates for a variety of offices, but the differences between the policies and areas of focus of each of the parties’ candidates do not vary all that much within each party (and sometimes not even BETWEEN the parties, despite what their campaign messages would have us believe).

Yet, now I find myself, the child of a two-party system suddenly placed in a virtual circus of parties—some care about the environment, others care about education, some care about security and others about the economy. In fact, some even care about IMPORTANT things such as legalizing marijuana!

And so, rather than automatically choosing a large party to defeat “the other party,” I contemplate choosing a smaller one, one that reflects my values, my beliefs. Of course, the fear of the party not passing the threshold necessary to enter the Knesset looms large before my eyes, and I think to myself, “What if my vote, my single tiny vote, prevents Israel from having a center-left government? What if MY vote is the one that allows a closed-minded, and in many ways immoral, coalition to lead my country for the next few years?” In short, what if my vote is a “wasted vote”?

But I think that on several levels, a vote that is cast is not a wasted vote. On one level, the legitimacy of Israeli democracy is strengthened by every vote cast in a secret and free manner. The participation of Israeli citizens in the process of electing their leaders is in and of itself one major reason that even if a vote gets “thrown away” because the party did not pass the threshold, one has done her civic duty—one has participated in a process banned or corrupted in so much of the world.

Beyond this simple expression of democratic behavior, I think that the thought and evaluation process that goes into choosing a party that is not “guaranteed” a place in the next Knesset is different than choosing one of the major parties. The “default” as it were is to choose Kadima, Likud,or Avoda (Labor). To decide to vote for another party is a conscious decision, a statement that “business as usual” does not reflect my values or my vision of what Israeli society should be.

For this reason, when I listen to the election results, I may be elated, I may be disappointed, but I won’t feel my vote was wasted.