Which Elections? A Dilemma for Proponents of the Duty to Vote

Abstract

Proponents of the duty to vote (DTV) argue that in normal circumstances, citizens have the moral duty to vote in political elections. Discussions about DTV analyze what the duty is, who has this duty, when they have it, and why they have it. Missing are answers to the Specification Question: to which elections does DTV apply? A dilemma arises for some supporters of DTV—in this paper, I focus on Julia Maskivker’s work—because either answer is problematic. First, I argue that it is implausible that DTV applies to all elections because this makes the duty too costly for the voter. Second, I argue that there are no good reasons why under normal circumstances DTV applies only to some elections. I consider objections but conclude that the dilemma is successful and therefore the case for DTV is incomplete.