Alex thinks people need a stronger incentive vote. Would cutting taxes for those who exercise their inalienable rights get more bodies to the polls? And more importantly, is that cool?
“One of the most common things that I always hear in my work life and in my professional life, from people who don't vote regularly is why should I bother? How does this actually benefit me?”
Listen to Alex’s submission featured in Episode 67 of How Cool Is This? and read a transcript of the full episode below:
Alex: Hi, I'm Alex. And how cool is the idea of getting paid to vote?
In the United States, compared to other democracies, we have an issue with low voter turnout. When you look at the number of people that are eligible to vote in the United States versus the number that are registered versus the number who actually vote in any given election, it's a pretty big disparity.
An idea that gets kicked around every couple of years but doesn't ever pick up enough steam, I think, is the idea of actually compensating folks to vote. In several other countries, they kind of take the opposite approach, where if you don't vote, you could face a fine, usually something small.
The legal system in the United States doesn't really make that easy to do, but one thing we could do is give everyone a fixed amount off of their taxes if they cast a ballot in that election. This could be set up for any election year - off-year municipal elections, midterms, and even the general election.
One of the most common things that I always hear in my work life and in my professional life from people who don't vote regularly is: why should I bother? How does this actually benefit me?
And sometimes it can be hard to really break down the way that these big political leaders or these big decisions affect someone's day to day life. One thing that everyone understands is sixty or a hundred dollars back in their pocket.
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Brian: All right, Nick, we had Alex Kack, the green shirt guy, offering the idea of tax credits for voting. How cool was that?
Nick: I think this is a pretty cool idea. I feel like we've tried so many different ways to get people to vote. You know, we had Diddy try to rock the vote, we had a Vote or Die, a lot of really cool t-shirts, some interesting campaigns… and nothing seems to have significantly increased voter turnout. But money is one of those things that is pretty compelling to a lot of people.
Brian: Yeah, I think a lot of people would find it cool to receive money. How important is a tax break to everybody? Because I feel like getting 60 or 100 dollars is cool for a regular average podcaster, but if I run the podcasting company, that's not very much money to me.
Nick: Sure. So the more wealth you have, the less 60 bucks is to you. Now, if we established this precedent, could someone, a third party, come in and say ,“Hey, I'm also going to pay people to vote because that's allowed now.”
Brian: Well, it does feel that elections are bought already.
Nick: That's a good point. Elections are currently being bought by corporations. If we just do it this way, there's more transparency, and transparency is always cool.
Brian: I think that voting is cool. I think we can agree on that. It's sad that people don't vote because that is their fundamental right. But I think I understand why, because they feel like it doesn't matter.
Nick: Totally. I think depending on where you live in the country or potentially what election you're voting in, I can understand why it's hard to kind of get up and go to the polls and exercise that inalienable right if you feel like there's no purpose.
Brian: It would be cooler to just hand out dollar bills on Election Day than it would be to have to retroactively verify that you voted on Tax Day six months later.
Nick: It's a lot less fun to go into TurboTax and check the “I voted” box to get that $60 back. I would love it if, when I slid my ballot into the ballot box, a couple fresh twenties came out the other end like an ATM.
Brian: I think that this is kind of cool. I feel like taxes are generally regarded as not cool. Although what they fund, theoretically, is cool.
Nick: The idea of taxes is more fun than taxes themselves. The tax credit idea is 100% more feasible, but it's just not as much fun.
Brian: It's like a rebate. You have to pay a hundred upfront and then they'll send you $80 if you print a form and then fill it out and then mail it to someone and then wait a month and they kind of make their money on people not doing it, which is not that cool, but it's fair.
Nick: It is fair. I begrudge it, but I have to accept it because who doesn't want free money, especially money for just expressing their opinion.
Brian: But I do like that Alex is offering an incentive based voting solution rather than the penalty.
Nick: That would be pretty terrifying, but honestly, would that be more effective?
Brian: It probably would, but anytime that you have a threat, that's not that cool.
Nick: Negative reinforcement, while potentially effective, is just not cool at all.
Brian: Go vote. We're not going to give you anything.
Nick: You do get a sticker. It'd be better if that sticker was made out of money.
If you want to write legislation that encourages people to vote, feel free! Alex shared this idea so you can make it happen.
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