EDITORIAL – Arizona proposes voter bribe

Arizona voters might have a whole new way to play the lottery, if, this Tuesday, they… Arizona voters might have a whole new way to play the lottery, if, this Tuesday, they approve a measure endorsing a monetary reward for voting.

If the measure, which will appear alongside 18 other initiatives on the Arizona ballot, passes, the state will establish a random drawing every two years in which all voters who are certified as having participated in the primary or general elections would be entered. The prize? A cool $1 million, according to the Agence France-Presse, a French wire service.

The measure’s motive is obvious – to increase voter turnout in a country whose voter participation pales in comparison to other countries around the world.

“Let’s motivate them with a good old capitalist incentive,” said Mark Osterloh, a doctor and political activist who proposed the initiative, referencing the success of monetary incentives for students and employees.

If only mending the issue of voter turnout was that simple.

By comparing voting to the classroom and the workplace – where financial incentives are an effective and appropriate means of enticing higher performance, Osterloh is blurring the lines between capitalism and democracy.

Voting in a democracy is a voluntary act that should be performed by an educated and informed citizen. What gives our elections legitimacy is that we have the right to choose to vote or not to vote and the freedom to endorse the candidates of our choice. As a result, our voter turnout might be low, but it represents a voting base that cares enough to come out to the polls and vote for the issues they care about.

We are concerned at whom this measure is targeted and what its effects will be.

The measure obviously wants to improve voter turnout, hoping to give a little extra incentive to bring first-time voters out to the polls – which we have no problem with, as long as the prize is not their only incentive.

It is not an impossible notion that voters will head to the polls solely on the chance that they could be the recipients of the $1 million bounty. These are the same people who play the lottery and sign up for reality television. And if the underlying reason behind low voter turnout is apathy, how are we improving the voting system by bribing apathetic voters to go to the polls?

While Osterloh’s intentions are in the right place, we disagree with his strategy for increasing voter turnout.

We applaud the use of tax dollars to promote voter turnout; however, offering a monetary reward to voters is giving the wrong incentive to head to the polls. Instead of spending tax dollars to establish the lottery, the government should fund a campaign that aims to educate and motivate apathetic citizens and to encourage internal, rather than financial, motivation for voting.

As tempting as a $1 million prize might be, we hope Arizonians heading to the polls this Tuesday will make a thoughtful and meaningful decision on this measure.