Sheepish, Proud or Set to Flip a Coin, They’re Still Undecided

Mark Leidovich
New York Times

Almost immediately the article raises the question that has bee plaguing my own household regarding undecided voters: “What is up with these people?” For many of us it seems that this campaign has been going on forever, to the point where many people are sick of it, so why is there still a significant chunk of people who haven’t made up their minds?

Some will claim racial tensions or lack of interest, and though these issues are certainly there I don’t believe it is to the extent that we think it is. Pundits seem to be overlooking many of the undecided voters that are truly divided on the issues.

A man interviewed in the article, Doug Finke identifies himself as a fiscal conservative who is liberal on social issues. Naturally he is in a major predicament; vote to save the economy or his idea of civil liberties. People are forced to priorities their ideals, there is no middle ground. Which begs the question: Why not? Why is there not a third (or a more radical idea, fourth) serious choice?

I spend some of this weekend collecting signatures for a letter to New York congress men proposing a change to the rule that prohibits candidates from participating in televised debates unless they have been polled at at least 15% on respectable polls. I was surprised by the knowledge people had about the issues and the enthusiasm toward the idea of having more choices. I had more than one person tell me that “the system we currently have doesn’t work.” These comments came even from people with lawn signs promoting presidential candidates.

A major fear that many people have with the idea of a multiparty system is that most people would not pay enough attention to get all of their facts straight. One woman in the article concluded her interview by talking about her son’s health problems which she said puts things in perspective. “This other thing is just another election” was her final thought. That was perhaps the most disturbing part of the article for me. It is possible that she has a lack of interest in politics, which is disturbing because political knowledge could be the most effective tool with which to take care of her sick son. Or, a more upsetting conclusion is that she has lost faith in the political process. The more people read and hear the more they see the darker side of politics, the corruption, misspent money, lies, and “must win” attitudes.

People need to get involved in policies that shape their lives and the current system has bread apathy. Less emphasis on ties to the parties and more emphasis on ties to the people could do the trick. If people feel that they have more options and can chose between a number of people who are deeply invested in the public good then we can expect to see fewer people flipping coins or voting against the other guy, and more people casting their ballots with conviction and hope.

Amanda Furcall