Monday, April 03, 2006
Cast a Ballot Win a Million Bucks
Over at the freakonomics blog, Steve Levitt points out a new initiative being considered in Arizona which would make voting a lottery -- random voters will win a million dollars or more. This is an interesting approach, although given the still low probability of winning the lottery I wonder how much of an effect it will have. I also wonder how the introduction of such an incentive might effect the composition of voter turnout and if the introduction of a pecuniary incentive might weaken the social incentives that currently maintain voting?
// posted by BW @ 10:01 AM 
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Even though it's questionable if this will actually increase voting by a significant amount, it will probably add to the incentives for the marginal voter to vote. The ones not going to vote are probably not going to vote anyways, but the person who would have an opinion, but might be too lazy to do it will now vote, and their opinion is just as important, if not more important, than the really gunhoe people who already vote.
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