Lots of people are going to vote on Tuesday. I am not. I have decided to wait until Wednesday to “cast my ballot.”

Among the reasons people will cite for voting are concerns about particular issues, and how each candidate lines up with their own positions. Many will vote for McCain, based on their views of abortion. Some will vote for Obama, due to his stance on the war in Iraq. Individuals will vote for various senators or congressional representatives based on similar criteria, or more likely on name recognition, or how well an incumbent has brought home the bacon. The fight over the billy-club of the state, the privilege of employing force for one’s own interests, will commence relatively peacefully, through the voting process. While comparatively this process is to be commended, we could have warlords fighting in the streets over such power, yet the effectiveness of voting is also in question.

Voting is hailed as the definitive political action for most individuals. It is the only time they participate in the political process, and they thus consider it an enormous responsibility. Unfortunately, the process of voting has the actual effect of making their voices meaningless. Due to the aggregation of votes, the bundling of issues by candidates, and the secrecy of ballots, voters communicate virtually nothing to the candidates they elect. First, due to the secrecy of the ballot, the elected candidate will never know how anyone voted. He will never have a reason to care what any particular voter thinks. Second, due to the bundling of issues by candidates, voters who favor one candidate on some issues but another candidate on other issues will not have a way to communicate their actual concerns. Successful candidates will merely throw all their votes in a bag together as supportive of their overall agenda. Finally, the calculus of large numbers in respect to voting renders each individual vote virtually meaningless. Gordon Tullock and Walter Williams, among economists, cite this as the reason they will not vote. They say that if no one else voted, they would, because then their vote would count.

So I have decided that I will instead spend the time I would have spent driving to my polling place, standing in line, and driving back to school again writing a few letters to the people who will be elected. Call this my Wednesday ballot.

I will make the letters generic enough to be applicable to whichever candidate is elected. I will write about the issues which I think are most important and most closely related to the office each politician is set to occupy, and I will be able to “unbundle” any set of those issues to particulars, demonstrating the relevance of each. My vote will be specific, personal, and intentional. The amount of information communicated in this way will far surpass even that of several hundred election-day ballots.

Finally, the chances that the elected candidate will read a hand written letter from me are much greater than the chances that they will consider my vote. I will have the opportunity to explain how I feel about things, what I think is rational, the unintended consequences of most political actions which concern me, and they will know who it came from.

The morning after election-day I will mail in my Wednesday ballot. Anytime we can communicate specifically and personally to people in positions of power, our voices will heard so much the louder. I find this a much more important way to be involved in the political process, and much more effective.

Don’t forget to vote – on Wednesday.

Author Bio:: Nathanael Snow is a Ph.D. student in Economics at George Mason University. He will not be voting on Tuesday

About Mark Van Steenwyk

Mark Van Steenwyk is a member of Missio Dei. He is a speaker, writer, educator, and grassroots organizer. With the support of the Central Plains Mennonite Conference, he travels to radical and intentional communities around the country to help network and offer support.