Jeff Jacoby
Voting by Mail
Michael Milburn
Psychology 335
Jacoby’s Arguments
• People are ignorant, uninformed
• Democracy better if not everyone votes
• Public are like this because of personal
failings
Questions
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Why are people ignorant?
Consider Attribution Theory
Internal (personality) vs. External (situational) influences
What are potential situational factors?
Some possibilities:
– Schools
– Access to information
– Economic opportunity
• Allowing/encouraging these people to vote might result
in changing these policies that influence ignorance level
• To understand this requires a situational perspective on
public opinion
• Debate over current public policy issues
reflects the same debate that has been
occurring about the nature of the “public”
for centuries
• A situational perspective on public opinion
is crucial for understanding adequate
responses to policy issues
• Colbert