Obligation to vote

[St_Annes]

The Catechism states that we are morally obliged to exercise the right to vote in keeping with “submission to authority and co-responsibility for the common good.”
However, I wonder if this is universal.
What about cases that do not involve moral issues?
We are having a city measure voted upon tomorrow as to whether a city park should be preserved or may be eliminated for the creation of a housing development.
I am going to be out of town part of the day and also am not able to drive due to a vision impairment.
Getting over to vote would be a challenge for me.
Does anyone have insight from Church teaching as to whether the obligation to vote really exists in such a case?
Thanks.

 

[Crusaderbear]

Some would say not voting is casting a I don’t care vote…

I don’t think a minor meaure like you describe rises to the full level of a moral obligation.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

Doesn’t your area have absentee voting? In any case, we are not morally obligated to vote in every referendum. Christianity predates democracy and voting. The Church has not talked about a moral obligation to vote until rather recently. In today’s world of the aggressive Culture of Death, we do have a moral obligation to oppose that social-political agenda to the best of our ability. However, as I noted, that does not mean that have an obligation to vote in every single referendum. We should actually do much more than just vote, we should be politically active, recruiting Christian and pro-Christian candidates for public office.

 

[PJH_74]

Voting on minor issues (or really any) that you don’t understand the argument on, is about as good as not voting in my opinion. Yes I do think we have an obligation to vote in general, for the sake of our nation. But I personally think nuanced, well understood voting has turned into apathetic (non-voting) or angry/scared very partisan voters. Neither type of voter is a gain for the country, only those in power.

 

[Mary_Estelle]

Voting is a Constitutional right in the U. S. It has not always been so for women or Black Americans. It is not an obligation. In some countries you get to “vote” at the point of a gun. Peace

 

[Tis_Bearself]

My 2 cents: it seems like you have a reasonable excuse in this particular case; however, if it’s going to be an issue for other elections, I’d recommend looking into voting absentee so you can do it at your leisure and without having to worry about getting to the polls on the day of.

 

[peter26]

What about cases that do not involve moral issues?

Every case involves a moral issue if you think hard enough.

We are having a city measure voted upon tomorrow as to whether a city park should be preserved or may be eliminated for the creation of a housing development.

And there is not a moral dimension here? Off the top of my head, there is the duty we owe to the environment including the creatures who live in the park, then there is the duty we owe to the people who use the park and the consideration that they would be deprived of exercise, a place for children to play and the psychological benefits of enjoying the green space if it was lost. You can see in this that I am somewhat biased in favour of green spaces, but yes there is a moral issue at stake here.

I am going to be out of town part of the day and also am not able to drive due to a vision impairment.

You could probably vote if you really want to. Catch the bus? Walk? I don’t drive either. I walk to the local polling station. If this is really a problem, vote by post in the future. But don’t make excuses. You have a moral duty to vote. End of.

 

[exnihilo]

The modern Catholic teaching that we have an obligation to vote is an extension of the idea that we should participate in maintaining social order. While I agree with the general principle it seems to me to say it is an obligation to vote in every single election is going too far. In most every election a single vote is inconsequential to the outcome. Even if it did come down to a single vote there would be several recounts each with a different vote tally. To say you have an obligation to participate in such a system just doesn’t make sense to me.

Even if you do have an obligation it would have to be given the proper attention relative to the other duties you have. An inconsequential vote in a minor matter would have to rank lower in priority than almost everything else you are obligated to do.

 

[mikekle]

Personally I do not think voting is a big deal to God. The general public votes because they are under the impression they can change things by changing the president, but in the larger picture, presidents come and go, things change all the time, presidents are not really as powerful as people think they are.

We are NOT able to have any impact on the real people in power imo.

Its sort of like this example…Would God be concerned if a citizen of Sodom or Gomorrah did not vote or otherwise take part in civic duties…overall, no, because the whole thing is so corrupt and evil, voting is not going to change a thing or matter at all.