From the valuable listserv, “ Democracy Dispatches,” a project of Demos–the New York City-based Public Policy and Advocacy organization, which tracks and analyzes democracy issues in the states, comes news of a novel way to boost voter turnout.
The “ Voter Reward” initiative in Arizona is designed to motivate people to vote by entering those who have cast ballots into a random drawing with a $1 million jackpot. (Before implementing the program, it would be necessary to change the Arizona law, which currently makes it illegal to pay people to get them to vote.)
Mark Osterloh, who helped pass the Arizona Clean Elections statute, is also the mastermind behind this idea. “Opponents will say we are bribing people to vote,” he says. “We are not. What we are doing is rewarding behavior we want to encourage. The ‘Voter Reward’ program is not bribery; it is capitalism at its best.” What’s next? A recording contract and chance to sing on TV in return for pulling the lever?
