What motivates people in "safe" states to vote?

[ag]

If you start thinking in these terms, the real puzzle is, why anybody votes in any election (above the level of a village councilman, at least). Florida in 2000 was freakishly close: it was still, one way or another, a matter of hundreds of votes. In most other state-level elections, the gap is in the thousands of votes. Ex ante probability of any single vote deciding anything in a large election is, in most cases, smaller than probability of being killed by a meteorite falling from the sky: in fact, counting up to the very last vote is beyond the capacity of the electoral officials pretty much anywhere in the US (or, for that matter, in most other places in the world). Still, people vote.

[SPC]

I vote not because I feel my vote will be decisive but because if everyone decided not to it wouldn't work.

Exactly why I don't believe in voting.

[Spanish Moss]

I vote not because I feel my vote will be decisive but because if everyone decided not to it wouldn't work.

Exactly why I don't believe in voting.

:-D

[Foucaulf]

What Americans neglect - and which I only recently realized - is that the number of positions available to be elected in this country is greater than almost all other countries out there. On top of that add the considerable number of referendums and petitions. This implies the number of candidates overall is quite massive.

Sure, the candidates are not very distinguishable. Many of them are members of a certain class who either treats governance bureaucratically or as a podium for their pet projects. But as people age they are swept up into those pet projects or are emotionally attached to one of these candidates. This feeling extends to the bigger candidates too.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Downballot races such as Senator or Congressman or Governor which are much more competetive motivates people to vote eventhough most people live in safe districts.

[fezzyfestoon]

Same reason people vote in "swing" states: ignorance of the Prisoner's Dilemma

What?

[SPC]

Same reason people vote in "swing" states: ignorance of the Prisoner's Dilemma

What?

People vote for one of the two parties because they believe that if enough people voted third party/didn't vote, the greater evil will prevail. In actuality, the way an individual votes has no bearing on how everyone else votes, and thus such fears are unfounded since an election will almost never be decided by one vote.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Downballot races such as Senator or Congressman or Governor which are much more competetive motivates people to vote eventhough most people live in safe districts.

Exactly.  I would contend that there's no such thing as a solidly "red state" or "blue state", since many of those states frequently elect statewide officials (governors, senators, etc.) from the other party. 

[DC Al Fine]

Governor
Senator
Congressman
State Senator
State Representative
Mayor
Alderman
...
Dog Catcher

[fezzyfestoon]

Same reason people vote in "swing" states: ignorance of the Prisoner's Dilemma

What?

People vote for one of the two parties because they believe that if enough people voted third party/didn't vote, the greater evil will prevail. In actuality, the way an individual votes has no bearing on how everyone else votes, and thus such fears are unfounded since an election will almost never be decided by one vote.

I guess that kind of works, but it seems more than a little grandiose to stretch the Prisoner's Dilemma and its pitfalls to apply to something as trivial as voting, even with the vague overall connections.

[Rooney]

People vote to continue their illusion of control. This is not just in "safe" states but also in "swing" states.