Why Vote?
Don Boudreaux: “Because voting is a decision-making institution in which each voter gets to express his opinions costlessly (that is, without direct, personal consequence), voters likely are rationally irrational.“
Russell Roberts, still in Cafe Hayek explains that voting to elect people with similar office is irrational because your vote is very unlikely to be a decisive vote. So your vote almost never matters. Why then we vote? Read the link. We vote because it’s a moral obligation and to be associated with others with similar identity.
Irrational, moral obligations, identity association. Hmm, seems to me the only reason to vote is an ideological one.
Somewhat a side note, we need goverment to eliminate externalities. How about that for an economic reason to vote?