People vote because they’re worried others will think less of them if they don’t.

For many, the benefits of voting are not immediately obvious. So why do people turn out on Election Day? Some have suggested that people vote because they are worried that others will view them less favorably if they do not. Using experimental evidence from a national survey, David Doherty, Gregory Huber, Alan Gerber and Conor Dowling set out to test this theory. Their results suggest that people’s expectations that others will think less of them if they fail to vote are well-founded.