Features
Why do we vote? Tracing the roots of active citizenship
By Sam Berman | November 7“I voted,” reads the sticker, but don’t let the simplicity of the message fool you. What else lies behind those words? “We know that the image of an active and engaged citizen is really central to people’s ideas of American identity,” Deborah Schildkraut, professor of political science, said. “I like to refer to it as an aspirational identity. … We think of [a good American] as someone who is active and informed and who votes in elections.”
