On this Election Day it’s worth repeating what I’ve told people for years — that everyone has an obligation before stepping into the voting booth to learn about the candidates and the issues. 

If you’re not informed, don’t vote. And if you do vote, as you make your way down the ballot if you come across a race or a proposal with which you’re not familiar, skip it. Please.

I’ve told the story many times about how any reporters who have conducted interviews with voters as they exit the polls know that democracy, frankly, does not work very well. Those who follow politics, especially those who put their blood, sweat and tears into a candidacy, would be astounded at the low level of knowledge among average voters.

If you keep the post-vote question simple, such as, “Who did you vote for governor and why?” about one in four can give you an intelligent answer. If you ask about races further down the ballot — state Senate or House, state Supreme Court, county Prosecutor — well, be prepared for a lot of blank stares.

Many people cannot remember who they voted for just seconds earlier. Some are thoroughly confused, mixing up House and Senate, for example, or failing to realize that they accidentally voted for the Democrat rather than the Republican, or vice versa.

When you get to the bottom of the ballot — county commissioner, school board, district judge — forget it. Don’t ask.

So, today we are holding elections for city officials and school board members and the turnout will be very low. Which is probably a good thing because most people know little to nothing about their local officials.

In a blog yesterday on The New York Times website, Jason Brennan, assistant professor of ethics, economics and public policy at Georgetown University, makes the case that high turnouts are bad, and mandatory voting laws would be even worse.

The author of “The Ethics of Voting,” Brennan’s blunt piece in the Times carries the headline, “High turnout would be a disaster.”

Here’s what he wrote:
“Higher voter turnout won’t solve our problems, because high turnout is itself a problem.
“If we force everyone to vote, the electorate will become even more irrational and misinformed.
“Imagine Betty wants to help people, but has crazy beliefs about how to help them. Betty steals food from the starving. She kicks the injured. She takes money from the poor. Betty has noble intentions, but no one needs her help.
“The best scientific studies tell us that citizens act like Betty at the voting booth. Voters have noble intentions. Yet they have systematically false beliefs about basic economics, political science and foreign policy. When We the People vote, we make bad choices, and we get what we choose.
“The median voter is incompetent at politics. The citizens who abstain are, on average, even more incompetent. If we force everyone to vote, the electorate will become even more irrational and misinformed. The result: not only will the worse candidate on the ballot get a better shot at winning, but the candidates who make it on the ballot in the first place will be worse.
“Most people believe that more voting causes better government. This is an article of faith, not fact. Social scientists have shown that higher quality government tends to cause higher turnout. But higher turnout does not cause higher quality government.
“Mandatory voting laws would hurt, but they would not be a disaster. With 60 percent of Americans voting — the majority biased and irrational about politics — most of the damage has already been done.
“If we really want to help America, we shouldn’t force citizens to vote. We should encourage citizens to vote well or not vote at all. Don’t ask your neighbor to vote. Instead, ask the ignorant and irrational voters, ‘How dare you?'”