Why Don Draper Doesn't Vote

He knows how to win the vote but it won't be by getting him at the ballot box

Don Draper is seen as the “idealized” American man.

He has a beautiful wife.

Two-story suburban home in a nice neighborhood.

Cute kids and a dog.

High-paying office job in a skyscraper.

None of these things matter though when you believe in nothing. When your only support is given to yourself, what have you achieved?

(© AMC)

(© AMC)

This is the simple answer to why Don Draper does not vote. He knows the world will keep spinning without him “wasting” an afternoon at a polling place.

I am endlessly fascinated by politics and the history of elections. Sometimes I watch old election news coverage to unwind after a long day, including the 1960 election coverage seen on Mad Men.

I also take great joy in voting. The weight of history is carried with you each time you enter a polling place, even if you feel your vote is meaningless. It is a flawed process that always represents a future that can be better.

Don Draper does not care about the future. In S1 Ep12 “Nixon v Kennedy” Don tells his mistress Rachel that they should spontaneously leave everything behind for L.A. When Rachel realizes that Don will abandon his family and is a coward, she ends their relationship. He is willing to leave everything in his life without any idea of what tomorrow may be. Why would he be willing to vote for any effect on the future to come?

Don has beliefs, he just doesn’t share them. He also truly sees no difference in voting for Kennedy or Nixon. In both cases, he’ll still be living his life just as he always has. What the White House does to further Civil Rights or fight poverty does not concern him.

For example, Don leaves Roger’s blackface performance in shame but tells no one “He shouldn’t have been doing that.” It no longer exists in his mind after he leaves to go to the bar. Don also is fine with hiring African American secretaries but is not pushing for it or directly causing change. He tolerates change when it does not affect him rather than welcoming it. When it affects him, he is fully against it.