Whoa! Who said money? I purposely chose the word "reward" instead of "money" because of scenarios like the one you desrcibe.
Not sure what the reward could be, though. Personally, I would like something like a voucher that would let me get out of one parking ticket or something like that but I can see how that wouldn't appeal to a lot of people so maybe the reward could vary?
Maybe, instead of a reward or penalty to encourage more voter participation in elections, you could just make it easier by allowing folks that have internet service to vote from home using the internet. A system like that might not be feasible yet, but I've gotta think that it can't be too far from being possible. People do all kinds of privacy sensitive shit over the internet already. Maybe you make the people that want to do it this way use their webcam? Just a thought.
It doesn't matter what the incentive (i.e. reward) is. If it's meant to entice people to vote, it must be something people want. If it's something people don't want, it doesn't help get more people involved and is, therefore, pointless. If it is something that people want, then sinceall it "costs" is casting a vote, people will just go cast a vote.
"Great," you might say, "this is exactly what we wanted! More people involved." I don't agree... the number of people casting votes is a meaningless metric. How does it help us if 80% of the people show up to vote, and all they do is randomly pick a candidate, without knowing that candidate's position, platform, beliefs, etc.?
The important metric is how many people are seriously involved in the political process and make informed decisions when casting their ballots.
A "get out of a speeding ticket" card won't improve
that number. In fact, it will only reduce it. That's why your scheme fails; not because of the type of reward chosen.
