Foot voting is the practice of expressing preferences through action, most notably by physically migrating to leave an undesirable situation or join a more beneficial one. The concept was formally pioneered by economist Charles Tiebout in his 1956 paper, and the phrase was famously used by Vladimir Lenin to describe Russian soldiers deserting the Tsar's army. Legal scholar Ilya Somin champions foot voting as a key tool for political freedom, arguing that it requires far less information than casting a ballot and can justify policies like open borders. However, legal critics such as Roderick Hills and Shitong Qiao contend, using China as a case study, that foot voting loses its power without meaningful ballot-box voting to back it up. The idea has also been debated in popular culture, with writer Terry Pratchett critiquing it in his 1998 novel Carpe Jugulum by highlighting the practical barriers—like poverty and family—that prevent people from simply running away. Overall, foot voting connects to broader concepts like freedom of movement and the Tiebout model of local governance.