Is it really a good idea to allow everyone to vote?

[maxpowr9]

I'm all for people taking an idiot test along with a parenting test. Hell lets throw in a fidelity test to get that divorce rate down.

 

[saymyname]

Doesn't anyone find the idea of the government deciding who gets to vote more than a little frightening? I mean, considering how easy it is to systematically disadvantage and disenfranchise select groups of people through uneven playing fields. If people are stupid, I think a more egalitarian and more radical (as in, root) approach would be to redress the systems that are making people so stupid in the first place (ie: wealth distribution, public schools, media bias, rural culture being totally brainwashed by religion, etc.)

 

[adzaell]

Yes....I think the right to vote should be limited...I know how strange for a lefty like myself. But how to limit it..I choose, community service as the limiter. If you are involved in your community you get to vote if not then you don't, as you will not be able to make a sound judgement on what people actually need.

no way.

I don't do community service. My time is for me thanks very much. I give to charity, because money is easier and sometimes more useful than time, and makes me feel less guilty.

In Australia, it is illegal NOT to vote, and you can get a fine if you try to dodge out on it. I think THAT is the best system, because even the lazy and uninformed get to express their opinion, which gives a more representative government.

 

[axioma16]

Is it really a good idea to allow everyone to vote?

Absolutely not. Virtually any Gallup poll is proof enough of that. A test should be required; one in which the voter must demonstrate an understanding of civics, the role of the branches of government, and a basic grasp of the issues they are voting on.

Your gut--instinct without context--is meaningless. Harlan Ellison said it best: you are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to an informed opinion.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I am also in favor of testing before being allowed to have children. Why is a driver's license the only litmus test an adult must face? It boggles the mind.

This is a very dangerous proposal. The democratic system is based on the interaction between social agency and political representation: every single individual has a right to vote for those whom they feel will most effectively maintain infrastructures, implement viable economic measures and ensure the preservation of the rights implicit in the Social Contract. Thus, it doesn't matter how ignorant, reactionary or even radical people are; they have a right to be represented in spite of their inability to understand how governmental structures function, or the issues that they are either supporting or rejecting.

If a test were created to make sure that people know why they are voting, entire sectors of the population would be deprived of their right to representation, because they simply wouldn't be able to respond adequately, due to the ignorance resulting from their poverty and lack of opportunities to have access to education. Consequently, we would turn the electoral process into yet another manifestation of privilege: who has enough money to properly educate themselves and gain the right to vote, and who doesn't.

Also, theoretical knowledge and common sense do not necessarily go together. As they say, "information is not education". There are people with PhDs who are frighteningly ignorant in anything that isn't related to their area of expertise, or still refuse to behave rationally in spite of knowing better. Conversely, there are people who are relatively uneducated but at least have the willingness to learn, understand and accept the need to implement socially progressive measures.

How can we deny anyone the right to express their opinions by choosing representatives who share their ideals?

 

[fetaby]

Only if you have a better idea....

 

[luminum]

^ Really nice response.

 

[Liam84215]

Just some things that made me laugh, although the whole video was quite humorous


" I don't think hes an american citizen"-4:32-4:33 well technically neither is John McCain

4:54 "the state that she did govern was right across the street from Russia, I'm sure shes had boundary issues with Russia"

- yes cause i'm sure people in Kamchatka Krai and Chukotka are dying to 'cross the street" into Alaska

Probably would have won Prop. 8 and Question 1

Hell yeah we would have!

After seeing this video, I don't think its a good idea to allow everyone to vote, why? The shear lack of education among most Americans ( clearly shown in the video). Not saying that all Americans are dumb, but if you have no idea who you are voting for and what they believe in, it defeats the purpose of voting all together, in my opinion.