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I think something like this is needed for elections. If you want to vote for someone, you have to pass a simple quiz to prove you know what they stand for.
by dskloet 10y ago
I think something like this is needed for elections. If you want to vote for someone, you have to pass a simple quiz to prove you know what they stand for.
- smaddox 10y agoStated platform != Voting record Of course even if you required people to know a politician's voting record before voting for them, politicians would find some way to game the system.
- personjerry 10y agoI think you're missing the point, which is that voters should at least read about their options in some way or another, rather than blindly (or nearly blindly) choosing the one who will "save our country".
- ElHacker 10y agoYou're proposing aristocracy, that would be a big step backwards. I think there are far better ways to inform people about their choices and give them the power to decide who they want to be represented by. In any case, we should make voting easier for people, not harder.
- personjerry 10y agoSince when does informed voters equal aristocracy?!
- ElHacker 10y agoThat's not what I meant. I'm pro-informed voters. Restricting the vote to only the ones that pass a quiz does lead to aristocracy.
- abakker 10y agoCan you imagine what kind of devious behavior would go into writing, wording, producing, and administering that quiz... Our elections are bad enough with the electoral college, super delegates, and gerrymandering.
- personjerry 10y agoInteresting that you assert "Our" in the sense of the US.
- undersuit 10y agoThen don't invalidate that vote, print off the exam for the voter with their score, still let the voter vote. Maybe you get multiple 'I voted' stickers if you pass the exam with flying colors.
- clock_tower 10y agoSaying "this is aristocracy" is kind of like saying that FDR was a fascist; it adds nothing to the conversation except emotional associations. If the idea will give rise to harmful consequences, say what those consequences are, instead of trying to associate it with a name you don't like. (See also Orwell's Politics and the English Language, if memory serves.)
- justinlardinois 10y agoYou know, here in the US we used to have tests you had to pass before you were allowed to vote. There were a lot of problems with that...
- clock_tower 10y agoNot a bad idea at all. Perhaps the questions could derive from the citizenship test? Of course, there would be risks of partial administration and regulatory capture, as mentioned in other responses to you; but I think it's a good idea, and it might be possible to make it work.