4 ms·

Democracy only works with a well informed voting base, and while you may disagree with the current state of politics, it has always been my belief that people t

Democracy only works with a well informed voting base, and while you may disagree with the current state of politics, it has always been my belief that people that do not know the candidates or issues should abstain from voting. I will often vote in some races but abstain from others, simply because I don't know the issue or candidate well enough. I wish more people would do that. Making voting easier for the highly ignorant is not a good path. If someone isn't willing to mail in a ballot, drive to the poll, etc I don't think they care enough to know the issues. I know there are some circumstances where people can't get off of work, but those people generally just don't know their own rights. Most states legally obligate employers to give people 2-3 hours off to vote.

coryfklein 8y ago
The "highly ignorant" are showing up at the polls just as much as the highly informed. Making voting easier doesn't exacerbate that problem.
- partiallypro 8y ago
  Can you prove that? Just logically, if you could vote from your smartphone at 7PM on election night from your couch, do you think that would make people who are more informed vote or that it would attract people who are less informed? I know it sounds insane, but sometimes making people have some sort of motivation to physically move, can be a good thing.
49531 8y ago
This sentiment is a part of what drove literacy tests as part of voter law. Making voting harder tends to benefit one political party over another; it doesn't across the board lower turnout evenly. Sometimes it's enough to understand the macro issues of the party. You can't really know how an elected official will vote on your behalf, so it's all guesswork. But making voting harder is just going make our government less democratic.
- masonic 8y ago
  his sentiment is a part of what drove literacy tests No, racism is what originally drove literacy tests as a result of manumission. Whites were generally exempt. See the origins of "Grandfather Clause".
- partiallypro 8y ago
  No one is saying to make voting "harder," the question is when does it become so easy that you no longer take your civic duty seriously. Mob and cult mentality are incredibly common in online and reality TV voting, do you honestly think people don't devolve into that in national politics? I think that is a naive world view. Also, that sentiment was driven by racism, not by actual intelligence. If you look up those old tests, there were some questions with no right answer, etc.

coryfklein 8y ago

The "highly ignorant" are showing up at the polls just as much as the highly informed. Making voting easier doesn't exacerbate that problem.

partiallypro 8y ago
Can you prove that? Just logically, if you could vote from your smartphone at 7PM on election night from your couch, do you think that would make people who are more informed vote or that it would attract people who are less informed? I know it sounds insane, but sometimes making people have some sort of motivation to physically move, can be a good thing.

49531 8y ago

This sentiment is a part of what drove literacy tests as part of voter law. Making voting harder tends to benefit one political party over another; it doesn't across the board lower turnout evenly. Sometimes it's enough to understand the macro issues of the party. You can't really know how an elected official will vote on your behalf, so it's all guesswork. But making voting harder is just going make our government less democratic.

masonic 8y ago
his sentiment is a part of what drove literacy tests No, racism is what originally drove literacy tests as a result of manumission. Whites were generally exempt. See the origins of "Grandfather Clause".
partiallypro 8y ago
No one is saying to make voting "harder," the question is when does it become so easy that you no longer take your civic duty seriously. Mob and cult mentality are incredibly common in online and reality TV voting, do you honestly think people don't devolve into that in national politics? I think that is a naive world view. Also, that sentiment was driven by racism, not by actual intelligence. If you look up those old tests, there were some questions with no right answer, etc.