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>How did you get there? It is an assumption. If somebody cared about politics they would be more likely to vote and be informed. If somebody was apathetic abou

>How did you get there? It is an assumption. If somebody cared about politics they would be more likely to vote and be informed. If somebody was apathetic about politics they would be less likely to vote and be less likely to keep up with politics. I haven't seen any studies that looks into how knowledgeable voters vs nonvoters are so I could be wrong. If you know of any studies I would be very interested in reading them. >I'd assume a lot of people who don't vote in the US don't vote because in many states it is awkward if one has a job. Its not hard to vote if you have a job. You can spend 10 minutes everyday for a few weeks looking up the issues. On your way to or from work you vote. Ideally you would have written down what you are voting for based on what you looked up so the process will go smoothly and quickly. I don't know what every area is like but it has taken me like 20 minutes max to actually vote when I go in. >Also, it doesn't matter how informed voters are; in a democracy they are supposed to be able to vote. I never said they should not be allowed to vote. Just because some should be able to vote doesn't mean they actually should vote. I think people who are uninformed are being reckless if they vote and are actually harming democracy.

jcranmer 6y ago
> Its not hard to vote if you have a job. You can spend 10 minutes everyday for a few weeks looking up the issues. On your way to or from work you vote. Ideally you would have written down what you are voting for based on what you looked up so the process will go smoothly and quickly. And if you're in a position that requires you show up for work at a certain time or lose your job, and your commute requires 90 minutes of bus rides, and your polling place is not on your bus route, how do you go to your polling place? And should there be some issue with your registration, and you need to go all the way to the county courthouse to file a provisional ballot... There are plenty of people for whom actually making it to a polling place can be a challenge; just because it's easy for you, who is presumably a salaried worker commuting by car to a workplace that doesn't mind you showing up ±several minutes from regular working hours doesn't mean it's easy for large portions of the population.
- _-david-_ 6y ago
  >And if you're in a position that requires you show up for work at a certain time or lose your job You can vote on your way home or wake up early. >and your commute requires 90 minutes of bus rides, and your polling place is not on your bus route, how do you go to your polling place? Not sure about all states but California has been allowing people to vote in different polling places then their own. If this becomes widespread it would eliminate this part of the issue. >And should there be some issue with your registration, and you need to go all the way to the county courthouse to file a provisional ballot... This would also be an issue with mail in ballots. Your vote would either not count or you would have to go in. >There are plenty of people for whom actually making it to a polling place can be a challenge; just because it's easy for you, who is presumably a salaried worker commuting by car to a workplace that doesn't mind you showing up ±several minutes from regular working hours doesn't mean it's easy for large portions of the population. You can go after work as well. Many polling places are open until 8 or 9. In California they have the polling places open for multiple days prior to the election as well. I am not sure how wide spread that is outside of California. Just to be clear I am in favor of making voting day a holiday. Some people still need to work (doctors, grocery stores, police, etc) but they could be given a few hours of paid vacation to vote. I think this is a better solution than mail in ballots.
  - jcranmer 6y ago
    > You can vote on your way home or wake up early. That assumes the polls are open when you're going home. > Not sure about all states but California has been allowing people to vote in different polling places then their own. This is literally the first time I've heard of a state that allows that. It is not the case in any of the three states I've voted in, and it is quite surprising to me that it is logistically feasible to make work, given that each polling place needs its own ballot design for the local races. What you're missing as well is the logistics of making it to unusual destinations when you're dependent on often poor-quality bus transit. If bus routes come every half-hour, and only during certain times, inserting an unusual destination onto your itinerary can be challenging. It especially doesn't help if you also live in a state where the polling place is shut down and moved elsewhere because the wrong party votes there.

jcranmer 6y ago

> Its not hard to vote if you have a job. You can spend 10 minutes everyday for a few weeks looking up the issues. On your way to or from work you vote. Ideally you would have written down what you are voting for based on what you looked up so the process will go smoothly and quickly. And if you're in a position that requires you show up for work at a certain time or lose your job, and your commute requires 90 minutes of bus rides, and your polling place is not on your bus route, how do you go to your polling place? And should there be some issue with your registration, and you need to go all the way to the county courthouse to file a provisional ballot... There are plenty of people for whom actually making it to a polling place can be a challenge; just because it's easy for you, who is presumably a salaried worker commuting by car to a workplace that doesn't mind you showing up ±several minutes from regular working hours doesn't mean it's easy for large portions of the population.

_-david-_ 6y ago
>And if you're in a position that requires you show up for work at a certain time or lose your job You can vote on your way home or wake up early. >and your commute requires 90 minutes of bus rides, and your polling place is not on your bus route, how do you go to your polling place? Not sure about all states but California has been allowing people to vote in different polling places then their own. If this becomes widespread it would eliminate this part of the issue. >And should there be some issue with your registration, and you need to go all the way to the county courthouse to file a provisional ballot... This would also be an issue with mail in ballots. Your vote would either not count or you would have to go in. >There are plenty of people for whom actually making it to a polling place can be a challenge; just because it's easy for you, who is presumably a salaried worker commuting by car to a workplace that doesn't mind you showing up ±several minutes from regular working hours doesn't mean it's easy for large portions of the population. You can go after work as well. Many polling places are open until 8 or 9. In California they have the polling places open for multiple days prior to the election as well. I am not sure how wide spread that is outside of California. Just to be clear I am in favor of making voting day a holiday. Some people still need to work (doctors, grocery stores, police, etc) but they could be given a few hours of paid vacation to vote. I think this is a better solution than mail in ballots.
- jcranmer 6y ago
  > You can vote on your way home or wake up early. That assumes the polls are open when you're going home. > Not sure about all states but California has been allowing people to vote in different polling places then their own. This is literally the first time I've heard of a state that allows that. It is not the case in any of the three states I've voted in, and it is quite surprising to me that it is logistically feasible to make work, given that each polling place needs its own ballot design for the local races. What you're missing as well is the logistics of making it to unusual destinations when you're dependent on often poor-quality bus transit. If bus routes come every half-hour, and only during certain times, inserting an unusual destination onto your itinerary can be challenging. It especially doesn't help if you also live in a state where the polling place is shut down and moved elsewhere because the wrong party votes there.