- Joined
- Jul 12, 2010
- Messages
- 3,715
- Reaction score
- 751
- Location
- Northern Virginia
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Independent
If voting were a privilege, then only the privileged could vote. Voting is a right... and in my opinion, the duty of every citizen. (That doesn't mean that I favor mandatory voting ala Australia. I don't. I just don't understand those who are apathetic about casting their votes, when there are billions of people on this planet that would give everything for the opportunity to do just that.)
Well, in California, where there are literally about a hundred different politicians/bureaucrats/officials/board members/district members/etc.to vote for, I'd place a million dollar bet that no single voter (regardless of their interest in politics) has actually taken the time to read about and/or meet and/or follow the numerous people up for election. We've created such a massive bureaucracy in this state, I would imagine 90% of the voters vote strictly on the president, the district reps, the senators, the governor, and maybe some of the state reps and senators. About 5% vote on the candidates running for the various other bureaucratic offices, and I doubt any one of those voters knows a single thing about the candidate. They simply look at the previous occupation listed and vote strictly for the occupation or the party, not the individual.
It's kind of devaluing the whole voting system if the vast majority have no clue who they're voting for.