Do we need a requirement to Vote?

Chuz Life said:

I think a simple test of listing the candidates in one column down the left side of the ballott with the offices (scrambled) in a column down the right.

The voter would then have to match their desired candidate to the office they are running for.

If they get it wrong,... that part of their ballott simply doesn't count.

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Oh geez, you really think you'd get the authorities to go with that? Remember all those hanging chads in Florida and the folks who were terrified that they might have voted for Pat Buchanan? Nevermind that the same ballots were given to third and fourth graders who managed to mark them correctly. The fact that some grownups couldn't figure it out meant that ALL had been disfranchised.

AlbqOwl said:

You're assuming that the Federal government has to have as much money as it gets. It doesn't.

And you're assuming that the 10% would be assessed on the GDP that is produced now. It wouldn't.

But all that can be debated on a more appropriate thread than this one.

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I think I'd be fine with a 0% safety net tax rate as long as voting privileges are withheld.

That seems like the most fair compromise.

repeter said:

I think it might be worthwhile to let people who understand the issues a candidate stands for vote, and nothing much less then that, because then he/she is voting on either the lies spread by the opposition, or on assumptions, both of which are bad to base a vote off of, IMO.

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I don't see how you'd possibly be able to do this. Politicians rarely, rarely give a truly non-nuanced position that would make it so easy to say one way or another. What group would determine what a possition is and what the "lies" are or the assumptions are? How would you even be able to get both sides to agree? I just don't think this one would work.

hazlnut said:

The far-righties who want to cut the dopes from the polls should be careful what they wish for.... Palin couldn't pass a basic U.S. History quiz.

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....you realize through your hyper partisan ranting that it was a liberal that posted his thread, right?

If we did anything I'd say the basic civics test would be the thing to go. Something as simple as what our three branches of government are, what they do, whose the current pres and vp, etc. Basic questions. That said, even that I think could be a bit problematic and probably not worth it. But if something was going to be done that'd be the only thing I could imagine having a legitimate shot at being worth while.

Chuz Life said:

I think a simple test of listing the candidates in one column down the left side of the ballott with the offices (scrambled) in a column down the right.

The voter would then have to match their desired candidate to the office they are running for.

If they get it wrong,... that part of their ballott simply doesn't count.

Click to expand...

AlbqOwl said:

Oh geez, you really think you'd get the authorities to go with that? Remember all those hanging chads in Florida and the folks who were terrified that they might have voted for Pat Buchanan? Nevermind that the same ballots were given to third and fourth graders who managed to mark them correctly. The fact that some grownups couldn't figure it out meant that ALL had been disfranchised.

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The question was "do we need a requirement" not "do you think you can get anything implemented."

I think that a voter should at the very least be able to match the candidate's name to the office he or she is running for.

Do you think that is an unreasonable idea?

Chuz Life said:

The question was "do we need a requirement" not "do you think you can get anything implemented."

I think that a voter should at the very least be able to match the candidate's name to the office he or she is running for.

Do you think that is an unreasonable idea?

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Well that wasn't an option on the poll, but I think accommodations could be made for the blind, infirm, dyslectic or whatever. In other words, a literacy test would be a slippery slope I would not want to be a part of the process.

I do think however, that at the very least, a voter should have to take the initiative to get down to the county clerk's office to register to vote, should show proof of age, name, citizenship and address of residency in order to register and should have to register at least two weeks before the election, and should be willing to make the effort to get to an assigned polling place on the day of the election. That would restore most of the honesty and integrity to the process and would most likely result in a much more informed electorate doing the voting.