Voter literacy - git you some
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@jon-nyc said in Voter literacy - git you some:
I feel like I'm channeling @mark circa 2010, but who here trusts the government to design a literacy (or civics) test and not use it to subtly weed out voters with opinions they don't like?
That can be easily enough controlled. You have to trust your government for a whole lot trickier things.
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@Renauda said in Voter literacy - git you some:
If it were to come to pass, the populist charlatans would have to seek means other than politics to practice their chicanery.
They already do. It's just the lazy ones that go into politics.
@Mik said in Voter literacy - git you some:
@Renauda said in Voter literacy - git you some:
If it were to come to pass, the populist charlatans would have to seek means other than politics to practice their chicanery.
They already do. It's just the lazy ones that go into politics.
And look at the chaos they sow.
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Would the test be as difficult as that one where the Leader of the Free World needs to remember and recite "Person, Woman, Man, Camera, TV"?
And, allegedly, scores higher than any other President ever in the history of the country?
Because I think you might be selling yourselves a bit short. As we all know, that guy's a veritable fucking genius, and after polling the office I reckon a good 75% of the population could pass with flying colors.
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I think that voter ID is not a bad thing, but I am against any sort of knowledge test. Too difficult to implement, and too easy to manipulate.
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Voters are being manipulated now by the horrible campaign ads we see and the influence of too much special interest money. Anything less simply means we have tons of manipulated, ignorant votes. So long as we ignore the responsibilities of being a citizen of a republic we will continue down the sewer hole.
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Voters are being manipulated now by the horrible campaign ads we see and the influence of too much special interest money. Anything less simply means we have tons of manipulated, ignorant votes. So long as we ignore the responsibilities of being a citizen of a republic we will continue down the sewer hole.
@Mik I dont disagree, but just dont see any way to get this installed.
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The Board of Elections does a fine job of putting on a non-partisan election. We administer driving tests all the time. We administer citizenship tests. This is little different. Essentially you are saying we are incapable of doing anything other than partisan. I have more faith in our abilities.
"You cannot subsidize irresponsibility and expect people to become more responsible." — Thomas Sowell
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I don't know how to do what you are talking about in a non-partisan manner. Who defines this 'ignorance' we're supposed to measure and prevent from voting? Unless it's literally high school civics (how many branches of government, terms of various elected officials, role of courts, etc) you'd get political right away.
For example, is it 'ignorant' to think rent control leads to more affordable housing? I certainly think so, but that would be pretty political as far as questions go. Is it 'ignorant' to think that foreign countries pay tariffs? How about the Laffer fantasy curve?
The whole reason we call them illegal aliens is because they’re subject to our laws.
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I don't know how to do what you are talking about in a non-partisan manner. Who defines this 'ignorance' we're supposed to measure and prevent from voting? Unless it's literally high school civics (how many branches of government, terms of various elected officials, role of courts, etc) you'd get political right away.
For example, is it 'ignorant' to think rent control leads to more affordable housing? I certainly think so, but that would be pretty political as far as questions go. Is it 'ignorant' to think that foreign countries pay tariffs? How about the Laffer fantasy curve?
I don't know how to do what you are talking about in a non-partisan manner. Who defines this 'ignorance' we're supposed to measure and prevent from voting? Unless it's literally high school civics (how many branches of government, terms of various elected officials, role of courts, etc) you'd get political right away.
For example, is it 'ignorant' to think rent control leads to more affordable housing? I certainly think so, but that would be pretty partisan as far as questions go. Is it 'ignorant' to think that foreign countries pay tariffs? How about the Laffer fantasy curve?
One man's uninformed idiot is another man's stable genius.
If you treat the right to vote as a right, then it's a right. Like gun ownership and freedom of speech. You don't test for those.
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I don't know how to do what you are talking about in a non-partisan manner. Who defines this 'ignorance' we're supposed to measure and prevent from voting? Unless it's literally high school civics (how many branches of government, terms of various elected officials, role of courts, etc) you'd get political right away.
For example, is it 'ignorant' to think rent control leads to more affordable housing? I certainly think so, but that would be pretty political as far as questions go. Is it 'ignorant' to think that foreign countries pay tariffs? How about the Laffer fantasy curve?
I don't know how to do what you are talking about in a non-partisan manner. Who defines this 'ignorance' we're supposed to measure and prevent from voting? Unless it's literally high school civics (how many branches of government, terms of various elected officials, role of courts, etc) you'd get political right away.
Actually that test would be great. No joke.
- How many states are there?
- How many branches of government?
- How many senators per state?
- How long is a Presidential term?
Could even go advanced:
- Which month is the President inaugurated?
- Which branch makes the laws?
- Why are there 13 stripes on the American flag?
Or even a test like this would weed out more than you'd think:
- What continent is the USA in?
- What is the name of the current VP?
- What is better, football or soccer?
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The Board of Elections does a fine job of putting on a non-partisan election. We administer driving tests all the time. We administer citizenship tests. This is little different. Essentially you are saying we are incapable of doing anything other than partisan. I have more faith in our abilities.
@Mik I am also an optimistic person. But for example, driving tests are spread out over the 365 days of the year.
I am also concerned about what @jon-nyc said. Is the test about basic US knowledge?
If so, that may have nothing to do with what the candidates are running on.
If it is a test on current events, then another set of problems.
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I don't know how to do what you are talking about in a non-partisan manner. Who defines this 'ignorance' we're supposed to measure and prevent from voting? Unless it's literally high school civics (how many branches of government, terms of various elected officials, role of courts, etc) you'd get political right away.
Actually that test would be great. No joke.
- How many states are there?
- How many branches of government?
- How many senators per state?
- How long is a Presidential term?
Could even go advanced:
- Which month is the President inaugurated?
- Which branch makes the laws?
- Why are there 13 stripes on the American flag?
Or even a test like this would weed out more than you'd think:
- What continent is the USA in?
- What is the name of the current VP?
- What is better, football or soccer?
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No, the questions would be related to the issues and offices on that particular ballot. It is pretty easy to use the candidate's stated positions and proposals. For issues there is always a Board of Elections statement of the pros and cons of each issue.
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No, the questions would be related to the issues and offices on that particular ballot. It is pretty easy to use the candidate's stated positions and proposals. For issues there is always a Board of Elections statement of the pros and cons of each issue.
No, the questions would be ...
Looks like you're trying to tell me what the questions should be. I am against that.
It is pretty easy to use the candidate's stated positions and proposals. For issues there is always a Board of Elections statement of the pros and cons of each issue.
There's "what the candidates say now," there's "what the candidates say two news cycles ago," there's "what the candidates say two weeks after their position statements are published by the Board of Elections," there's "what I believe the candidates will do," then there's "what the candidates actually do." How confident are you that they will all align? (Cue "no new taxes," "no foreign war.") What does that make of your proposal to base voter literary test questions on "the candidate's stated positions and proposals"?
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