who determines the questions....and answers? I think this would turn into a bad situation....where ppl would be turned back for "not having the right thoughts" on an issue....

There would  be no right or wrong answers.  If they could say anything at all about any given issue would be a far cry better than what is going on now.  I personally don't vote for proposals or candidates that I don't know enough about.  I would really like to have others do the same.

JillUser, the problem with your proposal is that it's unconstitutional. The right to vote (i.e. the right to choose your representative government) can not be subjected to any type of test. It brings back images of the day when African-Americans had to prove that they could read before they could vote. Efforts such as the one you are suggesting would disenfranchise voters in a system where turnout and participation (this year being an exception) is already too low. You might be thinking, "Well, shouldn't a person have the ability to read before voting?" The answer is no. The Supreme Court already decided that issue long ago and with all of the different forums for being informed, (i.e. t.v., radio, etc...) a voter doesn't necessarily have to read to be informed (although I recommend it). The other problem is if a person can write ANYTHING about an issue, what criteria will be used to determine who is eligible to vote and who is not? How do you make such an ambiguous determination? I completely understand your frustration with voter apathy and the overall lack of the public will to make informed choices. However, let's not forget that people do not have to JUSTIFY why they are voting for a particular candidate. They just have to show up, pull a lever, fill out a form, or touch a computer screen. They have a right to be an informed voter or simply toss a coin (which I don't recommend). Instead of creating a "voter test," maybe it would be better to shorten the campain season, say to 4 months, outlaw ALL political contributions, and have the networks give the candidates free but limited air time to get their message out (which you could require them to do as part of their fulfilling their public service obligations under current federal law). This way, the candidates are FORCED to talk about the issues instead of clobbering each other on the heads with smears and drowning the public with ad campaigns that are filled with nothing but sound bites. Additionally, with all of the money taken out of the process, the candidates might stop listening to special interest groups and actually start listening to the public, whom they are SUPPOSSED to represent. Just a thought...

Yikes. Poll tests were a good way that southerners kept blacks from voting. It would be much to easy to manipulate this system. People don't have to fulfill anybody's idea of "informed" to vote.

my same reasoning.....too many things could go wrong to keep ppl from voting....hell, it is hard enough to get regestered now. I registered back in the middle of May....never recieved my voter ID card....i had to call about 20 ppl to finally get the HOME number of the guy that was supposed to send it to me....he acted like he didn't know what i was talking about.....

I am really hoping I can vote come next tuesday....it really pisses me off to be honest with you

"Well, shouldn't a person have the ability to read before voting?"

No, I don't think you need to be able to read or write to vote.  I am just frustrated as all hell that people don't bother to think about something so important.  I think it is bull flop that some 18yr old chickie who is going to vote for Kerry because Bon Jovi said that is who she should vote for has as much say as someone who actually educates themselves to what the candidates say and do.

Good suggestions T-Bone. 

I personally don't care how many voters turn out.  If you don't know what is going on, leave it to people who care enough to find out.  Don't be a sheep.  The whole movement to just register people and file them into a booth is disturbing.

I realize this is an unrealistic proposal.    I am just disgusted and frustrated right now and suspect if people take their PC goggles off they might admit that it is a little disturbing.  Do I think anything can be done about it, no.  I also think the two party system sucks but I don't see anything else being successful realistically.

LW's blog about the woman who told her why she would support Kerry really struck a cord with me.  I totally respect anyone who votes with a reason.  I don't care if I totally disagree with the reason.  For instance, I am not religious but if someone is voting based on their faith, I have no problem with that.  I just want to scream when I hear things like, "I hated Bush Sr so why would I vote for Jr?"  of course not giving any reason for hating anyone.

BTW, voting for change isn't a reason unless you have any reason to believe it will be change for the better.

Acutally, there already is a test for Voters:

#1: They have to show up at the right Polling Place - Even in Ohio now
#2: They have to show some ID
#3: They have to know what day to show up!

And in some places, they have to have the strength to punch a chad (for those that never have, there is almost no force requiredd, but elderly can request assistance to punch it through).

And those that cant do the above, they can call Jesse Jackson to get their name on the disenfranchised role! !

And those that cant do the above, they can call Jesse Jackson to get their name on the disenfranchised role! !

Too true!

 

Jill User:

We don't have a license or test for having children either......

Interestingly, the normal curve seems to be in effect with voting nationwide in that there is a full range of voters from totally uninformed to Joe User bloggers (hehehe) and everything in between. Educated and uneducated all get a say because that is the way the founding fathers imagined democracy.

It seems to have worked ok for the past 225 years or so.

Reply #9 By: CrispE - 10/26/2004 3:12:02 PM Jill User: We don't have a license or test for having children either......

Now that one SHOULD have a test!

The problem with tests before earning voting rights relates to storage. What will be done with a potential voter's 4-page treatise on the wonders of the Republican Party? Presumably it has to be stored (in the event of challenges). So where's the protection against governmental interference? It would be a great source of political statistics about the voter base, as well as a useful resource for finding potential subversives in the event of a dictatorial government.

Ok, you get another, "Insightful", from me on this post.

I am all for, a "voter test."
I read an article just last week on MSNBC, how 64% of the voting public, don't really know the issues or the candidates.
They hear one, sound bite, that appeals to them and enter the voting booth and pull the lever.
It's a downright disgrace.

I can't believe some of the reasons that I'm hearing, on why many people are voting for their candidate. I'm sure you've heard the same lame excuses I have.

Good Article girl.

How about we include a National Voter Registration picture ID card along with testing?

We need to stop people from voting more than once and right now there is not a single law in place that can be enforced properly to stop this.

Take out two birds with one stone if you tie the test into getting the ID Card that in turn allows you to vote once.

PLINKO!!

I think it is bull flop that some 18yr old chickie who is going to vote for Kerry because Bon Jovi said that is who she should vote for

yeah, that's crap, but not all 18 year olds are like that. I'm not, and I know not many around this area are. I think that is mainly a stereotype.

Reply #13 By: Grim Xiozan - 10/27/2004 2:52:13 PM How about we include a National Voter Registration picture ID card along with testing? We need to stop people from voting more than once and right now there is not a single law in place that can be enforced properly to stop this. Take out two birds with one stone if you tie the test into getting the ID Card that in turn allows you to vote once.

YEAH!!

I think it is bull flop that some 18yr old chickie who is going to vote for Kerry because Bon Jovi said that is who she should vote for

'Sides, 28 year old "chickies" are just as susceptible to such uninformed voting as an 18 year old.