Some kind of Test before Voting?

[Jacobtm]

Many people complain about Trump voters being stupid.

Well, would you support some kind of test before voting?

Maybe it could just be something that proves basic literacy.

Or maybe it could be something that tests your knowledge of the constitution in some basic way, similar to the U.S. citizenship test.

Perhaps instead of a test each time you vote, we have to all take a U.S. citizenship-style test when we're 18 to see if we get to vote or not.

I think any of these would be a good idea, I do agree that there are many idiots out there, and stopping them from voting I think could only improve the quality of the candidates picked. Hell, the same candidates would likely pursue different policies if they know the voter pool is not as dumb as it once was.

[Jacobtm]

Ok we've had a few one-sentence responses, can anyone give an actual detailed answer here or will it be "No that is bad" "No it is a right" straight on down? Is the general level of discourse here a one-sentence statement of creed, or do people actually discuss things?

Why should voting be a right and not a privilege?

Why are poll taxes bad?

I think if we accept that there are in fact some people who are dumb, some who are smart, and the majority somewhere in the middle, well restricting the dumb ones from voting would help.

[Jacobtm]

I don't support Trump at all tbh, but I do agree on a basic citizenship test who's the President, where's the capital of the U.S. name one of your senators type of a test every election.

The Can You Vote Test:

1: What is the name of this country?

A. The United States of America
B. The United States of Mexico
C. The Dominican Republic
D. Great Britain

2: Who is the current President?

A. Bill Clinton
B. George Bush
C. Barack Obama
D. Ronald Reagan

3: What is the capital of this country?

A. New York City
B. Miami
C. Los Angeles
D. Washington D.C.

Let's say you need 100% to pass. Basic enough that everyone you would want voting would pass, but I  would guess that a solid 5-10% of people would not qualify.

Just so people don't get mad, we could make them all take the test, tell each of them that they actually got 100% and were cleared to vote, then let them all go through the motions of voting. Then in reality only count the ones who got 100%.

[Jacobtm]

Ok we've had a few one-sentence responses, can anyone give an actual detailed answer here or will it be "No that is bad" "No it is a right" straight on down? Is the general level of discourse here a one-sentence statement of creed, or do people actually discuss things?

Why should voting be a right and not a privilege?

Why are poll taxes bad?

I think if we accept that there are in fact some people who are dumb, some who are smart, and the majority somewhere in the middle, well restricting the dumb ones from voting would help.

Why dont you ask your 7th grade social studies teacher why poll taxes are bad...or were you not paying attention?

Ok so a one-sentence reply and snark. Is your level of thinking really just remembering what you were told in 7th grade and stopping there?

I remember being taught that literacy tests were used to keep freemen, who had not been taught to read and write, from voting.

We no longer have that situation, as African Americans go to school just like anyone else.

So it seems like the times have changed, and my 7th grade teacher didn't have much to say on why they were bad now. Are you going to go ask your mom for your 7th grade notebook so you can see if she provided you an explanation for why they would be bad today?

Or perhaps you have an idea to share.

[Jacobtm]

Voting should be mandatory.

In the meantime, voluntary voting should be as easy as possible, and your suggestion would discourage the apathetic from voting by making them jump through meaningless hoops before they gain the ability to vote.

I'm not trying to discourage the apathetic with meaningless hoops.

I'm trying to discourage the unintelligent with a meaningful test.

What do you think should be the penalty for failing to vote? Say I think "the whole system is rigged" and refuse to vote.

Fine, jail time, public shaming?

[Jacobtm]

Mandatory voting is a terrible idea and it's embarrassing to see so many liberals endorsing it because they wrongly think it would help their 'side' in elections.

This has always bothered me.  If you know the ignorant, apathetic and dumb are generally going to vote the same way you do...I don't know, seems like it would make me question why I'm voting that way.

The alliance of Upper class liberals and the Lower class against the Middle is one of the defining characteristics in American Politics. Liberals offer free stuff for the lower classes, and the lower classes offer votes for liberals. This has been commented on by Steve Sailer as the "High/Low vs. Middle":
http://www.unz.com/isteve/highlow-v-middle-part-cxxvi/

And here as the ancient Chinese strategy of Yi Yi Zhi Yi - Using the barbarians against the barbarians.

Liberals want to do everything they can to defeat what is left of the white conservative Republican electorate, flooding the country with immigrants is one way to do that, offering all sorts of free cash to our current underclass is another way. Here's some reading on it:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://unqualified-reservations.blogspot.com/2008/02/theory-of-ruling-underclass.html

[Jacobtm]

Mandatory voting is a wonderful idea for leftists to secure power. Most of the people who don't vote would vote for leftists if they went to the polls. The oft-predicted Latino Voter surge is less powerful than we're constantly told just because relatively few Latino voters bother to show up.

[Jacobtm]

It has been suggested before to make the test similar to our Citizenship Test, which has questions and answers publicly available online. They are very simple questions:

"What is the supreme law of the land?"


"Who lived in America before Europeans arrived?"


"Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?"


"Name one state that borders Canada."

"When do we celebrate Independence Day?"
http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Office%20of%20Citizenship/Citizenship%20Resource%20Center%20Site/Publications/100q.pdf

[Jacobtm]

I would support this, but it would never happen. Why do so many feel
That uninformed voters are a benefit to society? If you don't understand basic civics
Should you really play a part in choosing the most powerful person on Earth?

Yes they should because that's how democracy works.

"That's how democracy works" isn't really a good justification.

Why do you think that it is preferable to have people who aren't that smart voting?

Voting is just picking who will be leading our country. Basically hiring our government's managers.

Does Apple allow idiots to pick their managers, or do they only allow a very select group of people to pick their managers?

Do you think Apple would be better off if they allowed every person who was alive at age 18 to select their managers?

I don't see how anyone could imagine that allowing more idiots select the people who run our government could do anything but allow for worse people to be in those positions.