California state legislature passes automatic voter registration

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People aren't going to KNOW anything more than they did before about these off cycle elections.  So they will either skip those, or just guess.  How is that better?  Is voting randomly really better than not voting at all?  Seems worse to me, but I'd be willing to hear how it's better.


(are these positions partisan?  I suppose that could explain the excitement over this.  Gross, but understandable.)

What? this just seems to make most people eligible to vote, wether you vote or not it's still your choice.

He's talking about the latter thread, of synchronising low turnout local elections to state elections

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Can single-payer be enacted through a Proposition? I thought it's too complex not to reauire a full legislative process.

Been on the ballot before actually:

http://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_186,_Single_Payer_Healthcare_System_(1994)

I wouldn't be surprised if it comes up again though, unions seem to be pushing for it as the next big thing; and the legislature tried to come up with it amidst the Arnie years. (It didn't pass)

Incidentally there's some hilariously oddball initiatives being pushed for this year. Some group calling itself "sovereign California" for example, wants to rename the state's Governor as "President of California". I hope that passes! In addition California like every other state has like a million redundant proposed propositions on weed.

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http://ballotpedia.org/Potential_2016_ballot_measures

Have fun scouting for crazy proposed propositions, if you want.

In answe to your question, somebody has apparently submitted three initiatives surrounding healthcare and is collecting signatures, but I can't see any information on the three so they obviously won't actually be on the ballot.

Unfortunately most propositions that actually reach the ballot in practice in most states are one of these options:

A) weird symbolic crap "recognise the state will NEVER bow to the Canadians"

B) feel-good stuff like "Veterans with only one arm should have ten percent off their Netflix sub!" or otherwise populist guff.

C) u controversial attempts to fix the spelling and grammar of the constitution, that is only on the ballot as a formality.

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Is increased vote turnout nmeven a good thing? Generally people who dont vote would be less likely to even be aware of the issues, so why is it good if they do vote?

Well that's not really the point of a democratic election. Most voters, whatever the turnout are not "wonks" (thank god). They won't be able to give a concise description of the latest tax reform proposals or whatever. But the point of representative democracy is to convert the gut feelings, the raw emotion of a populace into tangible action by the people they chose to elect. Sure most people who don't vote (as well as most people who vote) are not Economics majors or even know much about politics; but they do understand their own lives. They know if taxes are too grinding; and they know if their neighbourhood is poorly organised; and they know if their boss treats them like crap. That is why we should raise turnout - because at the end of the da, no matter how little Vox articles a person has read, they deserve agency.

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Boo!

Democrats are promoting voter fraud!
- No Republican Here

"[Republican Governor] issues voter ID laws!"

Boo!

Republicans are suppressing the vote!
- Democrats Here

Why would the 18-20 crowd not care about the issues and more about the nobility of the politician, thus voting for the moderate Republicans?

The above is also known as Democratic Questiond.

I'm sorry, I don't keep up with the latest beat poetry. It's pretty good though, I like a bit of free verse.