Each voting ballot needs a knowledge/intelligence test section, results of which will determine the percentage of vote given to the regular part of the ballot.
We all have equal rights, but the more ignorant of us should not be spoiling it for everyone.
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Each voting ballot needs a knowledge/intelligence test section, results of which will determine the percentage of vote given to the regular part of the ballot.
While I appreciate the sentiment after this election, as a life time voter in a southern state I think that kind of thing might be a teensy bit problematic…
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You realize such things are how, historically, people found ways to exclude Black folks from the vote? If you choose questions carefully, you can make sure whole groups can never “pass” your “test.”
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The questions should be related to intelligence, basic reasoning, and knowledge of civics. Why are you bringing racial politics into this?
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Better to make sure people are well educated. Of course that takes time and money, and is strongly opposed by the conservatives.
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Because historically ballot tests have been used used over and over (and over) as a means of racial discrimination at the polls?
Any such test is dependent on the type of intelligence, the type of reasoning, and the type of civics knowledge that the test creator deems worthy (within their own inescapably biased perspective). You’re basically handing those who design the test the power to essentially design our government according to their idea of how people should think. No thanks.
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Because “racial politics” is the reality on how these tests have been historically used. Why do you want to pretend that this exists in a vacumn without any being used to suppress votes?
There are obvious questions such as:
- Who writes the test?
- What are their agendas?
- What are their cultural assumptions?
- Who approves the tests?
- How are they modified if there are issues?
- How are they used in practice?
We’ve had voter tests. The questions were constructed in such a way that an educated white voter would easily pass and a black voter, with different cultural and educational backgrounds, would not. They were explicitly used to disenfranchise black voters while pretending that they were “just a simple test.”
They were, strangely, eventually deemed to be unconstitutional because of how they were used.
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I didn’t realize there was prior art… Lots to learn today. Can you provide some reference to that, please?
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I’m sorry sir. You failed the civics portion of the test. You cannot vote today.
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That’s fine, I didn’t even know there was an election today.
Also, thanks for providing that reference.
I suggest Google.
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Fine. You have ten minutes and one wrong answer means you can’t vote.
Or are you not advocating the return of Jim Crow laws?
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Talking authoritatively on the internet is also an option…
I see. You are suggesting that there still is an appreciable difference in literacy levels among races in the U.S., as existed a hundred years ago… I find that hard to believe. But if that disparity exists, there are bigger problems to fix before addressing the voting.
I might be ignorant, but I am not evil. So, no, I’m not advocating that.
They are INFORMING you that disenfranchising people is not a game.
Letting everybody vote is the worst option, except for all the other options.
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But you are. The minute you suggest that only people that pass a test are allowed to vote or that a portion of their vote is not counted based on the test results you are advocating for Jim Crow laws, as that is exactly how they will be used.
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Because there is a history of using canards like “literacy tests” to exclude black voters. The history of voting in America brought racial politics into it. And various laws aimed at “voter fraud” as well as voter ID laws are the new literacy tests.
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No. There never wars, actually. Well educated African Americans in the south often failed “literacy” tests, while illiterate whites would pass (or get grandfathered in under various laws to allow them to vote).
Voting is and should be a human right. Even well educated people can be misinformed, led astray, and vote against their interests or the interests of their fellow human beings.
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The way this thread has been derailed and nobody is talking about monopoly anymore… how appropriate!
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You might want to take a look at the Louisiana literacy referenced a few posts above, and the last comment, where someone analyzed the questions. His conclusion was that the vast majority of them were ambiguous enough to have two or more answers. Despite there being no racial differences in intelligence, the people working the tests could pass someone who was white, but fail someone who was black, regardless of how they answered.
I’d have a hard time just interpreting the questions on that test, much less answer them. Despite many flaws, a lack of logical reasoning power ain’t one of 'em. But I bet I’d pass because I’m fluorescent white.
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