Do you think there should be voting restrictions?

[flashjordnk]

You may be right and this would likely be more important if the country did the smart thing and went by popular vote as opposed to awful electoral college.

An idea we can all get behind!! But then again, half the issues stem much more from Congress than the Presidency (generally speaking). So like you point out, we need way more changes that just won't happen.

[flashjordnk]

If I took a basic test and failed, I should have my vote taken away.

Haha, fun side question, should there be a basic test to post on the Oriole Hangout?

[Sports Guy]

Haha, fun side question, should there be a basic test to post on the Oriole Hangout?

Absolutely.

[SilentJames]

If I took a basic test and failed, I should have my vote taken away.

Define basic test. Because we did that already, it was called jim crow. The thought of it is appalling in a democracy.

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[SilentJames]

An idea we can all get behind!! But then again, half the issues stem much more from Congress than the Presidency (generally speaking). So like you point out, we need way more changes that just won't happen.

If we do that then the southeast and midwest lose all political power they have. Democrats pretty much rule forever.

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[flashjordnk]

Absolutely.

Hahaha. So everyone gets one question. What's your question .

[flashjordnk]

If we do that then the southeast and midwest lose all political power they have. Democrats pretty much rule forever.

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Dems rule the Presidency forever you mean. And really all an elimination of the electoral college would do is move both parties towards being more to the center. You'd get less crazy far wing antics on both sides. Dems pretty much rule forever, seems like a generally silly thing to say.

And isn't that a problem, if one party would be supported by a majority of Americans (note I disagree with this premise) I'd say it's pretty fair to say that the electoral system your using is flawed. I'd rather in a fair electoral vote see everyone represented rather than a system that creates a variety of results for the sake of variety.

[Sports Guy]

Define basic test. Because we did that already, it was called jim crow. The thought of it is appalling in a democracy.

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Could be a lot of things...Basic historical things...Current obvious facts(like when I said who is the VP), etc...

Combo of those things would work for me.

Sorry but if you can't tell me who the current VP is, you don't deserve the right to vote. You don't deserve to be able to help decide the future of the country.

Some may disagree and that's fine...Doesn't really bother me.

But I see and deal with things on a state and fed level that a lot of people don't in their jobs and talking to many different people and things of that nature really opens ones eyes.

[Sports Guy]

If we do that then the southeast and midwest lose all political power they have. Democrats pretty much rule forever.

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I am a republican who lives in Maryland.

My vote is totally meaningless.

That's a problem.

For all of this talk in this thread about how voting is a right and not a priviledge, it should also be a right that my vote has meaning...and it doesn't.

Besides, if we have people take a test, the majority of the population won't be democratic anymore.

[square634]

I am a republican who lives in Maryland.

My vote is totally meaningless.

That's a problem.

For all of this talk in this thread about how voting is a right and not a priviledge, it should also be a right that my vote has meaning...and it doesn't.

Besides, if we have people take a test, the majority of the population will won't be democratic anymore.

I do agree with you that it is silly. When I was in college in Philadelphia in 2008, I purposefully made sure to vote in Pennsylvania where my vote was more likely to count than in Maryland.

As to your last statement, I think your test idea would have the opposite result of what you're looking for. For example, do you notice a pattern with the 15 states in this list which have the fewest proportion of residents with a bachelor's degree? (I know that advanced education doesn't necessarily guarantee that you know enough to pass a test about politics, but you would have to think it is correlated).

[Emory Eagle]

Is there any research or evidence to suggest that an election of "informed" voters leads to better governance? This study (from a quick Google search) seems to suggest as much: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/rpande...%20Choices.pdf

I'm skeptical, however, that this can be translated into objective support for voting requirements centered on the exclusion of uninformed voters.

I think one's view of what a desirable election process would look like is inexorably linked to one's understanding of what constitutes desirable governance. So, a discussion about what type of election process would be best without a discussion of the normative values about governance upon which that view is based (a discussion which would probably get too political), is probably going nowhere.

[SilentJames]

I am a republican who lives in Maryland.

My vote is totally meaningless.

That's a problem.

For all of this talk in this thread about how voting is a right and not a priviledge, it should also be a right that my vote has meaning...and it doesn't.

Besides, if we have people take a test, the majority of the population will won't be democratic anymore.

Ah well done. Yes democrats are stupid. Good for you.

You deal with the government. Trust me not as much as I do. You seem to have this belief that people who are ignorant are the ones voting people in but the reality is this: the people you describe aren't the ones voting anyway. This is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

Also, your little test. I can fill a test with all sorts of basic information and make it so only the people I want to pass are the ones that do. I mean you're a republican, and you want the federal government dictating who can or can't vote? Nevermind the fact that the federal government has no control over voting laws and they are all run by the states. And your plan would be a clear violation of the voting rights act and most likely the 26th amendment.

But hey what's constitution have to do with anything so long as the people I deem unworthy of the vote no longer have it.

Simply disgusting
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[Austin]

I am a republican who lives in Maryland.

My vote is totally meaningless.

That's a problem.

For all of this talk in this thread about how voting is a right and not a priviledge, it should also be a right that my vote has meaning...and it doesn't.

Besides, if we have people take a test, the majority of the population will won't be democratic anymore.

This seems like an unnecessary potshot, especially considering the political leanings of the least educated states. This thread has been pretty good about keeping the politics to a minimum, it's possible to discuss the system without bias. I wouldn't mind doing away with the electoral college and go with the popular vote. I agree that voting in a state that leans heavily one way or the other does sort of leave you feeling like your vote is meaningless.

[clapdiddy]

In before the lockdown....

[Sports Guy]

This seems like an unnecessary potshot, especially considering the political leanings of the least educated states. This thread has been pretty good about keeping the politics to a minimum, it's possible to discuss the system without bias. I wouldn't mind doing away with the electoral college and go with the popular vote. I agree that voting in a state that leans heavily one way or the other does sort of leave you feeling like your vote is meaningless.

Notice the smiley face? It was called a joke. No need to be so sensitive. I expect that from SJ..that's part of thing around here.

The conversation is still fine...people just don't need to get their panties in a bunch over an obvious sarcastic joke.