Sorry, Germinal. You're off the mark on this one. You would be creating a society in which citizenship can be given an asterisk, but that asterisk is only for those qualify for the "voting class." Who would administer such an aptitude test? Who sets the standards for passing? If you fail at age 18, can you retake it or are you banned from voting for a number of years?
I will agree with your sentiment that uninformed citizens should not be voting. People cast votes, willfully ignorant of facts, far too often. How many thousands of people have admittedly voted for Al Sharpton simply because they like his name?
Instead of an aptitude test, we should abandon these "get out the vote" campaigns and we should stop aggressively encouraging unregistered Americans to register to vote. Social media companies should stop actively pointing you to links to register to vote. Instead, we should start a "Don't Know? Don't Vote!" campaign, urging people who are disinterested in politics to stay home. If someone could not care less when it comes to educating themselves on basic economic principles and understanding how political policy affects the lives of everyone around them, those people should be asked to leave voting to others. There is no judgment on them. I can respect someone's disenfranchisement with the political world, but I also would prefer they do not contribute to decisions that will have a negative impact.
Paul, your disagreement is certainly warranted. I think the source of our disagreement lies more into the approach to revamp the essence of voting. Your approach isn't wrong. In fact, it is simpler than mine. Those who do not want to vote then do not have to. But for those who do want to vote though, I think they should be able to demonstrate some aptitude showing their understanding of what is at stake. I certainly did not expand on the intricacies of the aptitude test (who sets the standards for passing...etc), but the point remains that such a test, in my opinion, will reinforce the meritocratic process for voting rather than allowing everyone to vote just because they can. Responsibility in voting matters, and the way to show it is to demonstrate clear understanding of what is at stake through the aptitude test.
Sorry, Germinal. You're off the mark on this one. You would be creating a society in which citizenship can be given an asterisk, but that asterisk is only for those qualify for the "voting class." Who would administer such an aptitude test? Who sets the standards for passing? If you fail at age 18, can you retake it or are you banned from voting for a number of years?
I will agree with your sentiment that uninformed citizens should not be voting. People cast votes, willfully ignorant of facts, far too often. How many thousands of people have admittedly voted for Al Sharpton simply because they like his name?
Instead of an aptitude test, we should abandon these "get out the vote" campaigns and we should stop aggressively encouraging unregistered Americans to register to vote. Social media companies should stop actively pointing you to links to register to vote. Instead, we should start a "Don't Know? Don't Vote!" campaign, urging people who are disinterested in politics to stay home. If someone could not care less when it comes to educating themselves on basic economic principles and understanding how political policy affects the lives of everyone around them, those people should be asked to leave voting to others. There is no judgment on them. I can respect someone's disenfranchisement with the political world, but I also would prefer they do not contribute to decisions that will have a negative impact.
Paul, your disagreement is certainly warranted. I think the source of our disagreement lies more into the approach to revamp the essence of voting. Your approach isn't wrong. In fact, it is simpler than mine. Those who do not want to vote then do not have to. But for those who do want to vote though, I think they should be able to demonstrate some aptitude showing their understanding of what is at stake. I certainly did not expand on the intricacies of the aptitude test (who sets the standards for passing...etc), but the point remains that such a test, in my opinion, will reinforce the meritocratic process for voting rather than allowing everyone to vote just because they can. Responsibility in voting matters, and the way to show it is to demonstrate clear understanding of what is at stake through the aptitude test.