should kids get to vote?

aol news ^ | Sept. 17 2003 | Geraldine Sealey

[spodefly]

The Cult of the Anus ...

You sound like one of those "haters" ... and a funny one at that.

[Woahhs]

So what you're saying--and correct me if I'm wrong--that you want to give the government the power to subjectively test its citizens for "intelligence," and then let the government grade these tests and then the government will announce who has the "right" to vote. This is your great idea?

Give the kid a frickin' break. He's understands the problem, and that's better than I've seen in many. Restricting the franchise has always been a legitimate point of discussion for independent individuals.

The founders originally wanted freeholder elections. In the modern era, Robert Heinlein conceived of voluntary military service as the qualifier, ala "starship troopers."

How do you come up with a workable method to get incompetents to give up their franchise?

[dljordan]

Thank you! I would add veterans however.

[Viva Le Dissention]

How do you come up with a workable method to get incompetents to give up their franchise?

You don't, and that's the point. I can't believe there are conservatives who actually want to government to regulate who can and can't vote! This amazes me. Frankly, I think anyone that can't see what a extraordinarily bad idea it is for government to regulate the voting rights of the citizens borders on incompetent. But yet I think ya'll should be able to vote.

[spodefly]

I can't believe there are conservatives who actually want to government to regulate who can and can't vote!

I think that if you cannot successfully punch a hole in a sheet of paper, you should not be allowed to vote.

[biblewonk]

should kids get to vote?

Only a kid would ax this question.

[boris]

I think anyone should be allowed to vote (any citizen, that is). Except I would require a very easy "literacy test". Questions such as: What year is it? Who is the President? Which nations border the U.S.? How many states are there in the Union?...etc.

When I was 8 years old I could answer much harder ones; I'd bet a lot of "voters" could not...

--Boris

[newgeezer]

Only a kid would ax this question.

Or, a Dumbocrat, trolling for votes. I think maybe that's how we got the 19th.

[Trailerpark Badass]

But in exchange for allowing them to cast a ballot, I get a rock-solid assurance that I can do the same. That's a fair trade.

But by allowing them to vote, you have essentially made your vote worthless.

[Arthalion]

So, in Germany under this proposal, parents would be given more than one vote up to the number of children they have...?

*chuckle*

If they tried this here, the U.S. would be a nation run by Mormons, Catholics, and welfare queens!

[biblewonk]

Great analogy!!!

[Viva Le Dissention]

Lots of votes are "cancelled." Your vote is essentially cancelled by someone else, but yet you still bother to show up and cast a ballot. At least I assume you do.

For instance: you give a speech at a political rally advocating an expansion of individual liberty (well, ok, given much of ya'll's stance on voting rights, that's not a good example--you give a speech, say, on how the government ought to be able to decide which citizens will have the right to own land) and then I get up right after you and I give a speech on how land ownership is a fundamental right in a free society and how the government shouldn't interfere.

Was your speech "worthless?" No--the message is still there, in the same way that your message is still there when someone else casts a ballot that is opposite of yours.

But besides, I vote pretty close to straight Libertarian, so I'm off getting Democrats elected or something...

[PetroniDE]

Bump for later... Need to research further

[Publius6961]

should kids get to vote?

I say this in all seriousness: I doubt one could note the difference.
Functionally, a significant percentage of voters are kids.

That is not to say I would not love to see some minimal voter qualification.

Voting was never intended to ask "who wants money from the government"?

[Trailerpark Badass]

No, I can't imagine that there might be any abuses to this process at all. I mean, granted, there are some people in this world--of course not you--that can't logically follow the consequences of an idea to its rational conclusion and really have no business making any decisions at all in their daily lives, except maybe which clothes to wear in the morning.

How about this, which I mentioned in an earlier post: get rid of all pre-printed ballots. Give voters a pencil and slip of paper. If they can write the name of their preferred candidate, their votes count.

[Trailerpark Badass]

Was your speech "worthless?" No--the message is still there, in the same way that your message is still there when someone else casts a ballot that is opposite of yours.

Makes sense.

[Viva Le Dissention]

I don't have an philosophical objection to this, but the practical consequences would perhaps make this nearly impossible to implement. The amount of labor and manpower it would take to read and count the ballots, the greater potential for abuse, the greater potential for error.

Given the practical ramifications, I think I would object--but only on a practical level.

[Leatherneck_MT]

Frankly I'd rather see a situation where only people who pay taxes are allowed to vote, and that after the age of 30. Before that time they have no real idea of how the real world is.

In addition, anyone who is living off the public teat should be automatically disallowed from voting. If they are wards of the state then they don't get a vote period. My kids don't get a vote in my house, they are my wards. Same should apply to government.

[Viva Le Dissention]

upon further reflection, I think that might be a workable scheme if there were much smaller voting districts.

This would take much more manpower, obviously, but I think it could be done.

Again, I don't have a problem with the theory, but I'm skeptical that it could be implemented.

[newgeezer]

The little girl doesn't know how lucky she is to have the vote at all, let alone at 16.