Political Awareness Test for the vote?

[kirovman]

Well, I noticed this debate coming up in other topics, so I thought I'd start a thread on it.

The idea was, people have to take a short test, to prove that they understood all of the party's policies before they are elligible to vote. This would disallow people with limited or no political awareness from voting.

What do you think? Should we keep our current Universal Sufferage? Or limit it?


Oh, and BTW, before you post in this thread, you have to pass a small exam

 

[Ludah]

I'd be for it.

 

[bliink]

No.
Just make voting compulsory, and teach modern world history as a compulsory highschool unit.

EDIT: Its when you try and academise politics that it stops becoming the "will of the people" and the domain of a certain group (that relies upon a certain prerequiste.) Everyone in a democratic nation should be involved in politics.

 

[ComradeBadger]

No.
Just make voting compulsory, and teach modern world history as a compulsory highschool unit.

EDIT: Its when you try and academise politics that it stops becoming the "will of the people" and the domain of a certain group (that relies upon a certain prerequiste.) Everyone in a democratic nation should be involved in politics.

Agreed.

 

[Sulkdodds]

Yep. I agree with Bliink. If you're going to take the attitude that some people are 'too stupid' to vote then make everyone understand rather than only listening to the people who do understand. Education, not restriction. In general, we don't seem to know nearly enough about our history, or anyone elses.

 

[sinkoman]

As much as I hate seeing people vote "just because he's hot" or "just because he's cool" or "just because he's got a rare gun", I think not letting people vote on these standards would just throw the whole democratic system off ballance.

In a democracy, as soon as you start alienating parties and groups, you're in for a world of hurt.

*bush's gonna **** us all over D:*

 

[_Z_Ryuken]

No matter what the guy that wins is a lying sack of shit anyhow.

loljk.

Not really.

 

[gick]

No.
Just make voting compulsory, and teach modern world history as a compulsory highschool unit.

EDIT: Its when you try and academise politics that it stops becoming the "will of the people" and the domain of a certain group (that relies upon a certain prerequiste.) Everyone in a democratic nation should be involved in politics.

Correct

 

[99.vikram]

No.

 

[Sulkdodds]

I just voted no, but I just realised that if there was a 'modern history/political awareness' compulsorary class in school then actually they'd have a test on it before they reached voting age, so they would be taking a test before they could vote! D:

 

[_Z_Ryuken]

I just voted no, but I just realised that if there was a 'modern history/political awareness' compulsorary class in school then actually they'd have a test on it before they reached voting age, so they would be taking a test before they could vote! D:

If it were an exit exam for high school it would be about the same time. (;

 

[15357]

No.
Just make voting compulsory, and teach modern world history as a compulsory highschool unit.

EDIT: Its when you try and academise politics that it stops becoming the "will of the people" and the domain of a certain group (that relies upon a certain prerequiste.) Everyone in a democratic nation should be involved in politics.

Modern history can be awesomly biased according to the current administration.

 

[bliink]

I just voted no, but I just realised that if there was a 'modern history/political awareness' compulsorary class in school then actually they'd have a test on it before they reached voting age, so they would be taking a test before they could vote! D:

if you fail highschool, that doesnt disqualify you from voting...

The whole idea with compulsory subjects is to force exposure to something that people may otherwise be ignorant to

Modern history can be awesomly biased according to the current administration.

It is better than nothing. It is better than having a culture of people who don't know that another country exists outside their own.

 

[Sulkdodds]

if you fail highschool, that doesnt disqualify you from voting...

The whole idea with compulsory subjects is to force exposure to something that people may otherwise be ignorant to

Yeah, I know, I was taking the piss. Playing on the way the poll was phrased: "a test before they can vote".

Certainly I met people at AS level (which is like, 16-17) who didn't know what the Cold War was. :|

 

[bliink]

Yeah, I know, I was taking the piss. Playing on the way the poll was phrased: "a test before they can vote".

Certainly I met people at AS level (which is like, 16-17) who didn't know what the Cold War was. :|

Ah

I've met someone who didn't know who won WWII

 

[kirovman]

I've met someone who didn't know about the Genocides caused by the British Empire throughout the world.

 

[SAJ]

I've met someone who didn't know about the Genocides caused by the British Empire throughout the world.

Its easier to run into them than you might think, genocide massacre and occupation are not words that the English are encouraged to associate with the glory of empire.

To the question; no, no to any barriers to participation in the political process.
As has been said earlier, make voting -including the "none of the above" ballot option- compulsory. Make it a civil offense (rather than criminal) and people will be more likely to think about whom they are voting for.
Who knows, someday we may even achieve democracy.

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

No.

 

[Raeven0]

I find that a lot of people educated in school forget everything 24 hours after they're out.

If a person is too lazy and stupid to gather basic information on whatever he's voting for, why should he even be voting?

The rest of my arguments are in the last few posts of the thick-headed America thread.

 

[CptStern]

no, even educated people have no clue as to why they should be voting for a particular candiadate ..especially in the US where some people tend to vote based on party affiliation rather than platforms

 

[Gray Fox]

I'm for it, it only tests if you understand the policies and what the politicians stand for, it would exclude all the people who vote on people just because of their pretty face or some other shit.
You don't need to know the worlds history to pass it, although that would definatly help to see the policies in the proper light.
All you need to know is what they actually want to do, which an amazing amount of people who vote don't even know, so forcing people to have some basic knowledge is not so bad.

 

[Mr Stabby]

No, any education system would result in a bias toward a certain veiwpoint.

All parties should be given an equal fixed campaign budget, or in proportion to the number of candidates they have.

 

[The Monkey]

That's bullshit.

Democracy includes everyone, not just the educated.

 

[Raeven0]

Democracy includes everyone, not just the educated.

Fortunately, such tests do not exclude the uneducated from democracy at all.

 

[The Monkey]

Fortunately, such tests do not exclude the uneducated from democracy at all.

No, but it's just another procedure that you have to go though before you can vote, and that complicates it a lot. You should make voting as easy as possible. A step on the way would be to scrap registration and just let everyone who's above a certain age vote.

 

[Gray Fox]

Like raeven0 said, it just test weather or not you know the positions of the parties on issues, it does not test your historical knowledge.

No, but it's just another procedure that you have to go though before you can vote, and that complicates it a lot. You should make voting as easy as possible. A step on the way would be to scrap registration and just let everyone who's above a certain age vote.

Whats wrong with this kind of procedure, why should people who know jack shit and do not even bother to learn the viewpoints of theur parties be allowed to vote?

 

[Raeven0]

but it's just another procedure that you have to go though before you can vote

Which does not justify your original argument that such tests somehow exclude the uneducated from voting.

 

[The Monkey]

Which does not justify your original argument that such tests somehow exclude the uneducated from voting.

No, I misunderstood things.

Whats wrong with this kind of procedure, why should people who know jack shit and do not even bother to learn the viewpoints of theur parties be allowed to vote?

That's the beauty of democracy, it includes everybody. The government can't just set rules on who's allowed to vote based on people's interests.

 

[Raeven0]

That's the beauty of democracy, it includes everybody.

The beauty of democracy is that people have the power to make their own decisions, not that people who don't even care get to screw up elections for the people who do.

Letting people vote when they don't know the issues makes about as much sense as letting a jury produce a verdict without performing a trial.

 

[Gray Fox]

That's the beauty of democracy, it includes everybody. The government can't just set rules on who's allowed to vote based on people's interests.

This has nothing to with that, it doesn't exclude people of certain interests, it only test weather you know the standpoints of the parties that you are able to vote for, that is it.

 

[theotherguy]

This was a quote of something that happened in one of my history classes,

Teacher: "well, that pretty much sums up the oil crisis of the 70's"

Bimbo: "I don't get it. Why are there always these problems with oil? can't the just grow more?"

Teacher: "..."

And another quote from the same class, same girl

Bimbo: "What the heck is the 'united kingdom'? Is it in France?"

Teacher: "No, no its not. The united kingdom is in the british isles."

Bimbo: "you mean the carribean?"

Teacher: "..."

My point is, people need to be more educated, but giving a test before voting certainly would not help with that.

 

[Raeven0]

How about both?

 

[Mr Stabby]

Any testing would deter voters, making the system less democratic

Bimbo: "What the heck is the 'united kingdom'? Is it in France?"

Teacher: "No, no its not. The united kingdom is in the british isles."

The republic of Ireland is part of the British Isles

 

[gick]

This was a quote of something that happened in one of my history classes,

Teacher: "well, that pretty much sums up the oil crisis of the 70's"

Bimbo: "I don't get it. Why are there always these problems with oil? can't the just grow more?"

Teacher: "..."

And another quote from the same class, same girl

Bimbo: "What the heck is the 'united kingdom'? Is it in France?"

Teacher: "No, no its not. The united kingdom is in the british isles."

Bimbo: "you mean the carribean?"

Teacher: "..."

My point is, people need to be more educated, but giving a test before voting certainly would not help with that.

Ive been there:

Stupid Girl: "But wasnt Hitler that German guy who killed off all the Nazis?"

Me: "...."


Same Girl: "So, is it against Asian person's religion to wear deodorant and is that why they all smell so bad?"

Stuipid Girl: "When do we hold the next election for King and Queen?"

Me: "People as stupid as you shouldnt be allowed to vote. In fact, come the revolution, you and your kind will be the first ones up against the wall in front of the firing squad"

Aaah, my days as a Marxist Revolutionary.....

 

[ríomhaire]

The republic of Ireland is part of the British Isles

What's your point?

 

[Raeven0]

Ive been there:

How about some more?

I had an entire World History class once that could not identify Portugal on a map of the world. The TEACHER of that class could not tell us what Descartes' "I think, therefore I am" meant.

I was at a camp recently, supposedly full of very intelligent people; but one that I was forced into social interaction with had NO IDEA what a United States Senator was, let alone the function of the Senate.

Me: What rights are guaranteed by the First Amendment?
Everyone else: *drool*

When I was in intermediate school, there was a girl in my class who DID NOT KNOW that we have never had a black president. There was another girl who thought the Spanish language originated in Mexico.

 

[theotherguy]

The republic of Ireland is part of the British Isles

Yes, and so is the united kingdom....your point?

 

[DeusExMachina]

How about some more?

I had an entire World History class once that could not identify Portugal on a map of the world. The TEACHER of that class could not tell us what Descartes' "I think, therefore I am" meant.

I was at a camp recently, supposedly full of very intelligent people; but one that I was forced into social interaction with had NO IDEA what a United States Senator was, let alone the function of the Senate.

Me: What rights are guaranteed by the First Amendment?
Everyone else: *drool*

When I was in intermediate school, there was a girl in my class who DID NOT KNOW that we have never had a black president. There was another girl who thought the Spanish language originated in Mexico.

The horrors of living in Arkansas?

 

[gick]

How about some more?

I had an entire World History class once that could not identify Portugal on a map of the world. The TEACHER of that class could not tell us what Descartes' "I think, therefore I am" meant.

I was at a camp recently, supposedly full of very intelligent people; but one that I was forced into social interaction with had NO IDEA what a United States Senator was, let alone the function of the Senate.

Me: What rights are guaranteed by the First Amendment?
Everyone else: *drool*

When I was in intermediate school, there was a girl in my class who DID NOT KNOW that we have never had a black president. There was another girl who thought the Spanish language originated in Mexico.

That just makes me want to cry.

On the plus side though, I cant imagine people that stupid are going to vote. The ones you really want to worry about are stupid people who think they have political awareness, and vote based on that. *cough BNP cough*

 

[Sulkdodds]

I think this thread should turn into a bitch thread about stupid people in classes. That would be cool.