TOPIC: Election 2006

[move]IT'S TIME TO VOTE![/move]<br />I'm not going to suggest to people how to vote (but being gamers, I know you are all smart, so I expect you to vote as other smart people, like myself!), but be sure to get out and vote this Tuesday! :cool:<br /><br />Brian<br />

From my experience, there are smart people on both sides of the issue and in the end, it really just comes down to personal experience, philosophical differences, and perception.<br /><br />Time to vote.  :cool:

A friend made a suggestion that if you can't name at least 5 supreme court justices (or similar political current affairs question) then you should stay home, sit on your @$$, and eat cheetoes. Be informed or don't vote.

Not sure what Supreme Court Justices have to do with State issues but I agree that people need to do research and understand the issues the issues BEFORE voting on the issues.

I'd say it's more important to be able to name your representative and senators, and know their stance on at least a few issues, as well as their opponent(s).  Personally, I'm not voting this year because I didn't get my application for an absentee ballot in in time, but mine are Biggert, Durbin, and Obama. 

<br />I'd say it's more important to be able to name your representative and senators, and know their stance on at least a few issues, as well as their opponent(s). 

<br /><br />Agreed,  =)

Chances are if you can do one, you can do the other. I still think we should institute some sort of knowledge test as a prerequisite to voting. Damn 24th amendment. It ruins everything.

Flash cards at the polls?<br /><br />I keep hoping to see them at the license branch<br /><br />very true that voting un-informed is often far worse than not voting at all

I was gonna comment, but I don't want to be burned in effigy or for real at Indy next year.  Suffice it to say that I think there ought to be several restrictions on uninformed voting--but how do you tell or sell it to the two major parties?  I like a test idea--I would go even further, but I better shut up.  I'll say it.  Having a son in the Border Patrol and a daughter-in-law who legally gained her citizenship (she is from Mexico), I think every one who votes ought to have to pass the citizenship test before they are given the right to vote with refreshers every five years or so that include current events and/or questions on the current political scene.  Maybe they ought to know that Washington DC is the capital of our country and at least know what city is their state capital.  I'm so sick of the inadequacies of American education system.  We demand nothing of our children and promise them everything.<br /><br />Enough rant.  Gotta go vote (in Oregon we vote by mail, so I can do it any time--they say there is no fraud, but I don't believe it).  Then I gotta go kick Atilla the Hun out of the party--he is a little to far to the left.<br /><br />Hope everyone will get out and vote.  Too many things are too important at this stage of our history to leave it up to someone else to decide.<br /><br /><br />Widseth

Being a patriot, I feel that the right to vote is a guarantee, but the responsibility to keep oneself informed should be a requirement.<br /><br />Jefferson and washington both knew it 200+ years ago...it's sad that it's been forgotten by so many others.<br /><br />"The Price of Freedom is Eternal Vigilance" T.jefferson

<br />The problem with new tests though is a potential for abuse and who would get to design it and set the difficulty.  In subtle and not so subtle ways, one could easily design a test that would exclude percentages of certain minorities.<br /><br />And for arguments sake, last time I checked, its not against the law to vote based on feeling and not on any political knowledge.  Someone might like the way on candidate looks and not another one.  Now, of course voting based on this this makes my skin crawl and I think people should be informed but implementing a test or some voting standard is not without its own problems.<br /><br />A citizenship test for citizens is an interesting idea though.  We require it of immigrants before voting.  Asking citizens to pass it before voting seems appropriate.  Hrm...  interesting.<br /><br />

That sorta problem only exists if minorities are stupid. As a minority, I say, bring it on . It might be better to suggest that they might discriminate against the poor, who for one reason or another don't have access to or the time avaliable to soak up political information. I'm not sure I buy that argument either with all of the cable news channels going and the number of hours I've seen some idiots pour into american idol.