Should Voters Have To Pass A Test & Get A License To Vote?

[JimGinPA]

We saw in 2000, and especially 2004, that some people are just too damn stupid to be allowed to vote. I'm starting to see the same thing rom people arguing here.


:argh:

[ileus]

1. Bring in their W2 form, don't work don't get a vote.

[Blue-Jay]

4. So homemakers shouldn't be allowed to vote?

That's an odd position to take.

[Horse with no Name]

9. No shit.

That would eliminate housewives, unemployed, students, disabled...
A republican's wet dream.

[deadmessengers]

8. You've been listening to Boortz, haven't you

He's been spouting that one for years now.

[JVS]

14. So the businessman can lay off lots of workers to decrease labor's votes

Bad idea

[MADem]

24. Fuck the retirees? They don't have a W2.

And they know the issues better than most, too.

What a "moneygrubbing" attitude, frankly.

No students, no geezers, no at home 'raising kids' parents need apply to ileus's brave old world....

Let every idiot from the Wall Streeter to the grocery bagger vote, but no one else!

[Faygo Kid]

26. And you're on DU? Wrong place for you, obviously.

So the right to vote should depend on a person's wealth or employment status?

The unemployed can't vote? Retirees can't vote?

You not only need to find another forum, maybe you ought to look for another country.

[niyad]

36. you forgot the sarcasm icon, for you cannot possibly be serious.

[NMMNG]

51. Pardon me?

That is a joke, I hope. You're not seriously suggesting that voting is a privilege that hinges on somebody's "worthiness" as a so-called "productive member" of society as defined by whether or not they hold a paying job?

[bobbolink]

57. And you wonder why we get the label "Elite liberal"

:crazy:

[Sapphocrat]

60. Ya read my mind, girl. n/t

[Sapphocrat]

59. W-2 at the ready here.

Or are you going to restrict voting rights to those who earn over, say, $50,000 a year? $60,000? $90,000?

ileus, I seldom wish tragedy on anyone, but I hope that one day whatever high-and-mighty profession enables you to spit on the rest of us disappears tomorrow like the horse-drawn carriage.

[bobbolink]

67. .

:rofl:

I'm not happy that the ugliness I receive here at DU for stressing poverty has caused me to wish the same upon people, but I do.

You have stated that wish eloquently. :thumbsup:

I used to think it was very important that there be a strong middleclass in the US. I now see how selfish and hard-hearted it has made so many, and I don't cry for the much-ballyhooed "fall of the muddleclass".

Maybe if that happens, we can actually reclaim our souls.

:(

[ileus]

77. :sarcasm: sorry it's so late...just though my reply matched the thread.

:sarcasm:

[Drunken Irishman]

2. What kind of test? Like the test they used to deny blacks the right to vote once?

:eyes:

[JimGinPA]

15. No, Like A Simple Intelligence Test...

A lot of people vote without having any knowledge of the issues, except what Rush or some other idiot told them they were.

[Warren Stupidity]

32. Are you aware of the historical precedence?

These sorts of tests were used to exclude blacks from voting and were one of the primary motivations for the voting rights act of 1964 which re-enfranchised black voters in the south after their Jim Crow disenfranchisement following the end of reconstruction.

"The prohibition of voting rights discrimination on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of slavery was first codified by the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1870. Soon after the failure of Reconstruction, southern states found other means besides those enumerated in the Fifteenth Amendment to deny the vote to blacks, through violence, intimidation, via Jim Crow laws that included literacy tests, poll taxes, and also grandfather clauses that permitted otherwise disqualified voters whose grandfathers voted (thus allowing some white illiterates to vote), some with the aim and effect of re-imposing racially motivated restrictions on the voting process that prevented blacks from having political and economic power. Although the Fifteenth Amendment established particular voting rights, and gave Congress the authority to enforce those rights and regulate the voting process, the vote was still allowed to be withheld from most southern blacks and from non-white minorities throughout the U.S., from the post-Reconstruction era through the 1960s."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_Rights_Act

Calls for 'voter intelligence tests' are rightwing frames motivated by a fear that eventually working people in this country will figure out they are gettin screwed and vote the corporate kleptocracy out of office.

[backscatter712]

38. This is why voter intelligence tests are bad.

Back in the bad old days of Jim Crow, they were called "literacy tests", they were nearly impossible to pass, and they came with the original Grandfather Clause - if your grandfather could vote, you could vote - you were excepted from the literacy tests. If your grandfather was a slave, you had to take the test.

One of the NAACP's activism tactics was to hold classes & seminars and such to teach black voters how to beat the literacy tests.

[EffieBlack]

70. By whose standards? "How many bubbles in a bar of soap?"

That was actually one of the questions that was included in the myriad "literacy tests" that were employed to keep blacks from voting. Funny thing, local election officials always ruled that the white people taking the test - no matter how uneducated or ignorant - passed while the black people - including lawyers, collete professors, etc. - always seemed to fail.

Before you pose such a suggestion, you really should do some research about the topic - had you done so, you would know not only that this argument has been used in the past, but also that this process is an outright violation of the Voting Rights Act.

[John Q. Citizen]

3. No.

[glowing]

5. no.. no matter how bad it seems, no.. they debated this once before..

some only wanted land owners to vote.. other's said no, democracy is for all people.... It sucks that the education and the media both suck at this point... thanks to Republicans, but we have to keep hammering away at it...

[GodlessBiker]

6. No. Those who devise the tests are often more stupid then those who fail them.

[Horse with no Name]

7. I'd rather a President have to pass a test on the Constitution before he was allowed to run

Than to impose hardships on voters.

[lurky]

10. You mean like the "literacy tests" they used to have Down South?

Thanks, but no thanks...

[AX10]

11. No.

But it is interesting to see that you think alot like a tin-pot dictator.
:thumbsdown:

And of course this bullshit from a DU Obambot. :puke:

[JVS]

12. no

[theHandpuppet]

13. NO.

For too many reasons to count.

[jody]

16. Why not, that's required for a license to drive and voting is more important. n/t

[Faygo Kid]

25. The right to vote is also more protected.

It's called the Constitution, and the Voting Rights Act, and it's fundamental and not subject to such impingement. Period.

What the hell do you think people lost their lives fighting for in the South in the hundred years after the Civil War?

[jody]

27. Right to vote protected? Society prevents convicted felons from voting, why not those who are to

stupid?

[Faygo Kid]

28. OK, if you say so. But I hate to see you lose your vote.

Apparently you want to give it up, though.

Be my guest.

[jody]

33. I'm not worried about voting, are you? n/t

[Faygo Kid]

45. Not likely, since I taught Constitutional law.

But you may wish to rethink your position on this matter.

[jody]

52. Why should I rethink? Just because you taught a course in XYZ does not make you an expert in XYZ.

:rofl: for thinking teaching a course makes one an expert.

[JustinL]

76. so you support felon disenfranchisement?

As a result of those laws, nearly 7.5% of African-American voters nationwide were unable to vote on December 31, 2000. In Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Virginia, the black disenfranchisement rates ranged from 16.02 to 24.87 percent (pg. 798).

Source: Christopher Uggen & Jeff Manza, "Democratic Contraction? Political Consequences of Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States", American Sociological Review, vol. 67, pg. 777-803 (2002). link

[jody]

81. No I support restoring civil rights to felons, except in special cases, after she/he has

completed their sentence.

By the way, the right to keep and bear arms is a civil right and is restored if civil rights are restored without exception.

[mondo joe]

41. There is no constitutional right to drive. There is one to vote.

[JustinL]

78. unfortunately, the Supreme Court doesn't agree

In its 2000 ruling, Alexander v Mineta, the Court decided the 600,000 or so (mostly black) residents of Washington D.C. have no legal recourse for their complete lack of voting representation in Congress (they have one “representative” in the House who can speak, but cannot vote). The Court affirmed the district court's interpretation that our Constitution "does not protect the right of all citizens to vote, but rather the right of all qualified citizens to vote.” And it's state legislatures that wield the power to decide who is “qualified.”

As a result, voting is not a right, but a privilege granted or withheld at the discretion of local and state governments.

This is why Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. of Illinois introduced H.J.RES.28, "A Proposed Amendment to Establish a Constitutional Right to Vote in America," in 2005.

link

Just to be clear, I vehemently oppose the OP's proposal.

[WilyWondr]

17. OK

...and the test is Can you fill out the ballot?


If you are able to fill out the ballot then your vote counts.

[RC]

18. Sure, how about if you had to own over 2000 acres or own a business that was worth over

half a million to vote?:sarcasm:

[WillyT]

19. Well... If One Doesn't Get To Vote, Should One Be Required To Pay Taxes ???

Taxation without representation is tyranny.

At least that's what my BFF's told me!

My BFF's:



:shrug:

[MonkeyFunk]

20. No

don't be daft.

[bread_and_roses]

21. wow! what a democratic idea! not to mention who benefits! genius!

right - let's disenfranchise voters. please do some elementary research on the subject, and also note exactly who and which Party benefits from voter suppression. The scariest thing about this board is not the Primary wars, its the frequency with which the authoritarian impulse pops up on a "democratic" and "underground" forum.

[Faygo Kid]

22. No. Make that Hell No.

"Allowed to vote?"

You're not helping our cause with this post.

[Double T]

23. NO. WHO is going to be arrogant enough to DECIDE WHO is stupid and WHO is not?

Opposing positions are NOT stupid.

[JimGinPA]

29. I Had A Woman Tell Me In 2004 She Wouldn't Vote For Kerry...

Because he wanted to kill babies!

[Warren Stupidity]

37. Ok that was her business.

Who are you to decide which voting motivations are proper and which aren't? Why would you like to exclude more people from the voting process?

[Warren Stupidity]

30. No. And No. NT

[Vincardog]

31. Only after the candidates have to pass a psychological evaluation certifying them free of mental

The Idiot running the parties are a bigger threat than stupid voters.

[NoPasaran]

34. No, but it might not be a bad idea before being allowed to post on DU

:argh:

[sandnsea]

35. Clearly you need to take the test first

Because people who don't understand the problem with requiring tests to vote are too stupid to vote themselves.

[taterguy]

39. People that can't spell the word "from" shouldn't be allowed to vote

[mondo joe]

40. As long as you're willing to not be allowed to vote, depending on who's doing the testing.

[NashVegas]

42. As Tempting As It Is ...

To make people have to pass a geography test, it may backfire.

[lligrd]

43. I'd Go For A Morality Test

With my answers being the correct ones, of course.

[mondo joe]

44. An Obama fanatic opposed to the will of the people.

:eyes:

[boppers]

46. Being "stupid" isn't the problem.

Being mis-informed is. Constructing a test to measure that, however, is pretty difficult.

[joeybee12]

47. So, the level of intelligence will be decided by people like you?

I can only assume this was a partially sarcastic post, since there's no way in hell a democracy should consider this.

[Historic NY]

48. Republicans should have to pay a poll tax.........

since the present occupant of the WH has run the deficit to unreal heights.

[NMMNG]

49. You're asking for trouble

Who would be designing the test? We could easily end up with a test crafted to keep particular "types" from voting and that would be very bad indeed.

[TexasObserver]

50. Are you out of your mind?! Those were used to disenfranchise OUR voters.

Do you have any idea how hard we had to fight to get rid of those tests, which were used to disenfranchise blacks, and would be done again?

If you're a citizen, you're 18, and you register, you have a vote.

[TexasObserver]

66. I used that question as a figure of speech. I merely mean it's not a Democratic ideal.

And that we had to fight like badgers to get those insipid things stopped.

[andym]

53. Democracy is only as strong as the wisdom of citizens who vote

Allowing most citizens to vote without precondition is a sign of progress in USA. I believe that the only citizens not allowed to vote are minors. Felons, ex-felons, the mentally ill, and the mentally challenged are restricted in some states.

Democracy is only as strong as the wisdom of citizens who vote. The key is that people participate in learning about how the system works, candidates and the issues of the day. The more this is encouraged, the better.

[donheld]

54. Posting this may indicate maybe your

too stupid to vote. Just sayin.

[dchill]

55. No.

:shrug:

[bobbolink]

56. So, Obama is now advocating going back to the voting barriers that we fought back in the 50's???

How very..... interesting....

x(

[JustinL]

75. no, he's not

Where did you get the idea that Obama supports this?

[bobbolink]

82. Yanno, supporters need to remember their own actions reflect on their candidate.

Example... I always remember that when I have a bumpersticker on my car of a candidate I'm really serious about, that my driving reflects on that candidate.

Same with postings on a forum.

[Rosemary2205]

58. We DO have to pass a test and we DO get a license to vote

it's called citizenship and a voter registration card.

[tammywammy]

61. No, never

[Alexander]

62. No. This post is asinine.

[Sapphocrat]

63. I suppose anyone who doesn't support Obama...

...is "just too damn stupid to be allowed to vote" in your book.

[WinkyDink]

64. No. Maybe a test of what's in their stock portfolio---for EXclusion.

[WinkyDink]

65. (Double post; Sorry!) (I guess I'd fail the OP test. Heh.)

[Maddy McCall]

68. We did away with literacy tests in 1964. We, as in DEMOCRATS.

[EffieBlack]

69. They used to do that - it was called a Literacy Test. And it's unconstitutional. Next issue please

[NastyRiffraff]

71. NOMINATED!

For Stupidest Post of the Day. And that's saying a lot.

Many people will ALWAYS vote for dumb reasons. Doesn't matter if they have a college education or a GED. No test would prevent that.

Not to mention, the idea is unconstitutional.

And we already have a "license to vote." It's called voter registration, and was put in place to make sure you're eligible to vote.

[mondo joe]

73. I wonder what to think when DUers are suggesting unconstitutional strategies to

get the results they want, in the way Freepers always have.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

72. Oh God What A Stupid Suggestion. Are You For Real?

And why would you condone a test that you're so blatantly likely to fail?

[doyourealize1]

74. Literacy tests?

Literacy tests ended up being a legalized, arbitrary form of voter intimidation during the south, and led to mass voter disenfranchisement.

Want to bring them back (or some sort of "competency test")? That's sick. You make Obama voters look bad.

[aquarius dawning]

79. You obviously wouldn't pass.

:dunce:

[mondo joe]

80. Oh what a cute lil' dunce hat smiley.

There really is a smiley for every thread!

[freestyle]

83. Why do you hate the Voting Rights Act?

Are you a real Obama supporter, or are you just trying to sling mud? To suggest tests for voting betrays a shameful ignorance of a history that none of us should want to return to. We need to focus on expanding registration and turnout, not shutting peopl eout of the process.

[jkurri]

84. Here! Here!

I agree, a lot of dumb people making important decisions. Its sad that the best candidate dems had isn't still viable. We are stuck with the 2 with the most cash... I'll bet people will be sorry when they see this thing end... hopefully dems do better in the house and senate and make the president moot.