11-07-2014, 01:50 PM
(11-07-2014, 12:58 PM)jgsz Wrote: How do we get more people to vote? There are many ways but I would use caution. More people voting does not guarantee a better democracy.
Last month in Toronto over 330,000 people voted for Doug Ford. The media politely calls these people "low information voters." And they are everywhere. I'm not suggesting they shouldn't be allowed to vote but I certainly wouldn't encourage them. After all, we do live in a democracy and they have the same rights as you and I.
Be careful with that. In ancient Greece women weren't allowed to vote. That exclusion existed until the 19th century. In some countries they didn't get the franchise until relatively recently (e.g. Switzerland until 1971.) This was justified by claims that they lacked the intellect or judgment to understand politics.
Even if there was hard evidence that we would be better served by excluding or discouraging "low information voters" how would the criteria be established or enforced?
BTW Doug's brother got 383,501 votes in 2010, about 47% of those cast vs. Tory's 394,775 votes but only 40.28% of those cast in 2014. Whose election is more democratically legitimate? (Rhetorical question.)