Earning the Vote

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

-The cultural bias in the tests is real. But as I said, that's not the only issue with them.

-I'm not discounting the value of formal education, I just don't think it applies to voting as much as you seem to think it does. 

-And if your objection is denied (which happens a lot), you go to prison. So, you've simply swapped one type of slavery for another. I suppose that if you also have the option to run away from massa on de plantation, it's not slavery either.

-So, you're more concerned about a voter's maturity than their actual calendar age. That seems perfectly reasonable to me. But age is a lousy metric to determine someone's level of maturity. How do you determine whether a 35 year old is more mature than a 16 year old? Just as a person level of education isn't necessarily indicative of their intelligence, age isn't necessarily indicative of maturity.

Boru

1)  Is there a better measure for GI?
2)  Surely that depends upon the content of the formal education?
3)  Prison for being an objector wasn't part of the statement.  But I'm happy enough to remove this as a criteria for earning the vote if the other more important things can be agreed upon.
4)  Correct.  Which is not only why I prefer an older age (21 is far more likely to be mature than 16), but also why I have the combination of age + IQ + education + civic service + not in prison.  That seems a fair combination of wide factors that can increase the likelihood of someone being a mature, smart, educated, empathic person.  This is in contrast to removing all criteria and making the age as low as reasonably possible which seems to massively increase the likelihood of many voters being immature, uneducated, and easily manipulated.

1) Cognition tests would be a valid option.

2) It doesn't seem to, as the electorate have repeatedly proven.

3) It doesn't really matter that it wasn't part of your statement - it's how conscientious objection operates in the real world.

4) And yet mature, smart, educated, empathic people seem to be no better at voting than their immature, stupid, ignorant, heartless fellows. Since this is demonstrably true, there's no point to your criteria.

Boru