Why don't poor people vote?

[The Valkyrie]

I shall ask some if I ever meet some.

What, poor people don't develop coronary artery disease? I'm guessing you've met quite a few of them. Of course, I imagine they aren't exactly conversational when they're in you're parlor.

Yeah, I meet quite a few who can't afford to go private.

Most I have great conversations with.

Then there's the guy I had escorted from my office.

[Minimalist]

Poor people do vote.  They're called bible belt Republicans who hear their candidates speak of god and go all gaga stupid.

Since Nixon the republicunts have mastered the art of getting trailer park morons to vote for billionaire friendly candidates by scaring the shit out of them that some minority group is going to steal their trailer park lifestyle away from them.

But lately its gotten to be more than that...as Bill Maher noted at the end of New Rules after the last mid-terms.

http://crooksandliars.com/cltv/2014/11/b...ricans-who

It begins around the 2:30 mark although the others aren't bad as a warm-up.

I'm positive that no one here is going to see themselves at all.


Yeah.... you could have had President Mitt McCain and then you all would have been so fucking happy.

[Won2blv]

What about a lottery system? So that voting puts you in a lottery to win something.

[Joods]

So bribing people to vote with money. Sounds like what the big corporations hire lobbyists for. The lobbyists offer lawmakers gifts, trips and other luxuries to get them to pass laws benefiting the rich while the poor and middle class continue to struggle. Or some such shit.

[Minimalist]

What about a lottery system? So that voting puts you in a lottery to win something.

What about "winning" a leader who isn't going to fuck you up the ass for the benefit of his billionaire buddies?  Or doesn't that count?

[downbeatplumb]

Bernie Sanders recently made the point that poor people don't vote. It is very true. So why don't they? I am getting more politically active recently and I truly believe this country would be a lot different if voter turnout got into the 80's. I have this idea to try and start a local get and vote campaign going. I think that it would be cool to try and talk businesses to have employee meetings where they'll allow a short talk on the importance of voting and then helping them register to vote. Why the fuck do we vote on tuesdays too?

We vote on Thursdays. Poor people do vote but our area has been so gerrymandered that their votes do not count. Poor Gosport is suddenly lumped in with rich Stubbington and Hill head which are both obviously a part of even richer Fareham. So instead of getting one tory and one labour they end up with two tories.

[KevinM1]

Several problems off the top of my head:

Voting happens on one day.  A weekday/work day.  Not everyone can afford to go to a voting center while they work, and due to having such a concentrated time to vote, there are lines, and not everyone gets the chance to vote.

Transportation is a huge issue.  The poor don't necessarily have reliable access to transportation, public transportation isn't free, and not available in all areas.

Voter ID initiatives (it should be tied to selective service, not license).

Gerrymandering.

The knowledge that the primary delegate system and electoral college system are inherently flawed, as is our two party system, resulting in a general malaise.

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The system may have made sense in a collection of colonies whose total population was a fraction of what we have now, but it's really a dumb way to do things in the present day with 300+ million people.

[abaris]

What about "winning" a leader who isn't going to fuck you up the ass for the benefit of his billionaire buddies?  Or doesn't that count?

You'd had to get money out of politics for that to happen. Fat chance, I'd say. Even more so, since a warm and cozy corporate bed awaits everyone playing ball during their political career.

[Minimalist]

Almost no chance of that.  So you have to vote for the party which at least gives the idea lip service.

That sure as fuck isn't the Citizens United crowd.

[Meandering Atheist -J-]

So bribing people to vote with money. Sounds like what the big corporations hire lobbyists for. The lobbyists offer lawmakers gifts, trips and other luxuries to get them to pass laws benefiting the rich while the poor and middle class continue to struggle. Or some such shit.

Some candidates promise to pay everyone more money and give them free college. That doesn't even work to get everyone out to the polls...