US Puppet Democracy

[Minimalist]

There are scads of disabled, elderly, crazy or poverty-stricken people who would find that too much of a burden, Danny.  However, that is not to say that we can not do much, much more to make voting easier. 

1.  Move election day to a weekend.
2.  Make better use of mail-in ballots.  ( I usually don't have much good to say about Arizona but the early balloting system works like a charm.  I'll never stand on a line again.)
3.  Online voting.  (And before someone starts shrieking about voter security remember we have an extensive online banking system already in place.  It could be done.)

Instead we get bogus voter-fraud and picture ID horseshit because we have one political party ( the republicunts ) who fully understand that they are toast if too many disadvantaged people get to vote.

So I see your point, even if I think you haven't thought it all the way through.

[Aractus]

Min, there's pre-polling and mobile polling booths that address those concerns. However if a person couldn't attend a polling booth because of a disability or another similar reason, it would be a valid reason not to vote.

[Minimalist]

Let me be clear.  The political will is to make voting harder not easier.  At least among one party.  And that party runs 23 of the 50 states while the democrats control 7.  (The others are divided.)

The first task is to stop them from disenfranchising people.

[Cecelia]

I don't think that knowing the results influences those results as much as people think they do. If anything, seeing your candidate losing (especially when it's a one vs one contest) should make you want to vote more; not less. Otherwise your vote won't be heard. Seeing how close candidates are in the primaries gives you a chance to switch horses. That's why they do things the way they do. I suppose if it's not a close contest, you'll see people less motivated to vote. Usually, though, when it's close it benefits candidates.

The real problem with American Representative Democracy is that we allow our politicians to be bought and sold for the highest dollar. We have Super PACs trying to outspend each other, so they have candidates who owe them. So long as we have that, it won't matter if we have preferential voting, if we vote on Saturdays, or anything else. Having fewer parties no doubt makes this easier, but having more parties will do little good until we get money out of politics.

[Minimalist]

And blessed by the Supreme Court, Cecila.

[Ryantology]

[Aractus]

[Wyrd of Gawd]

Oh and can someone please explain this to me. Hillary Clinton said "if you are under FBI investigation you should not be able to just walk into a shop and buy a gun no questions asked". But she's under FBI criminal investigation as we speak and she can run for president?? What kind of hypocrite double-standards does the dumb bitch have?

If you were a reporter and asked her that question do you think you would get fired?

[Aractus]

Alan Jones would ask the question in those or much stronger words and not get fired.