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Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

themacro.com

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Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#121

Post by burkaman »

dexterdog wrote: post #84
ausjke wrote: post #50

whenever a local election comes up, the first thing I want to know is that who are running for what, and what's their key difference and if available, track records. A quick comparison chart/table will serve the purpose but I rarely if ever found that, hope someone will create a website like that for all, so voters can know the quick-facts before voting relatively easily.

My policy is when in doubt vote for the non-incumbent.

Ok, but wouldn't it be nice if usually you weren't in doubt, because there was a really easy way to educate yourself on all the candidates?

Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#122

Post by cpeterso »

igorgue wrote: post #114

I have a theory that since that the USA doesn't make election day a federal holiday is one of the major factors the working class of america is not voting, usually it takes too long to vote, and it's not paid for employees, especially blue collar ones. I wonder what are your thoughts about it, and how can it happen in America? I've seen every single proposal be rejected in congress.

You don't need the day off if you vote by mail.

Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#123

Post by Aloha »

Retric wrote: post #113
burkaman wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>wouldn't every candidate attempt to win their elections by appealing to the lowest common denominator? I think that's sort of how democracy is supposed to work. Politicians win when they can convince more people than anyone else. It's like that famous quote: “democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others”. Yes, everything would be better if countries were run by benevolent geniuses who always…

One of the more interesting ideas I have rarely seen in fiction is an actual benevolent and wise AI taking over. Closest is probably the Culture novels which shows up as a very odd society.

a wise and benevolent AI would likely do things unwise for the long term survival of humanity

Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#124

Post by jakeogh »

burkaman wrote: post #107
jakeogh wrote: post #93

Computerphile: Why Electronic Voting is a BAD Idea https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3_0x6oaDmI

This is about voter registration, it has nothing to do with electronic voting.

I realize that, but all to often bad ideas are implemented incrementally. Online registration is an obvious step along the way. Next up: Internet ID (for "secure" online registration).

Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#125

Post by cloudjacker »

burkaman wrote: post #103
cloudjacker wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read this article and I still don't see the "why". It says "because there are big problems people want changed", this doesn't answer why you want to increase voter turnout. For example, in America, the will of the people only influences change when it coincidentally is aligned with special interest will. Every other time special interests are more influential than the voting public. This would undermine a theory th…

Is it at all possible that the will of the people could influence change more often if more people were involved?

No, a representative sample votes.

A shift in the demographics of voters influences change.

Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#126

Post by Twirrim »

debracleaver wrote: post #64
strommen wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you know of studies or other hard data that tracks _why_ people don't vote? The article claims it is the difficulty of the process, but I would have guessed the top reason is voter apathy (which isn't really a technology issue). Here's one thing technology could help with: identify which polling places are facing long delays on Election Day, so additional resources can be allocated to speed them up. Without being…

oh sure. there are a wealth of studies out there. it's hard to say why any particular person doesn't vote, but there are some trends that show when voting is easier, more people vote. Colorado, Washington and Oregon all moved toward vote-by-mail systems, in which a ballot is automatically mailed to a voter's house, and saw an immediate increase in voter turnout. Honestly, I'm waited to see the outcome of Oregon's aut…

My wife absolutely loves the mailed ballot approach in Washington (I'm not eligible to vote). Particularly because Washington appears to have votes of some description every quarter.

The information booklet that comes with it has been great for kickstarting investigation into the candidates and their policies, and the various other proposals that are up for the vote (booklet has both for and against arguments from different interest groups) so that she's been able to be a lot more informed as she prepares to vote.

Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#127

Post by nommm-nommm »

igorgue wrote: post #114

I have a theory that since that the USA doesn't make election day a federal holiday is one of the major factors the working class of america is not voting, usually it takes too long to vote, and it's not paid for employees, especially blue collar ones. I wonder what are your thoughts about it, and how can it happen in America? I've seen every single proposal be rejected in congress.

How would making election day a federal holiday increase voter turnout among anyone not working for the federal government. Plenty of federal holidays are working days for my company.

Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#128

Post by burkaman »

nickff wrote: post #100
burkaman wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This work shows that non-voters are have even worse prejudices and are less knowledgable than voters Does that book discuss causation? Do people not vote because they aren't paying attention to politics, or do they not pay attention because they aren't planning on voting? I think it's at least plausible that if voting became very widespread, people might feel more pressure to stay generally informed. And of course,…

From what I have read, it appears that intelligent and informed people also happen to be the ones that vote (likely for social or ethical reasons). I have not seen evidence that mandatory (or strongly encouraged) voting leads to a more informed public; do you have any evidence of this?

No I don't, I was just wondering if it was discussed in the book you linked. But again, you're talking about a correlation in this comment, and I'm wondering which way the causation goes. I don't know if there are any studies on this.

Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#129

Post by lostmypassword2 »

cag_ii wrote: post #120
izacus wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm, here the elections are on sundays because of that. USA votes on workdays?

No one works on Sundays where you are?

Plenty of people work on Sundays. Where are you?

Re: Vote.org is a non-profit that wants to get the U.S. to 100% voter turnout

#130

Post by atria »

ck2 wrote: post #47

Wouldn't insisting on motor-voter take it to near 90% ? Most states refusing motor-voter are controlled by the hard right. Sure hope there is a plan to fund 100% more voting locations and booths. Because Republicans have figured out a great way to kill voting when they simply just have to give in and let people vote is to defund voting locations. Unless the plan is to just have everyone vote absentee but that allows…

Perhaps that has something to do with people who aren't supposed to vote, who's demographics skew to the left side of the political spectrum: - Foreign citizens with drivers licenses - Permanent residents with drivers licenses - Felons with drivers licenses - Drivers under the voting age of majority - Non-naturalized immigrants with drivers licenses.
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