Election Lottery

[JohnRich 4]

News, from Arizona:

"There's going to be a new reason for Arizonans to go to the polls this year: They could win $1 million.

"The Secretary of State's Office certified Thursday that backers of the voter lottery plan had submitted more than enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot...

"Osterloh said he believes that providing a carrot for would-be voters would increase participation in the democratic process. The Tucson physician dismissed concerns that the kind of people who would vote solely for a chance to win the lottery are likely to be ill-informed about the candidates and the issues..."

Source: Arizona Daily Star

Should there be a lottery connected to election voting in order to encourage citizens to vote?

[akarunway 1]

Quote

News, from Arizona:

"There's going to be a new reason for Arizonans to go to the polls this year: They could win $1 million.

"The Secretary of State's Office certified Thursday that backers of the voter lottery plan had submitted more than enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot...

"Osterloh said he believes that providing a carrot for would-be voters would increase participation in the democratic process. The Tucson physician dismissed concerns that the kind of people who would vote solely for a chance to win the lottery are likely to be ill-informed about the candidates and the issues..."

Source: Arizona Daily Star

Should there be a lottery connected to election voting in order to encourage citizens to vote?

All the welfare Dems will vote for sure-------------------

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[Gawain 0]

It seems like a good idea on the face of it, but my concern is that it could be a magnet for voter-fraud activities.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[JohnRich 4]

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It seems like a good idea on the face of it, but my concern is that it could be a magnet for voter-fraud activities.

Yes, it's a free lottery that requires no money to enter - you just show up and vote, and you're in.

My concern is with the dilution of meaningful votes by people who are just voting randomly for candidates with no good reason just so they will qualify for the lottery. I don't think that should be encouraged. We've got too many nuts voting now.

I would like to think that the people who show up to vote are there because they care about their local community, their state and their nation. Not because they hope to strike it rich in a lottery. The motivation on this proposal is all wrong.

How about a lottery for people that show up for jury duty when called?

[misaltas 0]

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...providing a carrot for would-be voters would increase participation in the democratic process.

Wrong in so many ways I hardly know where to begin.
Just shows how diluted the concept of citizenship has become.

Oh how far we've slid since Kennedy's "Ask not" speech.

.

Ohne Liebe sind wir nichts

[Gravitymaster 0]

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"Once they decide they're going to vote, they will study the issues and candidates," he said. "And they will vote in their own enlightened self-interest."

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Osterloh said the concept of rewards is not so odd. He said it actually comes from the Bible — that if you do the right thing, you get into heaven.
"If incentives are good enough for God, they're good enough for Arizona," he said.

Yeah, right.

This sounds like a story written in The Onion.

[Andy9o8 3]

Here's my feeling about increasing voter turnout: make voting a bit more convenient for people who work. Having the polls open only from 7am to 8pm on a Tuesday is foolish. Do as some other countries do: either make Election Day a national holiday, or move it to cover an entire weekend, say, 7am on Saturday until 9pm on Sunday.

[kallend 2,182]

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Here's my feeling about increasing voter turnout: make voting a bit more convenient for people who work. Having the polls open only from 7am to 8pm on a Tuesday is foolish. Do as some other countries do: either make Election Day a national holiday, or move it to cover an entire weekend, say, 7am on Saturday until 9pm on Sunday.

If politicians REALLY wanted to increase voter turnout they would have done that years ago.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Gravitymaster 0]

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Here's my feeling about increasing voter turnout: make voting a bit more convenient for people who work. Having the polls open only from 7am to 8pm on a Tuesday is foolish. Do as some other countries do: either make Election Day a national holiday, or move it to cover an entire weekend, say, 7am on Saturday until 9pm on Sunday.

But..but.. you really expect people to vote on the weekends when they are off work? I wonder how many skydivers who don't vote now, would give up an hour of jumping to vote?

I don't see a problem the way it's set up right now. If you are someone who is aware of the issues and has followed a particular candidate, then you are probably someone who will "find the time" to vote. If not, you won't vote even if the polls are open 24 hours a day for a week, unless you are given a reward for voting. That's not the kind of mentality I want deciding who gets elected.

[Red_Skydiver 0]

People will vote because they are greedy (or needy)but they may be making uninformed decisions which isn't a good thing IMHO

[miked10270 0]

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News, from Arizona:

"There's going to be a new reason for Arizonans to go to the polls this year: They could win $1 million...

Should there be a lottery connected to election voting in order to encourage citizens to vote?

Crap idea.

I'd sooner have 10 folk making an informed decision than 1,000 folk just making electoral noise.

You're going to have folk voting simply to try & win the money. It's the same as fining folk for not voting. It'll only cause folk to turn up to vote simply for the sake of voting, rather than attempting to make an informed choice.

That said, I am somewhat confused by the whole "voter registration" thing in America. In Britain, preparation of a list of voters is a local council / civil service responsibility rather than it being the responsibility of the individual to register.

In effect, a salaried "civil servant" & his department is responsible for preparing a list of electors for a particular area. Note; it's a non-political appointment. The list is prepared yearly, and you are entitled to vote in the area you are listed as living in on the day the electoral roll is prepared (usually 30th October). This is done by mailing every dwelling requiring "The Householder" to give the names of persons over 18 resident there on a given date (& persons who will be 18 within the next year with their date of birth).

After that, if there's an election, then voters are mailed their card & notification of where they are entitled to vote. Additionally, the individual polling stations have a list of the electors entitled to vote there.

Admittedly, it took some effort to set up initially (many years ago), but now it's just maintenance - who moves in, who moves out, who gets old enough & who dies.

Mike.

Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable.

Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

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I'd sooner have 10 folk making an informed decision than 1,000 folk just making electoral noise.

The assumption being made is that people who vote now generally make an informed decision and those additionally attracted by a lottory would not make an informed decision at all. I am not sure if either assumption is correct at all.