Intelligent voting

kneemos · 21-05-2012 10:40PM #1

Should people be made to give a coherent and valid reason for voting yes or no in the coming election.Some people seem to have the most obscure reasons for voting.

SafeSurfer · 21-05-2012 10:42PM

Should people be made to..

You lost me there

eth0 · 21-05-2012 10:42PM

I'm voting no for the craic.

Other reasons include 'having a dig at the government', 'because alan sh1tter and phil hogan are the biggest gobsh1tes to walk the face of this earth', 'because i'm against the United States of Europe idea'.

hairyprincess · 21-05-2012 10:42PM

I'm voting whatever way my husband tells me cos I'm the little woman and I can't possibly be relied upon to make to make an educated decision

earpiece · 21-05-2012 10:42PM

Ohhhh, Ehhhhhh, This is Ireland!!!

Pushtrak · 21-05-2012 10:42PM

Then you'd probably have 10% of the people in the country voting.

AnonoBoy · 21-05-2012 10:42PM

You can't make people give a valid reason.

You can hope they have one but you can't make them give one.

stimpson · 21-05-2012 10:43PM

hairyprincess wrote: »

I'm voting whatever way my husband tells me cos I'm the little woman and I can't possibly be relied upon to make to make an educated decision

Vote me a sammich.

Encrypted Pigeon · 21-05-2012 10:45PM

Well my reason for voting yes is that I don't want to have to do it again, just get it out of the way now and be done with it. Is that a coherent and valid enough reason?

donvito99 · 21-05-2012 10:46PM

I live my life doing the opposite of what that cow Mary Lou says.

Tesco Massacre · 21-05-2012 10:46PM

Who would voters have to explain themselves to? What's the criteria for an intelligent vote and an unintelligent one? Who sets that criteria?

21-05-2012 10:47PM

I just don't want Jedward to win.

Pushtrak · 21-05-2012 10:47PM

Sintel wrote: »

Well my reason for voting yes is that I don't want to have to do it again, just get it out of the way now and be done with it. Is that a coherent and valid enough reason?

No, not by my estimation anyway. Not unless it is backed by reasoning that makes yes seem good.

No, this isn't me saying whether I think the yes or no vote is best. Not interested in that discussion. Nor voting on this particular issue.

Temptamperu · 21-05-2012 10:47PM

I am voting intelligently, that is not wasting my time voting. They wont say "well the people voted no, so that is that" No people we will be made vote again and again until we give them what they need. Or they will fudge the numbers.

kneemos · 21-05-2012 10:48PM

AnonoBoy wrote: »

You can't make people give a valid reason.

You can hope they have one but you can't make them give one.

Even if someone is voting no because they want to keep thier bus pass.

Eathrin · 21-05-2012 10:48PM

It's disheartening to see how ignorant some people are about the treaty and their reasons for voting yes/no couldn't be more obscure.

Pushtrak · 21-05-2012 10:49PM

Tesco Massacre wrote: »

Who would voters have to explain themselves to? What's the criteria for an intelligent vote and an unintelligent one? Who sets that criteria?

I think the idea behind it, as I've heard it explained before is any basic understanding of a policy or outcome of whatever it is you are voting on. As in, it isn't "sounds good on the radio" or "looked good on poster". Honestly, would be great if people were to vote and have a reason behind their vote. Can't be enforced though. Would never be.

Pedant · 21-05-2012 10:50PM

The OP raises a valid question.

The brand of democracy we live in at the minute seems to base its legitimacy on the premise that the majority will of the electorate is infallible. This is a clear fallacy.

If no-one is infallible, how would the majority of the electorate be infallible?

IrishAm · 21-05-2012 10:51PM

Some farm boy on the Frontline said a Yes vote would be an end of CAP for Irish farmers.

Thanks for making my mind up for me, farm boy.

tommylimerick · 21-05-2012 10:51PM

in some countries you have to vote
i will be voting no and if i am lucky they might give me a second chance till i get it right

GLaDOS · 21-05-2012 10:52PM

Everyone voting no is doing it because they just want to piss off the government.

Everyone voting yes is an idiot who has been brainwashed by government scaremongering.

Pedant · 21-05-2012 10:53PM

Eathrin wrote: »

It's disheartening to see how ignorant some people are about the treaty and their reasons for voting yes/no couldn't be more obscure.

'Yes' side:

Vote 'yes' for jobs and stability.
Vote 'no' for chaos and misery.

'No' side:

Vote 'no' for jobs and stability.
Vote 'yes' for chaos and misery.

...

Choose wisely.

Encrypted Pigeon · 21-05-2012 10:54PM

ScienceNerd wrote: »

Everyone voting yes is an idiot who has been brainwashed by government scaremongering.

Or sick of having to vote twice on everything until "we get it right".

btard · 21-05-2012 10:55PM

If voting changed anything the bastards would abolish it.

BattleCorp · 21-05-2012 11:00PM

I'm voting because my father voted for his father and my son will vote for his son.

And they fixed the roads.

Or something like that.

21-05-2012 11:06PM

In the last election I spoke to my mother about, she gave me reasons for her top two choices:

1. Because he was old. And therefore she assumed he would not only be smarter than the other candidates, but that he would also have the same priorities as her.

2. Because she had glasses, and was a woman. Again, because she looked smart and was assumed to have similar interests as my mother because of her gender.

My mother literally judges candidates on their photos, with the exception that she refuses to vote in Fianna Fáil, because they're "liars and thieves", which would be a perfectly fine position to take if she had any idea of why they're "liars and thieves".

So while I think it would be great to only allow intelligent votes, I also think it would never be something we could reasonably test for.

kneemos · 21-05-2012 11:07PM

Tesco Massacre wrote: »

Who would voters have to explain themselves to? What's the criteria for an intelligent vote and an unintelligent one? Who sets that criteria?

A list of valid reasons could be made out and judged with a reasonable amount of common sense and leeway. You would probably give reasons for yes and no, so that nobody knows your preference.

Tesco Massacre · 21-05-2012 11:12PM

My dad's from Kerry and he told me about an old woman who lived near him who voted for Jackie Healy-Rae because he called in for tea during his pre-election rounds and - wait for it - danced a jig with her around the kitchen table to some traditional music that was playing on the radio.

I wish I was lying.

BattleCorp · 21-05-2012 11:20PM

DEMOCRACY

Where a gobsh1tes vote counts exactly the same as a genius.

Democracy is the worst form of government, apart from all the others tried before.

BattleCorp · 21-05-2012 11:23PM

true-or-false wrote: »

In the last election I spoke to my mother about, she gave me reasons for her top two choices:

1. Because he was old. And therefore she assumed he would not only be smarter than the other candidates, but that he would also have the same priorities as her.

2. Because she had glasses, and was a woman. Again, because she looked smart and was assumed to have similar interests as my mother because of her gender.

.

I would normally have started a "your Mama is so thick.........." but on mature reflection, my Mammy is exactly the same as yours.

Wetai · 21-05-2012 11:26PM

I don't think you should have to provide a reason, but you should have the option to explain your vote, if you want to. But I doubt anyone would read the reasons, or would just pick the ones that make them look good.
In an election: "X People said I'm the best candidate in Irish history"
"But Y people, which is 2x the number of X people, said you're a feckin gob****e who should be shot"
"Ah, nevermind those ones, let's just publish how many were in the X group"

Intelligent voting

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