Republicans Say the Darndest Things!

The Sandbox Political Topics
4555

In theory, I love the idea of having to pass a quiz on Civics and perhaps current events to qualify to vote.

My concerns are the two obvious ones:

  1. Given that we can’t even agree on facts in political discourse anymore, I’d be concerned about bias injected through the creation of the test.
  2. I suspect that there might be at least a weak correlation between political leanings and literacy, or political leanings and test-taking ability, or political leanings and time available & ability to access election systems.
4557

So I just went online and tried a US citizenship specimen civics test. It is non-political in nature and the bar is fairly low for passing it. I think it would not be a bad idea to make Americans pass a civics test along its line at least once. Shouldn’t be more onerous to administer than a written driving test.

Ditto for Canadians passing our citizenship test to vote.

4558

Y’all seem to have a short memory about literacy tests that were applied as voter suppression. A civics test would likely have the same disparate impact.

13 Likes
4559

I think he’d find out that the GOP would lose more voters than the Donkeys.

4561

The history that I recall of literacy tests used to attack black Americans’ voting rights is all about extreme bias in administering the test.

I’m assuming a standardized, written exam that isn’t any more biased than the written tests we take for drivers’ licenses.

1 Like
4562

Which languages do you think this test is going to be given in?

I’m kidding. Obviously it would only be in English.

4563

I wonder if such a ban would have been upheld by the Supreme Court if it had had its current membership when the ban was previously reviewed.

4564

Even if administration bias is eliminated, educational support and attainment isn’t equal. The resulting disenfranchisement would be biased. Voting rights are substantially different than driving rights.

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4565

So that should be addressed rather than accepting the status quo?

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4566

I agree it’s a bad idea, but not nearly as bad as in the historical period. If administration bias is eliminated and the bar for passing is set at a reasonably low level, the percentage of minorities disenfranchised (disqualified minorities / minorities who want to vote) will not be nearly as high as in the historical period, nor will the disparity between the disenfranchised minority and disenfranchised whites ratios be nearly as large.

4567

We’re working on it!!!

4568

We don’t have a good track record in the USA of addressing major issues and making the necessary improvements. Don’t hold your breath.

4569

While it’s fun to think that the current flavor of MAGA Republicans would fail a basic Civics test and/or a current events quiz… then I think about just how many R voters seem unable to change channel away from Fox News, while many poor D voters complain about having to work through most polling hours, or lacking transportation to move among work, home, and a polling place…

I sometimes help with an urban church ministry by helping people transitioning away from living on the streets secure the ID they need to rent, open a bank account, register to vote… Despite my semi-flippant remark about wishing there were a civics and current event test…I think some of the folks I’ve helped might have issues passing more than a trivial test.

4570

The resulting disenfranchisement would be biased against people who aren’t smart enough, literate enough, or interested enough to pass a basic civics test, even if civics is a required HS class.

I’m thinking I really don’t care about the skin color, I just want some minimal level of gov’t awareness to vote.

2 Likes
4571

It’d also be disenfranchisement of people who are unable to take the test at a prescribed location or time (under certain implementations at least), who may lack the language proficiency to take the test, who simply don’t test well…

4572

Given the USA track record for voter turnout, I don’t think we have to aggressively restrict voting.

2 Likes
4573

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1690433436018765824?t=y-uFeBF3WXkF0jabKwwCzg&s=19

Ron desantis closing down the bumper cars for everyone else so he can have s ride. I assume with his wife?

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4574

I volunteer at a Literacy foundation in my area. ~25% of the population here wouldn’t be able to read the questions on a test.

1 Like
4575

Bumper cars without bumping. I wonder if he played on a seesaw by himself as a kid.

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4576

But, somehow people are able to take written drivers’ tests, in spite of those obstacles.

I said “written test”. It seems that there would be a version with headphones and a microphone for people who can’t see. There are probably other reasonable accommodations for special cases.

A number of responses have been a version of “some people won’t pass the test”. That’s the point.

We set a bar for becoming an MD. We know that some people come from backgrounds that make it harder for them to reach the bar. We don’t lower the bar so everyone can become an MD. If we think that’s a problem, we should work at the other end and try to provide opportunities to develop mental abilities.

Obviously, one vote isn’t nearly as critical as one medical decision. We can set the bar much lower. I’m suggesting a level that is in reach for anyone who passes a HS civics class. In my state, civics is a requirement for graduation. If I have to live with the decisions my fellow voters make, I’d at least like to believe they reach that level of competence.

OTOH, nobody has mentioned the problem that is clearest for me. The benefit of democracy may not be that it reaches the “right” decision, but rather that it reaches the popular decision. Maybe we want to have people voting who can’t be bothered to show they understand how gov’t works, because they do know how to riot in the streets. (and, in the US, carry guns)