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Seriously, some people have more vested in our country than others. While I do believe everyone should have a vote, shouldn't a home owner's vote count for 2 while an unemployed wino's vote only count for 1?
Criteria for more points of your vote could amount to clear titles for things. Let's say you get 1 point for simply being a citizen. You get additional points for:
being married
having a job (no matter how small)
each child
each degree (starting with High School)
each piece of real estate (you gotta pay your taxes on it)
being bi-lingual (speaking a second language is good for all Americans)
being a veteran
Quick example: with just this criteria, an employed married High school graduate with 2 children ----their vote would be worth 5
There may be additional criteria where points could be added (or perhaps even subtracted). But the conversation is worth having.
Any Thoughts??
Daffy
I think this is a horrible idea. The problem is that those in position of power would set the criteria in such a way as to fully empower some groups while marginalizing others. Anyway, I doubt an unemployed wino will be voting in the first place.
"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."
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You said voting is not a right. I quoted the constitution to prove you wrong. Yes, there are constitutional judicial procedures that can remove any right from any individual. But they are still rights. Amendment XIX makes that unambiguously clear.
Having said that, I restate my view that EVERY citizen in the USA ought to RETAIN his constitutional right to vote. This can be done with no action at all, because they already have the right to vote. All that would need to be done is to repeal the legislated exclusions. Amendment XIX does nothing more than to abolish any laws already in place that denied the right on the basis of sex. It did not address the RIGHT to vote in any other way, except to confirm that it indeed is a right. If they had meant privilege, they would have said so.
Jesse Jackson did not write nor address Amendment XIX. All Jackson said was that many states had exercised their authority to make blanket exclusions to the right to vote. Which they are empowered to do. But it is still a right, until it is taken away by a lawful process. Just as a felony conviction results in quite a lot of "rights" being taken away.
IMO, the best way to describe this is that the right to vote requires a set of responsibilities. IMO, one responsibility should be having knowledge of who/what one is voting for. If one fails at that responsibility, one should lose his/her right to vote, just like the felon loses his/her right to own a weapon, or the dirver loses his/her right to drive after a drunk driving conviction.
You said voting is not a right. I quoted the constitution to prove you wrong. Yes, there are constitutional judicial procedures that can remove any right from any individual. But they are still rights. Amendment XIX makes that unambiguously clear.
Having said that, I restate my view that EVERY citizen in the USA ought to RETAIN his constitutional right to vote. This can be done with no action at all, because they already have the right to vote. All that would need to be done is to repeal the legislated exclusions. Amendment XIX does nothing more than to abolish any laws already in place that denied the right on the basis of sex. It did not address the RIGHT to vote in any other way, except to confirm that it indeed is a right. If they had meant privilege, they would have said so.
Jesse Jackson did not write nor address Amendment XIX. All Jackson said was that many states had exercised their authority to make blanket exclusions to the right to vote. Which they are empowered to do. But it is still a right, until it is taken away by a lawful process. Just as a felony conviction results in quite a lot of "rights" being taken away.
You're still misinterpreting the amendment. I use the term privilege to show that a person must maintain responsibility to keep a right. That's true for every other right, such as speech, gun ownership, etc just as I and Amaznjohn have stated. The right is not sacred, and can be revoked. An ignorant citizen is as much a danger to this country as a murderer with a gun. They become tools for both the left and right and have helped to enable the two party system and ignorance to the fleecing of America. It is a matter of national security to keep people who have little understanding of US and world knowledge out of the polls. It is not like knowledge is a privilege as it was 500 years ago. The Internet, public libraries, and books that can be purchased for mere pennies at your local yard sale provide enough information so that the "right" can be earned and maintained by anyone. Facilities exist to keep tests from being biased and voting districts should be able to set the guidelines for the test themselves.
You said that Jackson did not write the amendment and I acknowledge that. Neither did you, yet you are interpreting it just as he is. Given that Jackson has more knowledge of the constitution, I'll take his interpretation over yours regardless of my personal feelings on his beliefs.
It's breathtaking how some believe that ANY right is somehow sacred.
If you support a "test" to vote then you open yourself to be on the losing end of that at some point depending on who is creating the test. Whether you like it or not, this country was founded on "all men are created equal" not "all men are created equal if......."
Um, actually, it was all men are created equal if they own land, because land owners were the only ones who could vote.
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