-- Posted by boy4boy15 at 5:50 am on Dec. 24, 2008 My friend and I were having a debate on this. He argued that a lot of people who vote simply shouldn't have the right to, because they're 'too stupid to decide on the future of our country when they don't take any tiem to educate themselves on basic knowledge. He cited a girl in our class who didn't know what a Republican was, and said she would vote for Obama because 'hes cool.' He then pointed to a kid who is an Evangelical Christian and believes we are in a holy war with the East and Islam. This test hypothetically wouldn't be very difficult and could be taken over until you passed, but would be a requirement that you passed before you could vote. My friend suggested including questions like you'd find in the US citizenship test, and a portion about modern events as well, such as 'Is Iran a Sunni or Shiaa Islamic state?', 'Are Allah, God, and Yahweh the same god?' (yes obviously) and stuff like that. You can see where this would get a bit sketchy, especially when it delves into religion and other topics, and may even be accused of desciminatory practices, but i kind of agree with him that there is crtain basic knowledge, and even certian truths voters should acknowledge before they vote. Should we have a standardized test? Should it be based on basic US government questions, or have a slew of internatonal questions as well? -- Posted by honeybee3333 at 5:51 am on Dec. 24, 2008 eh, i really just wanted my 1/4 point i voted the last one -- Posted by JasonHot at 5:53 am on Dec. 24, 2008 usa once had tests to keep stupid blacks from voting -- the smart ones passed but it kept black voters way down -- anyways those tests are illegal now.   besides, blacks wud say its meant to keep em from votin and u think OBAMA wud sign that bill?  LMFAO. -- Posted by boy4boy15 at 5:57 am on Dec. 24, 2008 Quote: from JasonHot at 7:53 am on Dec. 24, 2008 usa once had tests to keep stupid blacks from voting -- the smart ones passed but it kept black voters way down -- anyways those tests are illegal now. besides, blacks wud say its meant to keep em from votin and u think OBAMA wud sign that bill? LMFAO. It wouldnt be aimed toward any group, obviously more educated people would be able to pass it pretty easily, but if a person fails and is given the right to take the test again and actually learn stuff and become more educated they have no right to complain. I mean do you want a dumbass who doesn't even know the difference between a democrat and a republican voting? -- Posted by Sins and Demons at 5:59 am on Dec. 24, 2008 This is why we have the electoral college -- Posted by Shibs at 6:00 am on Dec. 24, 2008 Quote: from JasonHot at 5:53 am on Dec. 24, 2008 usa once had tests to keep stupid blacks from voting -- the smart ones passed but it kept black voters way down -- anyways those tests are illegal now. besides, blacks wud say its meant to keep em from votin and u think OBAMA wud sign that bill? LMFAO. Agreed. Im sure there is a good reason things like Jim Crow laws were made illegal. Lets not bring them back... -- Posted by JasonHot at 6:13 am on Dec. 24, 2008 Quote: from Shibs at 9:00 am on Dec. 24, 2008 Quote: from JasonHot at 5:53 am on Dec. 24, 2008 usa once had tests to keep stupid blacks from voting -- the smart ones passed but it kept black voters way down -- anyways those tests are illegal now.   besides, blacks wud say its meant to keep em from votin and u think OBAMA wud sign that bill?  LMFAO. Agreed. Im sure there is a good reason things like Jim Crow laws were made illegal. Lets not bring them back... well im not sayin its a bad idea, i just dont think the blacks would ever allow it. -- Posted by Skunk at 6:56 am on Dec. 24, 2008 Quote: from boy4boy15 at 8:57 am on Dec. 24, 2008 I mean do you want a dumbass who doesn't even know the difference between a democrat and a republican voting? So shouldn't voter education be the priority then? -- Posted by Shibs at 8:06 am on Dec. 24, 2008 Quote: from Skunk at 6:56 am on Dec. 24, 2008 Quote: from boy4boy15 at 8:57 am on Dec. 24, 2008  I mean do you want a dumbass who doesn't even know the difference between a democrat and a republican voting? So shouldn't voter education be the priority then? Yeah, exactly. If we are going to change anything, it should be educating people on the  candidates. Even something as simple as more civics classes in high schools, to prepare young voters.