How can we engage less people in the democratic process?

Question

Yes I know that "fewer" is the right way to ask it, but that just didn't sound as catchy.

Answer 1

Put incense that smell as bad as this question in the voting booth.

Answer 2

When you consider that the average American probably has a high school education and is one the most poorly educated people in the world, why would you want that person to cast a largely uneducated vote for the leader(s) of the free world?

You want a larger voting audience? Start at the bottom, in kindergarten, and educate the masses to a minimum degree. Educated people care about the democratic process.

Personally, I do NOT want politically ignorant persons casting votes based on a 200-year-old (and factually incorrect) racial and/or socioeconomic bias. Better that they stay home that day. Voting based on those biases perpetuates a broken system.

By the way, the grammatically correct version of your question would read "fewer" people, not "less". Case in point.

Answer 3

We haven't been able to vote for the "best" candidate in years. We have to vote for the least worst. To engage less people in the democratic process, we need to keep up this tradition so more and more people become too disgusted to bother voting.

Obama's question is simply a publicity stunt. You can't tell me he'll actually sit there and read those 8,000+ responses or that he ever had any intention to read them. The only opinions he or any other candidate really cares about are from those who heavily contribute to their compaign funds.

Answer 4

I think the politicians and the current system are doing a fine enough job in this category already.

Now the 501 organizations are treating elections like a cheerleading session for extreme political doctrine, meanwhile moderate, pragmatic and independent thought is obliterated in the process.

I don't think one way, and I don't adhere to one train of thought. I don't want to be shoe-horned into one camp and then "gang" up on the other side. I don't want to decide my opinion on something, because my allegiance to one side of the political spectrum tells me what to think.

The rest of us (independents, pragmatists) are ignored and disengaged simply because AARP, NRA and MoveOn were able to make more noise than us. This process reduces the election to just a few monochromatic issues, and some simple childish slogans.

To sum it up, we're disengaged enough, what's frightening to think of, is how the system on its current course, will likely produce even more voter apathy, including my own.

Answer 5

Continue taking our rights away. Keep enacting legislation like the so-called Patriot Act to subvert our privacy rights and our right to counsel. Keep passing more and more unconstitutional disarmament acts to take away our right to keep and bear arms. Keep ignoring our borders and allow millions of illegal aliens to become citizens.

Continue being arrogant and unresponsive to the needs and desires of the people.

Answer 6

By continuing to have people like Bush & the Congress leading this great country and shredding the Constitution.

Answer 7

Go back to the horse and buggy days. Less communication.

Answer 8

By making me President :)

Hillary in '08!
- The best choice for your everyday hippy liberal douche.

Answer 9

Business as usual of course.

Answer 10

Which of our citizens would you leave out? The ones that disagree with you? Would you sort them by race, sexual preference, ethnic background?

Please expand on your question.