Care to comment on "Voter Registration Drives?" Let Us Know!
It is my personal opinion that most politicians are insipid and dangerous human
beings capable of the most outrageous atrocities in the name of political
expediency. Around election time, they become smarmy weasels willing to say or
do anything to attain or hold onto their esteemed position - or to ascend to higher office. With these goals in
mind, and despite all protestation to the contrary,
they keep a keen eye on "the numbers."
One of the numbers they pay attention to are the numbers of registered voters.
The politicians know that only a percentage of eligible voters will register to
vote, and that only a percentage of registered voters will actually vote.
In fact, take a look at what one group of "progressive liberals" attempted to
conjure up depending upon the unwillingness of some
eligible voters to participate in elections:
March 3, 2003
Hon. Bill Lockyer
Attorney General
1300 I Street, 17th Floor
Sacramento, California 95814
Attention: Ms. Tricia Knight
Initiative Coordinator
Dear Attorney General Lockyer:
Pursuant to Elections Code Section 9005, we have reviewed the proposed initiative regarding fines for eligible voters who do not register or vote (file number SA2003RF0001).
Major Provisions
Under current law, California residents who are eligible to vote are not subject to any penalties if they choose not to register. Likewise, once registered, residents are not subject to any penalties if they choose not to vote.
The state currently has roughly 21.5 million eligible voters. Over the past ten statewide elections, an average of 73 percent of eligible voters have registered and 39 percent of eligible voters have voted.
This measure requires that any eligible voter who does not register or vote in a statewide election be fined no less than $50. There are two statewide elections each even-numbered year. [emphasis added in this section]
Fiscal Effect
Potential Revenues. Based on current numbers of eligible voters and recent voting participation, the number of residents subject to fines under this measure could range from 10 million to more than 15 million. Assuming the new fine was set at the minimum $50 level, this would translate into potential revenues ranging from $500 million to $750 million at each statewide election. The revenues collected, however, would likely be lower since:
• The prospect of a fine could encourage more eligible voters to register and vote at elections.
• Collecting the fines from residents could prove administratively difficult.
It is unknown to what extent these factors would lower the level of fines assessed and collected.
Administrative Costs. The measure does not specify the mechanism for assessing and collecting fines from eligible voters. The costs of administering the fines, therefore, would depend on the Legislature’s decisions on implementing an administrative system. Given the large number of potential fines, the costs for the system likely would be significant.
Summary
The measure would result in the following major fiscal impacts:
• Increased revenues from fines on eligible voters not registering or voting— potentially totaling hundreds of millions of dollars each statewide election.
• Unknown, but likely significant, administrative costs.
Sincerely,
_____________________________
Elizabeth G. Hill
Legislative Analyst
_____________________________
Steve Peace
Director of Finance
Bill Lockyer, Tricia Knight,
Elizabeth G. Hill and
Steve Peace are all California Democrats. You can download a .pdf file of
the original LAO Letter (California
Legislative Analyst's Office) from our archives.
I didn't dream this up or
create it myself - it was originally sourced from:
http://www.lao.ca.gov/ballot/2003/030065.htm &
http://www.lao.ca.gov/ballot/2003/030065.pdf - An official California Government
internet
address.
MEG's Note: This doesn't mean
that democrats are any worse than republicans. It is only an example of how
far politicians are willing to go - if only in the dream stage - to satisfy
the greed for power and money. I am 100% certain that a half-hearted search
for a republican scheme would turn up something at least as disgusting and
nefarious as this.
Getting back to the subject at hand - Voter Registration and
how it influences (and is used by) politicians...
From Wikipedia, again -
A voter registration drive is an effort, often undertaken by a political campaign, political party, or other outside groups (partisan and non-partisan), that seeks to register to vote those who are eligible but not registered.
Sometimes these drives are undertaken for partisan purposes, and target specific demographic groups that are likely to vote for one candidate or other; on the other hand, such drives are sometimes undertaken by non-partisan groups and targeted more generally.
Often, a group claiming to be non-partisan will nevertheless seek to increase turnout in a specific group (e.g., young voters for Rock the Vote), blurring the line between philanthropic and political motives.
On October 4, 2004, a voter registration drive in Austin, Texas led by the Travis County Democratic Party registered over 12,000 people to vote in less than 24 hours.
So you can see that politicians and political partisans will
often attempt to "stack the deck" in an election by using registration drives.
Again, Human Nature at it's best. There's really nothing to condemn here -
everybody wants what they want for the reasons they want it. I would venture to
say that these efforts are somewhat admirable in that it displays a drive and
tenacity not shown by their potential "victims." I call the people they recruit
in these drives "victims," but perhaps a better word would be "prey." Not all of
them will be victimized by the predatory actions - some may actually benefit in
some weird way.
Some folks have trouble registering and voting, due to age, ignorance, infirmity
or a simple lack of transportation - and these people may genuinely benefit from
a concerted registration drive. But those who are NOT
afflicted in any way other than a lack of interest or desire to
participate - for whatever reason - are being cajoled and coerced (tricked) into
doing something they would not ordinarily be inclined to do.
[SOCIOLOGY TEST: TRY THIS!
~ If you ever get the opportunity to be included in a voter registration drive,
examine the politics behind the drive and clearly state that a.) you would be
happy to take them up on their offer, but that b.) your views are diametrically
opposed to their stated political philosophy, and that c.) by including you in
their drive, while they will be performing a great civic duty, they will also be
aiding their opposition. Then sit back and see what happens. Try this, even if
you actually AGREE with their philosophy, just to see what happens.]
Sadly, people are highly susceptible to peer pressure. Most people have an
unconscious desire to "belong" and to "be liked" by others. Most people fear
standing out in a crowd, but have no problem being a part of a crowd - or, for
that matter, a mob. That
feeling of "oneness," of "belonging," is an overpowering aphrodisiac.
When a group approaches you, it is difficult to face them as an individual and
contradict even the slightest aspect of their united "vision" or "goal" or
"idea" or "cause." You are one person against several or many. You may even
begin to doubt your own long and firmly held beliefs.
The closer the group's philosophy is to yours, the easier it is to assimilate
their vision into your own, despite any privately held objections regarding the
details. The more adverse the group's position is to yours, the greater the
feeling of menace - and the larger the group, the larger the menace. If you do
not have a group as large and menacing (with you, or in support of you) as the
one you are confronted with, you only have three options: conform, confront, or
run away.
While it may be the wisest choice, few people have the good sense to just walk (or
turn, or run)
away. Human Nature dictates that fleeing opposition is less than courageous,
despite the fact that it may be the most auspicious and courageous course to take.
Even fewer people have the courage of their convictions to confront a superior
force (in the sense of number and group dynamic, that is) at the risk of
ridicule, derision, scorn or physical peril. Not to put too much of a religious
spin on this, but one of the most glaring examples is found in the Bible, with
Peter's denial of Christ in the face of a mob. [Mark
14:26-72 ; John
18:15-18,25-27 ;
Luke 22:54-62]
Gospelcom.net
Peter was the man whom Jesus declared the "Rock" upon which his church would be
founded. He would eventually be martyred for his faith in a most horrific way.
But at that time, even having been forewarned and adamantly
denying the prophesy, his convictions failed him and were overwhelmed in
the face of fear. Jesus understood Human Nature.
The point is, if you are wondering just what the heck is going with MTV and
Mega-Churches and Global Warmers and the whole "President [Insert Incumbent] is
Satan" crowd (come on, admit it - if you don't hate President Bush now, then you
hated President Clinton then, and will probably hate Hilary or Obama "if."), well, there it is in a nutshell.
With children, adolescents and even teens, this kind of phenomenon is
understandable. That's why we don't allow children, adolescents or teens to vote
or enter into contracts. A mature adult, on the other hand,
should have the moral fortitude (and experience) to resist peer pressure.
Sadly, that just isn't the case.
The good news is that most people coerced into registering to vote will not
follow through and actually vote. Not unless the same crowd comes around and
hauls them off to the polling place. Registering to vote is not voting, but it
does give some indication of the temper of the nation. This can be misleading
when only certain groups are herding the sheeple... er... people into the
convention centers and polling places.
Huge registration drives do not a huge voting block make. What they do
accomplish is a perception of "trend" (which should be
considered a 4 letter word) when it comes to the type of politician
proffered to the public for their approval.
This year (2008) we initially had a huge gaggle of politicians to choose from.
What may have been the two BEST candidates (from the
over
300 'announced candidates' that the media allowed
us to fixate on) for the
country - Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul - were ignored, played down and even
ridiculed by "the powers that be." These candidates had ideas that would
actually be good for the country,
but bad for the party,
which is why their candidacy was assassinated by both the media and their own
respective parties.
Did you even know there where over 300 announced presidential candidates? What
do you know about Kucinich and Paul? Kucinich = UFO's and Paul = Radical
Heartless Isolationist Peacenik. The same thing is now happening (February) to
Huckabee, who has refused to step aside and allow the republican "Crown Prince"
his coronation. Huckabee = Radical Religious Fanatic, don't you know?
Of course, NONE of these things is true, per se, but that's what the parties and
the media would have you believe. And most people believe what they see and hear
without looking any farther into it - especially if it touches a nerve regarding
something you already have little stomach for.
Still working on it... feel free to submit comments and links with the link at top of page...
Harvard Voter Registration & Mobilization Guide: In 2000, the Institute of Politics began a voter registration initiative on the Harvard campus when it realized that a significant portion of the undergraduate student body came to campus not registered to vote. Over the course of the past six years, the program has expanded, and in that short time, the percentage of students registered to vote has seen a dramatic increase. This guide offers our model. With the help of students Jonathan Chavez and Emily Nielson, we developed a system that works for our campus. This is not meant to be a comprehensive guide nor the only way in which voter registration can work on a campus; it is simply the model that has worked at Harvard. We hope it will serve as a starting point for you to plan your voter registration and mobilization program.
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