Pa. to register voters automatically, Gov. Shapiro announces

DocMcStuffin@lemmy.world to politics @lemmy.world – 701 points –
Pa. to register voters automatically, Gov. Shapiro announces
pennlive.com
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I voted for Governor Shapiro because I’ve always loved his YouTube videos, but I don’t agree with a move like this. Voting shouldn’t be too easy or people won’t cherish it for the special thing that it is.

I’m usually pretty good at detecting sarcasm but I cannot tell based on this post.

Voting is so important, it’s a rite of passage and a symbolic, almost religious ceremony. If you just sign everybody up to do it willy-nilly, they won’t take it seriously. Better that people should have to jump through a few hoops so only the people that really care can partake.

It’s a right not a rite.

I think I spelled “rite” right, all right?

You did spell it correctly in your usage, but I believe the other commentor is saying that voting is a right, rather than a rite of passage.

A lot of the people who "really care" about voting don't have any clue about the candidates, democracy, or the Constitution. They just have a lot of time on their hands and watch a lot of TV telling them what to be afraid of and who to vote for, basically straight Republican.

I'm for it. Pre-Trump and all the recent GOP voter blocking nonsense, I was automatically purged from Florida's rolls for not having voted recently enough? Something like that.

Aye, last year a poll worker started about my license not matching my voting address. I'd heard shenans were to be expected so I plopped my voter registration poll card down and she stfu. The result? I am now trained and going to work the polls. What did I learn in training? She was wrong wrong wrong wrong and what she did was harassment. But you know what? That's OK, bc now I'm showing up, maybe I'll get to sit next to her this year and turn her in.

See that’s what I’m talking about. If you didn’t vote recently then you probably don’t really care about it and should have to go re-register to prove that you’re really committed to democracy before being able to vote again. That’s how we make sure only the real democracy cherishers can vote, and that’s how we defeat authoritarian demagogues.

Here's the thing, if you reduce the amount of people who will vote, it increases the cost of a singe vote and by extension incentivises falsifications by the ruling party.

Being able to vote isn't a privelege to cherish it, it's a right.

When it comes to such things, always remember how they can be abused, because they likely will be.

This is how informational autocracies do it. The deincentivise participation and use state employees to vote for people who didn't participate. This is how it works in Russia, Belarus, and many more other countries.

Exactly. If someone can't figure out for themselves how to register to vote, they don't deserve to. There should be a bare minimum of intelligence and responsibility required to vote