Should write-in space be required on all ballots in Canada?

[Machjo]

Seeing that voter turn-out has continued to drop over the years, and that even those who do vote sometimes feel no choice but to hand in a blank ballot, could we not potentially increase the amount of voter turnout and reduce the number of spoilt ballots by requiring all ballots in Canada to include a space to write in the name and identifying information of a citizen of one's choice among all eligible to accept the mandate?

 

[taxslave]

Seeing that voter turn-out has continued to drop over the years, and that even those who do vote sometimes feel no choice but to hand in a blank ballot, could we not potentially increase the amount of voter turnout and reduce the number of spoilt ballots by requiring all ballots in Canada to include a space to write in the name and identifying information of a citizen of one's choice among all eligible to accept the mandate?

I think all it would do is create a lot more work for the people counting the ballots. Any write in candidate would have to first be verified as qualified to run before the final vote could be tallied. Probably without influencing the outcome. Stupid people would probably vote for their pet toad which still would have to be verified.

 

[Machjo]

I think all it would do is create a lot more work for the people counting the ballots. Any write in candidate would have to first be verified as qualified to run before the final vote could be tallied. Probably without influencing the outcome. Stupid people would probably vote for their pet toad which still would have to be verified.

Possibly. I guess another solution would be to use what we already have. For instance, certainly elections Canada already has a voter registry for each riding that is updated each election. It would be as simple as assigning a voter number to each voter, and you'd simply have to write in the name of the person you want to vote for along with his voter-number next to it. Seeing that voter-number would be used for no purpose other than this, it would be quite safe to publish the registry online for all to look up.

This way it would be a matter of merely typing in the voter number in a search engine to have it come up to confirm that the name matches.

Add to that that I'm sure most voters taking advantage of this would be voting for prominent members of the community. Generally speaking, you'll only come across about 100 or so truly prominent members of the community, and even then there will likely be about a dozen that would truly stick out as among the best-known and most respected members of the community. While some might in fact vote for themselves of their mother, the vast majority I'm sure would vote for one of the more prominent members of the community.

 

[taxslave]

Could possibly devise a system where a person could declare prior to the vote that they would like the job but don't have the coin necessary to run a campaign. That way the elections people could vet them ahead of time.

 

[Machjo]

Could possibly devise a system where a person could declare prior to the vote that they would like the job but don't have the coin necessary to run a campaign. That way the elections people could vet them ahead of time.

Perhaps. I was thinking more along the lines of a jury system, whereby if the people want you to represent them, you need a good reason to decline. Of course we could make declining easy legally, but in principle would still ask people don't as a civic duty, even if not legally then in principle.

If following that reasoning, then automatically all voters would have to be classified as candidates. Or I suppose another option would be that you must actively request your name be removed from the voter registry.

One problem I could see is people who were in the riding last election but have since moved. Since the registry is renewed only at each election, it could be outdated, with some new residents not being on the list too. However, a resident who'd moved away or one who's just moved in is not likely to get may voted anyway.

 

[Johnnny]

id vote for shakira or the kool aid man

 

[Machjo]

id vote for shakira or the kool aid man

Sure if they're in your riding and they have the qualities to win.

 

[Johnnny]

YouTube - Shakira - Loba

 

[Unforgiven]

Idiots shouldn't be allowed to vote to start with.

 

[Machjo]

Idiots shouldn't be allowed to vote to start with.

And the smart ones should be given alternative choices when the list on the ballot is worth wiping your rump with.