Oregon legislature passes automatic voter registration

[Pandaguineapig]

The thing is that people who don't vote probably shouldn't vote

[Pandaguineapig]

The thing is that people who don't vote probably shouldn't vote

In a democracy, you don't get to decide who should or should not vote.

That's not what im saying, what im saying is that people who can but choose not to register to vote are almost always the most uninformed in society and we should not feel the need to encourage them to alter our government if they already have made it clear that they don't care

[Pandaguineapig]

The thing is that people who don't vote probably shouldn't vote

In a democracy, you don't get to decide who should or should not vote.

That's not what im saying, what im saying is that people who can but choose not to register to vote are almost always the most uninformed in society and we should not feel the need to encourage them to alter our government if they already have made it clear that they don't care

It's not necessarily that the majority of unregistered voters "don't care."  They might not entirely understand the connection between election results and impacts on their own lives, but that isn't necessarily their fault, either.  They might have other legitimate reasons for thinking that the options won't represent their views, also.  We have to give everybody the ability to participate, even the apathetic, as otherwise it undermines the integrity of the process.

A government where 65% of adults aren't voting is not a government that is receptive to any public interests.  It's not that these people don't have opinions about the way this country should be run.  They obviously do.

Yes but are you comfortable with people who do not know any of the candidates and nothing about the office consistently swinging elections?

[Pandaguineapig]

The thing is that people who don't vote probably shouldn't vote

In a democracy, you don't get to decide who should or should not vote.

That's not what im saying, what im saying is that people who can but choose not to register to vote are almost always the most uninformed in society and we should not feel the need to encourage them to alter our government if they already have made it clear that they don't care

But that line of thinking is fundamentally undemocratic. If you think uninformed people shouldn't vote, why not reinstate literacy tests? If you accept the principle of universal suffrage, you cannot view the fact that certain people don't vote as a positive thing.

We don't live with universal suffrage, felons and the underaged can't vote as well as non-citizens, and mandated voting could lead to our elections and campaigns getting even more dumbed-down by voters who can be swayed by the dumbest phrases such as "death panels" and "war on women" and electing leaders who go out of their way to appeal to the lowest denominator

[Pandaguineapig]

Yes but are you comfortable with people who do not know any of the candidates and nothing about the office consistently swinging elections?

We already do that.

Also, felons and non-citizen long-term residents should be able to vote.

I agree felons should be allowed to vote but non-citizens who are long term residents should only be able to vote in local elections not federal or state