Not Really Science Monday: Making Voting FUN!

[roseembolism]

 
 
So, I peeked into a web discussion on Nader's newly revealed run, which had drifted into a discussion on whether compulsionary voting would make things better or worse.

This is the way my brain works: when people start debating "compulsory voting", I think "Hmmm...making voting a basic compulsion or instinct. Interesting, but how could we do that? There's viruses that cause quite complicated behaviors in animals, could we engineer one that compels people to fill in bubbles on cards?"

Ponder...

"It might be simpler to just make voting an addictive behavior. Coat the voting cards with cocaine, heroin, or nicotine. The problem then would be people needing to vote more and more due to habituation."


More thought...

"I know! Remember that experiment where they hooked the rat's pleasure center up to a wire so it got a jolt every time it pushed a lever, and it just couldn't stop hitting the lever? We could do the same with voting booths! Every time you fill in a bubble, you get a jolt to the pleasure center! To the lab!"

Maybe I should just shut up and vote.

Comments

[mithriltabby]

I prefer the reverse poll tax they use in Australia. You have to pay for the privilege of not voting.

[roseembolism.livejournal.com]

I think a reverse poll tax could be combined with the only use of voting tests I could agree with; you can test OUT of voting, if you so prefer.

[mithriltabby]

How does that test work? Multiple choice, you identify the corruption and malfeasance of all candidates on the slate?

[roseembolism.livejournal.com]

Well, it would be for those people who post on the internet about how they are too smart to vote. So maybe tests of the positions of the candidates, plus I dunno, history, math, etc..

Since it's a test to get out of voting, it should be less succeptable to corruption.

[palecur.livejournal.com]

I keep telling people, fully-tradable vote markets, including vote futures and contingent options, with gleefully and brutally enforced transaction transparency. It's the way to go.

[roseembolism.livejournal.com]

And if we combined that with addictive voting, we could have something at least as popular as the illegal drug trade...

...oh dear...

*wife eyebrow*

[racerxmachina.livejournal.com]

This from the man who hasn't even registered to vote in the county he's lived for over a year....

*just sayin'*

[mrteufel.livejournal.com]

Add lotto tickets to the voting forms.