Why Stupid People Shouldn't Be Allowed To Vote

As you may, or may not know, there's a federal election in Canada on June 28th. I have no idea who I'm voting for since all of the parties suck hugely. Having said that, I've made it my busniess to understand the platforms of the three main parties (Conservative, Liberal, and NDP) as well as the Green Party, who've been able to run candidates in every riding across Canada.

I will eventually come to a decision (I've narrowed it down to not the Conservatives), and it will be based on my research and my gut feelings. Apparently a family friend is basing her decision solely on the party's name. Since she thinks she's conservative, she's voting for them. She has no idea about their policies, who is running in her riding, or what the other parties' policies are. It's pathetic. I asked her if she agreed with Stephan Harper's (leader of Conservatives) anti-Kyoto, anti-gay rights, pro-Iraq involvement stance, and she said that they didn't affect her, so she didn't care. Nice.

What makes it even worse is that she's otherwise a very nice person - she's just apathetic and uninformed.

So - what's my point? My point is that if you can't be bothered to at least find out what the candidates stand for, then you shouldn't be able to cast a vote on June 28th. She doesn't get it. I'd rather have a well informed prisoner vote than an uninformed civilian.

Maybe if I'd explained that it would be akin to blindly voting for someone on Canadian Idol without ever having watched the show she would have understood.