last change

As the end draws near, an article caught my eye. It was about the voting rights of the mentally disabled. The article talks about independent groups that go to psychiatric hospitals to help register voters and/or help filling out absentee ballots. Luckily, the article discussed the could be issues with influencing voters’ decisions who aren’t working with a full deck of cards. It also peeked into the can of worms regarding any entity, government or otherwise, not having the right to solicit voting assistance.

All in all, it was a pretty interesting article, but it got me thinking about a somewhat related issue. What about those voting American’s who aren’t crazy? Granted, they may just lack the proper diagnosis, but there are levels of odd out there that shouldn’t be anywhere near a ballot. Don’t believe me? Turn on the local news after a tornado and you’ll get a nice, nasty taste of ignorance and stupidity. I mean, I know you didn’t plan on being on your local 10 o’clock news, but did you plan on taking the rollers out and getting out of your PJs at any point? Furthermore, for anyone who has ever worked in a customer service related field, you have been exposed to some of the most stubborn and shockingly delusional of them all.

Voting turnouts for 2008 are record breaking. But, isn’t there some sort of quality vs. quantity argument that needs to be addressed in the midst of election fever? I think something should be done for those deemed ‘mentally disabled’ by professional standards. These people have degenerative diseases and other (non-self imposed) disabilities that shouldn’t restrict their involvement. My qualm is with the registered voters who are stupid and/or ignorant by choice. People who support a candidate based SOLELY on their perceived likeability, gender, or race. You’re retarded to think that if you have one superficial thing in common with someone, they will stand on a platform you can live with for the next 4 years.

The right to vote is (unfortunately) extended to all citizens of the great U S of A, but shouldn’t there be some standard? Sure, some voters may not be clinically mentally disabled, but like any Chinese Buffet, something just doesn’t seem right… I think American should take a carnival inspired standard for voting. They need to start posting cautionary signs outside of voting venues that say, “You must be this ‘not stupid’ to vote!”