Voter Competence

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The issue of voter competence is complex. Ths complexity can be seen in the varying opinions that connect to this issue. In the source, there are three speakers who are addressing their opinion toward requiring a voter-competency test before casting their ballots. Speaker one believes there should be a requirement to take a voting competency test in order to receive a ballot to vote, as it makes the citizen mindful of what is happening within the government. Speaker two disagrees however, as it would take away the right to vote to some citizens who are not as informed about the government than others. This would include immigrants and lower class citizens. Without the voting-competency test all citizens would be able to vote without any restrictions and complications, but some citizens who do not have a certain amount of knowledge about the government’s issues would have trouble voting. …show more content…
The problem with the test is that many citizens do not have the time to educate themselves about the government’s issues and candidates political parties. This could lead to demotivation to vote because of laziness or citizens just do not have the time to educate themselves. It restricts some citizens from exercising their democratic freedoms. Another problem that could erupt is that other citizens could use this test as an advantage over others. The implementation of a voting-competency test would be an illiberal move that favors the elite group of society. The elite group of society, “the rich and educated,” would take advantage of this by voting for political parties who favor them over the lower class. In conclusion, it is clear that linking it to conservatism, it would be ideal to implement a voter-competency test as it would be based on the individual to take the test. However, I do not support this as others can takeover the system using it for their own

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