When I hear a politician making a broad statement about wanting everyone's vote, I feel a little sick to my stomach. Generally about half the eligible citizens vote, and as far as I'm concerned, that's far too high. The proportion of uninformed and ill-informed votes in most elections
has to be staggering.
Case in point: look at the quality of ads employed by the candidates. They are rife with distortions, catchy jingles,
and lofty-sounding but empty rhetoric. In short, what people end up voting for is the best campaigner, not the most able senator,
representative, or president.
I feel that it is not in our best interest to have politicians trying to appeal to everyone, and that is what would happen even more than
now with mandatory voting. Messages would become even more "watered down" and vague. I don't want elected officials owing a lot of service
to those who don't care about the system in the first place.
Let's quiz people on the essential principles of government before they are allowed to register. Thomas Jefferson said that democracy
depends on an informed public, and I agree. Let's make every vote an informed vote, and then we'll have a truly representative government.
What is the central idea of the passage?
1. The quality of campaign ads is very poor.
02. Those who vote need to be well informed.
3. Voters are easily swayed by vague messages.
04. People deserve a truly representative government.