jpmac - I think that the vast majority of people are party-neutral inactivists who flow along hoping that those of us who are involved will statistically represent them when it comes to actual voting.
Thus, most have relegated politics to the activists arena, where diatribe and spin keep the frenzy interesting.
Consider that around 30% of registered voters participate in elections; care to guess how many are eligible but don't register? It depends on where you live and what the local issues are, but it is less than 50%. Thus, 30% of 50% of eligible voters actually execute ballots.
We have to do three things, IMO:
1) Simplify, as well as authenticate, the voting process. I submit this includes a certification of any person who wants to vote - as in, having a valid Social Security number. Voting should also take place on Saturdays instead of Tuesdays.
2) Ban the publication of opinion polls within 90 days of an election. (I'm repeating myself here.) Since this is beyond the scope of the constitutional guarantees of a free press, this may take an amendment to enable. However, see below.
3) Pressure the newsmedia into not predicting results prior to the closing of polls.
Since 2 and 3 cannot be mandated through legislation, I would suggest we vigorously make the case to the executives of the broadcast and news media companies. We also approach advertisers such that any program that participates in vote steering like that is bereft of ad dollars. We, as stockholders in such companies, have the right to put the issue on the agendas of our respective annual meetings.
JMO on things that may contribute to putting better people in office.
Mr. K.
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