Do we really want people who can’t be bothered to vote unless they can win a prize to be voting in the first place?
here’s going to be a new reason for Arizonans to go to the polls this year: They could win $1 million.
The Secretary of State’s Office certified Thursday that backers of the voter lottery plan had submitted more than enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot.
But the measure is worded in a way to actually encourage people to vote both in the primary this September as well as two months later when the actual initiative will be on the ballot. If it is approved in November, it will be retroactive: One lucky person who voted in this year’s primary and another who cast a ballot in the general election each will get $1 million.
Critics say that this will only leader to more voter fraud and to people voting in order to win the money, not based on issues or candidate positions, and that people won’t bother to study referenda and candidates before casting their ballots.
In addition, the backers of the initiative don’t seem to be the brightest bulbs on the tree if this is the lesson they glean from Scripture and 2,000 years of Christian faith.
Osterloh said the concept of rewards is not so odd. He said it actually comes from the Bible — that if you do the right thing, you get into heaven. “If incentives are good enough for God, they’re good enough for Arizona,” he said.
Please tell me he’s not Catholic.
Why low voter turnout can be good
Update: See below…
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