I know that there are some people out there who have called for people to actually take a "Test" before they can legally be allowed to vote on political issues; such as understanding the Constitution, Federal, State, and Local laws, as well as understanding the positions of each candidate before the election, and the political positions of each party, and every other party out there. In a way, I can understand this position with the amount of uneducated people in this Country right now, but on the other hand, it would also be discriminating against specific segments of the population; such as handicapped voters, and immigrants.

 

And now this just opens up another huge can of worms of exactly: Who SHOULD be allowed to vote? Back during the days of the House of Burgesses, and the early American Republic, only people who possessed land could vote. As it was understood that people who owned land would be more attentive to the issues of the time, and therefore would have a greater say in the election. During and after the Civil War, many people in both the North and South believed that Slaves and Ex-Slaves shouldn't have the right vote simply because many of them were uneducated about the political and legal system of the Country, and this could lead to fraudulent elections, and corruption in both systems.

 

 

We cannot afford to continue to look at history in the eyes of the 21st Century. Many of these suffrage reforms made in good-will in the 19th and 20th Centuries, sure have come back to haunt us as a Country, in the 21st Century...

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