tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post1019990942617478887..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: Attention Civics TeachersJonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-78543702408632453172013-05-21T20:44:37.759-05:002013-05-21T20:44:37.759-05:00Because their confused about the Kantian Imperativ...Because their confused about the Kantian Imperative.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-82775179261884523322013-05-18T18:14:26.291-05:002013-05-18T18:14:26.291-05:00You are of course correct about the reason. Not ex...You are of course correct about the reason. Not exactly meant as Socratic; more of a futile rhetorical, maybe? <br /><br />I do suspect, however, that in many of these cases the elections were set generations ago, and they are where they are now out of inertia plus indifference more than anything else. Jonathan Bernsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-82195026143374051722013-05-18T14:23:46.684-05:002013-05-18T14:23:46.684-05:00"...from a elections policy angle, I'd pr..."...from a elections policy angle, I'd probably question why these local elections can't be on the same day as the general election."<br /><br />I hope that's one of those Socratic questions, because everyone knows that the reason we don't schedule local elections to coincide with state elections, and state elections to coincide with federal, is to discourage people from voting. The voters who are the least easily discouraged tend to vote one way in particular.<br /><br />In this case the mechanism seems to have overachieved, but perhaps the outcome favored the folks who don't like people voting, so maybe it's a win for them anyhow. Glen Tomkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16615965629335985194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-85400536391427799522013-05-18T05:30:32.991-05:002013-05-18T05:30:32.991-05:00Scott,
Could be someone who lives very near the s...Scott,<br /><br />Could be someone who lives very near the school district but not quite in it. Or maybe some confusion about where their official primary residence is.Chaznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-36925225196287069782013-05-17T13:58:47.626-05:002013-05-17T13:58:47.626-05:00For what it's worth, I see it as part of the d...For what it's worth, I see it as part of the deep dysfunction of local "democracy" in America. <br /><br />From the point of view of the average voter: you have no information on the candidates, little or no information on the challenges facing the school board, after they're elected you'll still have practically zero information on what the board is doing (unless you really seek it out, and even attending board meetings without strong prior resources of information is unlikely to enlighten you on underlying issues and/or any local political maneuverings), even if the district is running out of money and teachers are close to striking you're unlikely to get any in-depth reporting; and if the board is making unsound decisions, it won't be known 'til months later and there will be little or no accountability of board members for those decisions. <br /><br />Why would anyone feel they had a stake in voting? philosophical ronhttp://www.philosophical-ron.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-32599521789273524392013-05-17T12:33:58.995-05:002013-05-17T12:33:58.995-05:00I have to wonder whether the invalidated vote was ...I have to wonder whether the invalidated vote was from one of the contestants. What other outsider would vote in a school election?Scott Monjenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-44571241629605530382013-05-17T11:46:59.185-05:002013-05-17T11:46:59.185-05:00I'm wondering what percent of the adult popula...I'm wondering what percent of the adult population in this Hispanic-majority town are not US citizens and therefore not eligible to vote. If it's a high percentage, that would do a little to explain low voting totals, though it could hardly be a complete explanation for totals *this* low...David Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09260587086663631888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-15832793464951676312013-05-17T10:48:05.186-05:002013-05-17T10:48:05.186-05:00You might also title this: attention rational voti...You might also title this: attention rational voting paradox, you were almost empirically borne out!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com