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ok, here's one for ya....
I'm in my late 20's. I live in the south. I went to the polling booth with my dad in 1980 when i was three. I do remember this bc it's the same freaking polling booth i am going to on nov 2nd...anyway..I live in a predominately black neighborhood, probably a 65/35 split black:white....
so, we're in line at the polling booth fairly early in the morning....i'm right beside my dad and we are right behind a roughly 60 yr old black gentleman...
Sooo, we step up to get the ballot and i hear the lady in front ask the gentleman about 5 minutes worth of questions ranging from who was running, what were the issues, who were the presidents during his lifetime, certain questions about civil rights, questions about congress, questions about SCOTUS, questions about the parties, questions on his life, background, education...The gentleman patiently answered everything the lady asked and she said, "I'm sorry, but you just aren't qualified to vote, you clearly are not up to date on the issues" and i was worried bc, while my father is relatively intelligent, he's not exactly 'book smart' or politically aware, etc, other than basic issues....So, we get up to the lady, she says, "Here mr sullivan, just go over there and have a good day"
Sooo.....apparently, some people take it upon themselves to decide who is up enough to vote....
that was the only time i remember seeing somethign like that, but when i was talking to one of my history proffs, he told me the same story over and over again, year after year.....
Scary stuff
at times, i definitely get worried about who casts a vote, but at others, I can see WWAAYYY too many problems with instituting a voter standards test....
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Live.
Chris
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