On July 15, a U.S. District Court in Missouri ordered the Department of Social Services to ensure that each local welfare office in the state asks everyone who seeks help if that person is registered to vote, and to provide a voter registration form for those who aren’t registered. The 1993 “Motor Voter Law” passed by Congress in 1993 requires this activity. ACORN sued the Missouri Department of Social Services after gathering evidence that the federal law wasn’t being followed. Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) v Scott, 08-cv-4084, w.d. Thanks to Dan Tokaji for this news.
This is definitely in the “Inmates Running the Asylum” category.
In a semi-rational society, since a rational one would not have a government welfare system, welfare recipients should not be allowed to vote.
It’s hard to know the moral justification of excluding an adult citizen from voting, since all adult residents are expected to obey the laws. If someone is subject to the laws, but had not even an indirect voice in making those laws, what is the moral authority for forcing that person to obey those laws?
Our founding fathers thought only property owners should have the vote. Interesting idea and in a sense have we not evolved into a similar situation except only the wealthy seem to be able to get elected.
I’m a bit perplexed by your view of this David and don’t understand your justification for this belief. In the category of inmates running the asylum, one need only look at the legislative executive branch of our government.
Not only that, Ms Woodruff, lets have blacks count as three fifths of a person! And women voters? [Don’t get me started!]
And we can all go back to horses and blood leaches and slavery and sailing ships and
THE ELECTORIAL COLLEGE FOREVER!
I think that what David Macko is saying is that he resents the idea that someone has the right to vote to force someone else to give them money.
It encourages the government to take someone’s money and give it to someone else in order to buy votes.
The fear is that if the government can get more than half of the voters on welfare, then it can use the majority to plunder the minority.
It makes sense that people who are net tax takers should not be allowed to vote.
It also follows that legislators at all levels of government should not be paid for serving in the legislature. Legislators should work without pay, or for a nominal amount as in New Hampshire.
Why stop at tax fund takers [like defense contractors and felony congress members], those with large ‘carbon’ footprints, over seas vacations, foreign pen pals, lack of facial hair, auto mobiles with poor MPG should be politically ‘excommunicated’! Buy an SUV, lose your vote!
And the ‘attack’ of disabled [see Donna Spring obit] poor young and elderly residents? These folks are already pretty beat up. Fatigue ALWAYS trumps anger, eventually!