Voter Error

Definition: Voter error occurs each and every time someone votes for a candidate, candidates, political party or referendum issue when they simply do not know what the issues are, or understand the weight of their vote.

There. That’s my definition. And you and I commit this error every time we vote for someone we have not vetted or are unfamiliar of their positions. Judges we elect are most often that sort of vote we cast. I have done it many times. Most of the candidates I am unfamiliar with; don’t know if they are highly principled jurists, or are political hacks, or are foul ball nudniks who are known by the insiders to play a predictable game of decisions they can rely on. They make the hay, but the judge is counted on to play the game. And so they are put up for election, political consideration or money is exchanged and the game is on. You and I don’t know about this, but we vote anyway because they are listed as being a member of the political party we generally support.

That is voter error. Done through laziness and stupidity.

British voters elected to remove their nation from the EU. The fallout from that decision has been swift and heavy. Just the reaction, not the economic, historic impact or cultural negatives yet to be experienced. In fact no one really knows what that impact will be but the image of the nation, the historical implications and the reputation of the Brits has been negatively shouted from global rooftops.

36 hours after the votes were counted over 2 million Brits signed a petition to re-take the vote so that the decision would be reversed. That is how embarrassed the voters are. Now. Now after the votes are in and known. They are embarrassed. And here’s why. [Note: the 'recall' petition now has 4 million signatures]

Most voters who supported withdrawal from the EU do not fully understand why they took that position. They knew they were angry with politicians. They were angry about recent years of economic declines and challenges. They were worried about record numbers of immigrants entering their country and raising their cost of living as competition for social services, education and taxes were testing the limits of their country’s ability to cope.

But then there were the job losses, career shifts, flat earnings, and frustration among many people who were trying to maintain a standard of living during a tumultuous period of adjustments and decline.

So they were angry with their lot in life. They wanted to blame someone and didn’t know who to pummel. So they took it out on their political leaders as though they had done something wrong. And then they didn’t like the EU for the same reasons.

The truth really is that they didn’t know why their lot in life had been diminished. And so they voted their frustrations and ignorance. Ignorance. Laziness, too, because they simply did not do the reading and research they needed to do in order to understand the issues sitting in front of them. Politicians were telling them the merits of the case to remain in the EU and the merits of the case to withdraw from the EU. Because they didn’t trust those politicians they shirked their duty and voted to withdraw. Without any consideration for the impact of that action, they merely voted to slap the ruling people, the politicians, the vested interests. Out of ignorance.  It happens. I kindly call it voter error.

The very same thing is happening in America. Lazy people get angry about something and take it out on politicians. Trouble is they really don’t know what the issues are or who is really to blame.

That’s politics. That’s what our political parties are doing to us here in America. That’s the nature of the political beast blaming Hillary for things she never did or had any responsibility for. But it doesn’t matter. Smear her with blame anyway so we can win elections for republicans.

Bernie blames everybody and everything and as long as enough people believe him he will sway the results of the coming presidential election. He wants to harm Hillary. He wants to harm Democrats. He isn’t a Democrat, he is an independent. He didn’t want to play by the political party rules, but he didn’t want to go it alone as an independent. So he declared himself a Democrat and ran in the primary against Hillary. He lost. But he is still waving his flag of independence and will do nothing now but damage to Hillary’s campaign. Bernie may be so good at this as to throw the American voters toward the unthinkable Trump.

And Trump. Boy what a mess of a candidate. He has played to the fears, unreasonable assumptions, ignorance and stupidity of a lot of average citizens. And he knows they will fall in line and vote his preferences because they are that lazy.

I call it the Brexit effect. And it very well may win the election for Trump.

What a vast error that will be! 

But I have more faith in our voters. I think they will realize what happened in Britain could easily happen here. And there is nothing worse than regretting a vote after you have made it.

For the rest of us who take these things seriously, continue with your research and consideration of all views. Then make your decision and help others understand the issues based on your hard work. Maybe we can raise the quality of voting behavior in America and reduce voter error at the same time? We can hope!

June 28, 2016