Tuesday, November 05, 2013

[sxpgjmtw] Voting as a household

Before women's suffrage, it was probably well understood that the husband was voting as the representative of the household.  Optimistically, this induced discussion within the family before going out to cast the ballot.  The best interests of the household may be something neither the husband nor wife alone have complete information about, but together they do.  Two people acting as a team accomplish more than each acting separately.  Discussion helps weed out the "thinking with your gut" "preying on private fears" psychological tricks that politicians do. (Need historical research as to whether all this is unrealistically optimistic.)

After suffrage, there is no obvious compelling reason to discuss within the family, with secret ballot and all that.  Cynically, and historically accurately, this is why the progressives pushed for women's suffrage: women voted differently than their husbands, providing a new angle to achieve political power.

Consider recreating the spirit before suffrage by permitting only a random sample (widely published) of eligible voters to vote each election. Those disenfranchised must find someone to support their beliefs, and in doing so, foster discussion.

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