Reflection 4

One very important point was brought up during the last class discussion on liberalism and the advantages and disadvantages to an uninformed/misinformed vote: "stupid people are a demographic too", as it was so eloquently phrased. This really sank in for me. I was so focused on the causes and effects of misinformed/uninformed voters that I forgot to think about the actual voter. The fact is that in a democratic government every citizen, of age, should be represented fairly. This means that every single group of people should have a voice in the political process.

So who cares about the impact of an uninformed vote or not voting at all, the process of voting is better for a liberal society simply because a ballot is casted and a demographic's opinion is represented. Whether the effect on the country is positive or negative is up for much dispute, but the effect on the theoretical principles of democracy are quite clear: all people should have their voices heard in a democratic state.

I think more and more people started to realize just how significant a vote was when Professor Jackson mentioned poll taxes and literacy tests. Immediately, people recognized the fact that no election should ever be restricted to entire demographics, and as it was aforementioned, misinformed/uninformed voters classify as a demographic, so fairly, it could be stated that since all demographics should be represented in a liberal state, an uninformed/misinformed vote is better than no vote at all.