A new meaning to the term “voter incentives”

Drew McKissick at the Conservative Outpost has a column posted today that talks about a ballot initiative that will be voted on this fall in the state of Arizona. It’s something called the “Voter Reward Act”:

The state of Arizona is making a play for the distinction of implementing one of the absolute worst ideas ever in promotion of good citizenship.

With the ostensible goal of increasing interest in voting and thereby voter turnout, Arizonans will be faced this November with what is known as the Voter Reward Act. It is a referendum that would create a million dollar lottery which would be awarded to one randomly chosen voter drawn from the rolls of those who cast a ballot in any given election. In other words, bribery.

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All of this doesn’t even begin to address the issue of how “interested” we truly want those who cast ballots to be. Do we really want the participation of those that don’t care enough to register to vote? Or people who just don’t want to wait in line at the polls on Election Day?

And do we really want people to vote who otherwise wouldn’t do so unless they were bribed with a shot a million dollar payday?

Citizenship isn’t just about rights and benefits. It’s also about responsibility. Our problem is that we have too many politicians who want to coddle people into forgetting that fact.

It goes without saying that what should motivate voters is not a ‘cash reward’ but instead a desire to have an active voice in what’s going on in our government. It shouldn’t take a chance at a million dollars to get people interested in voting.

This ballot initiative will be one to watch in November.

Here’s more info on the Proposition 200, more commonly known as the Voter Reward Act.

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