[speaker001:] all right we need to discuss the voters
[speaker002:] yes
[speaker001:] on a national and a local level why do you think the apathy exists I blame it to apathy
[speaker002:] I I yeah um I I suspect the apathy is is due to something like people just feeling that that their vote doesn't count anyway I mean why why bother voting if um if your vote won't make a difference so for instance in um the last presidential election I'm sure a lot of people thought oh Bush is going to win either way why bother voting
[speaker001:] why should I go out of my way when it doesn't matter
[speaker002:] that's right I think that's and and the other side of the coin is um people saying well if I really like the underdog candidate I still think they're not going to win so some are saying Dukakis is certainly not going to win why bother voting for him so I think I I think that's a big uh a big a big reason for it how about
[speaker001:] oh I think so too and I think the other thing is the news media media puts such a blitz on it that they've uh had it predetermined with a half of one percent voting you know
[speaker002:] um that's true actually I never thought about that that that's a good reason
[speaker001:] and I I think the you hear the news you know you start out in the morning and all day you hear the news and by time say you get off work and go to vote you feel like it doesn't make any difference
[speaker002:] that's true that's true
[speaker001:] due to the overabundance of news we have available to us
[speaker002:] um-hum that
[speaker001:] what do you think on the local elections though
[speaker002:] I think on the local elections it's actually um I think um I think people vote in the larger elections because they feel like well you know the country's real important and you know if I elect if we help elect a president who's going to save us then the then the whole country will be saved but they figure local elections don't mean that much I suspect so people don't really worry about their local mayor or something figuring that you know um and I think wrongly figuring that that well what good is another mayor going to do anyway because our federal taxes are more important right now and you know and stuff like that so people think that that that they don't have um that that it doesn't doesn't matter as much whereas I think it's probably just the opposite is true I think it's probably the case that people could have more effect on a local level
[speaker001:] oh I think so too absolutely uh I think another thing and uh I'm making a judgment here that may or may I think it is totally wrong well
[speaker002:] uh
[speaker001:] I think that the people that are um have um a lower income which you automatically equate with lower education
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] tend not to be registered and they don't register and they don't understand that you can't go and vote and register all at the same time or when it gets down to the point of someone saying are you going to vote today they say well I would
[speaker002:] um right but
[speaker001:] and I believe in this but
[speaker002:] yeah that that's possible I still think that that a lot of those people are the ones who really think that their votes don't make a difference though as well I think it's those same people who don't know any better about how we vote are are are a lot of the people who think that well look at me I'm just a little nobody my vote's not going to count anyway you know and I think that's probably a portion of the population that's massively under represented I I I would guess that that that portion of the population is massively under represented and
[speaker001:] I had an interesting comment one time a thought that would never have crossed my mind I had someone tell me that I will never register to vote because I don't serve on a jury
[speaker002:] hum what do they have to do with one another
[speaker001:] that's I I I just I that I just wandered off from that one I was just so surprised and amazed with the statement that they say only registered voters can be picked for jury selection
[speaker002:] oh so they didn't want to wind up being a juror ever
[speaker001:] so they were if they don't vote they don't have to be on a jury
[speaker002:] oh I didn't realize that actually that
[speaker001:] there is convoluted logic for you
[speaker002:] yeah there is there there there are much easier ways to get out of jury duty
[speaker001:] yes
[speaker002:] just go in and say oh I want to be a juror I can spot a guilty person a mile away
[speaker001:] oh I just right right there are so many other ways but that one just it defeated me I didn't have any answer for that one that one was just beyond my imagination
[speaker002:] well that that just seems to be a person who just doesn't care about much of anything around sort of you know doesn't doesn't sort of likes rights probably but doesn't like responsibilities responsibilities no I think
[speaker001:] that's a good point you're probably right
[speaker002:] I mean that's that's what it what it boils down to is people like to say you know people say well I don't want to be on jury you know I don't want to serve on jury duty I don't want to vote I don't want to do this and that well then they could you know I put them in the reverse situation in the place where they don't have the right to be on jury duty and and they don't have the right to vote I suspect their opinions would change very quickly
[speaker001:] which and that was what I was thinking exactly about because in the Soviet Union they had an election and they had what like a ninety eight percent turnout
[speaker002:] yes
[speaker001:] a massive turnout at last someone wants us to vote they were standing in lines to vote
[speaker002:] yes they were they were doing that unfortunately what what they were they had they had no idea what they were voting on it turns out
[speaker001:] and their vote didn't count
[speaker002:] that's right but but it's the thought they all got out but you wonder if you know if if now the next election they have if only half of them are actually going to show up or how many generations it will take until only half of the voters show up in Russia
[speaker001:] or any one shows up
[speaker002:] right that that's true
[speaker001:] total indifference you know what difference does it make back gone the full circle
[speaker002:] right now if things go the way that that that they are there I think that they'll keep voting but I think they'll wind up like us at some point where people sort of only half of them will end up voting and sort of caring enough to really make a statement so you know I think I think that that the people who most need to vote sometimes are the are the ones who who are really out to make a statement because you know when when when you've got an underdog candidate who represents something and even if he doesn't win a large number of people voting for that particular candidate does I think make a statement to everyone else
[speaker001:] oh certainly there's a message there even if they lose
[speaker002:] I think that yeah I think and I I think that's real important
[speaker001:] oh and I think women turn out to vote for women too
[speaker002:] that's probably true
[speaker001:] yeah yeah I think well I know it's true you see a lot of that you know rally behind the female she may lose but by golly we're going to make a statement here
[speaker002:] yeah hum that's good that's that's that's that's actually real good
[speaker001:] you know
[speaker002:] I said well well actually actually the the female who I would most rally behind right now right I don't know much about her politics that's about a way the way she makes speeches is a is a local person for you is Ann Richards
[speaker001:] oh okay
[speaker002:] I don't know her politics I just know that uh I saw her speak in the eighty four Democratic uh convention and right then and there if they said to me vote for someone for president I would have slapped down my vote for Ann Richards
[speaker001:] was was that the time no that was later eighty four that's too soon she said something about uh Ginger Rogers did did everything Fred Astaire did and she did it backwards in high heels
[speaker002:] that's very good
[speaker001:] she said that I didn't said you know don't tell me what women can do
[speaker002:] that that's that's that's very good that's I I like that so I would uh I would I would vote for her without and I I suspect she could get a large voter turnout
[speaker001:] I think I did vote for her as a matter of fact I'm pretty sure I did
[speaker002:] say I I I would think that um that that people like that I think inflammatory inflammatory politicians are um or or emotional politicians you know certain very vibrant politicians tend to bring crowds out I think I would hope
[speaker001:] well and some of the issues are so emotional
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] you know some of the really the really emotional ones have you followed the Dallas elections on zoning
[speaker002:] no oh I've heard of it but not necessarily I've heard it's very controversial though
[speaker001:] I everyone has made so many statements I don't live in Dallas county
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] but I've heard so many statements that I've lost track
[speaker002:] hum
[speaker001:] I honestly at this point it's it's just too blown out of proportion for everyone you really even the news you cannot follow
[speaker002:] yes
[speaker001:] what the story the actual facts are at this point I don't I don't really know if some of the poor judges that are just trying to decide how it should be divided
[speaker002:] um-hum that's what um-hum
[speaker001:] I wonder about them at some point
[speaker002:] hum hum hum well they're elected as well so
[speaker001:] that's correct
[speaker002:] so
[speaker001:] and that's another and that's another interesting question should judges be elected or appointed
[speaker002:] so they're going to be but that's that's true that's true well
[speaker001:] are they politicians
[speaker002:] well in some sense they they should be politicians in that you know you want them to respect the people and you don't want them to have you don't want a judge to be appointed because you don't want someone's friend to be a judge
[speaker001:] sure
[speaker002:] but on the other hand
[speaker001:] or you want to take the other side of it you can argue that's one of those you can pick either side and we could spend a lot of time on it because
[speaker002:] right that's right
[speaker001:] it's it's difficult
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] it's situational really
[speaker002:] so how do you think we can get people to vote
[speaker001:] uh uh
[speaker002:] I've had one idea that I think is is is completely undoable but it but I think it but but I suspect it would work and the way to do it is to get an absolutely atrocious candidate who you never expect to win to go out and make inflammatory and ridiculous and stupid statements so that a large population of of of voters will go out and vote against that person for someone else so given a choice between you know so so if you have so if if imagine a world where you have two real candidates and one idiot who goes out and makes you know anti you know sort of um
[speaker001:] oh
[speaker002:] anti women statements anti Semitic statements anti black statements et cetera et cetera well then I suspect a lot of people would go out and choose a candidate to vote for just just to spite that person but I suspect that that that would actually never work
[speaker001:] hum well this is true this is true I was worrying uh along the lines of you get everytime someone puts in a ballot in a ballot box
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] a dollar bill comes out the bottom
[speaker002:] that's an interesting notion
[speaker001:] that might work in some places
[speaker002:] that that that that that would be interesting yes I think that would work in some places yeah