Members of the Elon Community Respond to Stossel

By Ryan Catanese

November 4, 2008

Should some people not vote?

In a recent column run in the Burlington Times-News, 20/20’s John Stossel made the bold claim that some voters, particularly the uninformed ones, shouldn’t vote.  This column obviously coming in the closing days of a historic election year and the most enthusiastic voter turnout in recent memory.

It is easy to scoff at these claims, saying that it is imperative for all people to vote.  But on a closer examination, does Stossel have a point?

This theory, as shocking as it may be, is not a new idea.

“There is an old Aristotelian argument that only the educated and well-informed, only the wise should make decisions for the rest of us who don’t know anything,” said Betty Morgan, political science professor at Elon University.

The theory behind the democratic process is that everyone does research on candidates and makes an informed decision.  The truth of the matter is that this is not often the case, especially on the local level.

Consider the Elon students voting in North Carolina.  They probably knows McCain, Obama and their running mates.   They probably even know some about the North Carolina Senatorial candidates.

But what many fail to consider is that they are also voting for positions like members of the Board of Education, Lieutenant Governor, and county judges that they probably don’t know as much about.  These guess votes will certainly have an effect on North Carolina, and this is the basis of Stossel’s argument.

Dee Atkinson, an election official at Elon’s fire station sees the logic.

“A lot of voters don’t know the qualifications or the job description for the local offices and many don’t even know the person that they’re voting for,” Atkinson said.  “If they don’t know either one of those, I don’t know how they can make an intelligent choice.

“There is a gap, but I don’t know if there is any better way to decide.”

Morgan, however, disagrees completely with Stossel’s argument.

“We don’t have any tests of any kind.  We don’t have a literacy test and we certainly don’t have content qualification questions.  [Voting] is public business however the public is constituted and we can’t start putting conditions and knowledge requirements around who can participate in the election of officials.

“The point is is that citizens, all of them, are entitled to vote and they should.”

Theresa Lilienthal, a Burlington voter, pointed out a flaw that she saw in Stossel’s theory.

“I don’t think that there is anyone that is completely uninformed,” Lilienthal said.  “I think that everyone knows something, so they should go out and vote for what they do know.

“To be honest, I am much more worried about the top offices,” Lilienthal added.  “The top offices are the scariest.”

Alan Cummings, another Burlington voter, put it very succinctly.

“Everyone lives in this country, so everybody’s voice should be heard.”