Of All The Reasons To Say No To Internet Voting, Wouldn't Porn And Beer Be Near The End Of The List?
from the try-that-again dept
There are many, many reasons to be against the idea of allowing political voting via the internet, starting with questions about the security, accuracy and reliability of the technology. However, former Polish prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who admits he wants to attract younger internet users to his conservative party, gave some bizarre reasons for not being a fan of internet voting. Apparently the problem isn't questions about the technology but the idea that voters may be multitasking with beer and porn: "I am not an enthusiast of a young person sitting in front of a computer, watching video clips and pornography while sipping a bottle of beer and voting when he feels like it." Does that mean he'd be okay with if it people agreed not to watch porn or sip beer while voting?
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by Anonymous Coward on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 6:17am
OK, how many polish jokes will this generate?
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The disillusioned youth... by SteveD on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 6:45am
Somehow he doesn't strike me as a man that’s going to reconnect politics with the disillusioned youth.
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Re: The disillusioned youth... by ChurchHatesTucker on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 7:01am
My first thought as well. Do they want to court the youth vote or not?
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by Anonymous Coward on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 7:05am
it might make it easier for Florida to explain all those Pat Buchannan votes that way.
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What Does He Do on the Internet? by W4RM4N on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 7:05am
Is he basing this from personal experience?
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Just wondering... by Lisa Westveld on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 7:07am
If you're not old enough to vote then what are you doing online drinking and viewing porn? :-)
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Vhere do you get ovv? by Stanislaus Polakiem on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 7:10am
Vhy do you mock the great nation of Polska???
Ve have many great cultures.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski is great hero of state. Only fault I can find is that he doesn't drink enough beer or watch enough porn clips.
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Damn... by Duodave on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 7:24am
Does this mean I can't sit in my pickup truck with a beer between my knees reading porn, park the truck then go into the voting place and vote? How many republicans have been doing that for years?
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by Andre on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 7:28am
I a moments like this I feel embarrassed that I hold polish passport. Luckily I do not have to live there anymore. I think he confuses the role of a president with the role of a comedienne.
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by Anonnymouse on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 7:31am
The real question is why anyone would sully their fantasy time by thinking about his politics.. ;)
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Heck... by TheDock22 on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 7:32am
I could see not wanting people to be drunk while voting. We may end up electing Curious George for President! Oh wait...we kind of did a couple times...
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On the other hand... by jt on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 7:33am
...if they hand out porn & beer at the voting booths, do you think voter participation would increase? I think it might!
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Re: The disillusioned youth... by moe on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 7:55am
Haha, that's the understatement of the year.
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Best decisions by Brett on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 8:56am
Some of the best decisions of my life have been made after beer and porn.
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Oh man... by Michael G on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 9:32am
I hate to be thinking of myself thinking like this but I kind of agree with the principle of what he's saying, voting shouldn't be just an afterthought. I must be drunk watching too much porn.
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Re: Just wondering... by TriZz on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 9:37am
...are you joking? It's Europe. I don't think they have an age limit on beer, and most broadcast television contains nudity (including the commercials).
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Beer & Porn, eh? by Rational Beaver on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 10:17am
So I guess it's okay for women to vote online (unless he objects to playing Scrabulous on Facebook while voting).
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Re: Re: Just wondering... by Nick on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 10:48am
It's Europe. I don't think they have an age limit on beer, and most broadcast television contains nudity (including the commercials)
I assume your joking?
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Re: Re: Just wondering... by R. H. on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 11:26am
The legal drinking age in Poland is 18. Just thought you'd want to know ^_^
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by Anonymous Coward on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 12:08pm
realy this makes sense, lets assume that internet voting was avaliable. do you know what would happen?!?! i can see it now, im drinking my beer...watching my porn, and suddenly it the very cute blond chick getting it from behind AND talking about what she would do as president to change the country, id be so drunk that id believe her and go vote.
yep...i see this is a BIG problem.
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Internet Voting by Robert on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 1:34pm
I would love to be able to vote online, I think it would greatly increase Voter Turnout for the younger crowd whom is comfortable doing everything online these days.
It could hardly be any worse than the damn e-voting machines we keep hearing about being hacked and malfunctioning.
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by Jake on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 2:02pm
On some level, I can see his point; voting is the kind of thing that really ought to involve some serious thought, rather than being done as an afterthought.
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by BTR1701 on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 2:54pm
Seems to me, voter turnout would dramatically increase with the addition of porn and beer. It sure would make voting for Hillary more palatable if a nice picture of Isabella Soprano was in the next browser window.
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Re: Serious by BTR1701 on Mar 20th, 2008 @ 2:55pm
> voting is the kind of thing that really ought to involve some
> serious thought, rather than being done as an afterthought
Yes, but it's not the government's place to be telling me or regulating me into thinking the way they've decided I ought to be thinking.
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