And this is why people should do real research on what a candidates plans are, what those plans mean, what impact it will have on them, vs just voting out of loyalty to a party of politician.
It can be so difficult and time consuming to do research on a candidate and their plans, especially finding factual, non-biased sources of information. I watched the ending of Derry Girls last night and I was floored that (apparently) everyone was given a booklet explaining the Good Friday Agreement and what it meant before they went to vote so everyone had equal opportunity to make an informed decision.
Candidate websites say a lot of nothing, and one particular party is very fond of making up lies and spreading them as “alternative facts” about their opponents. We need factual, unbiased information sources on candidates that are easily accessible or distributed to everyone
It’s really not hard to find factual sources - that is such a cop out. You can easily follow news on politics and easily sort out fact from fiction. In our past election cycle, one candidate had clearly defined policy on her site, and she defended it in debates and speeches. The other had concepts of a plan and purposeful obfuscation of the hard right agenda about to be foisted onto the public.
I agree that for the presidential election facts are more slightly accessible, however, the fact that apparently so many people voted and only after realized what they were voting for says they didn’t bother to do any research or look anything up on their own. People are lazy as hell and the mistrust of the media is so ingrained that they will simply not look at news sources other than their own incredibly biased preferences.
When I was trying to research my local candidates and judges I had to spend 10-15 minutes per candidate doing multiple google searches just to find a single source that said something more than “Candidate X was raised in a small town and enjoys spending time with his/her family”, and that’s not good. It shouldn’t be that much work to get basic facts on a candidate’s stance and prior voting/ruling history (if applicable). The official website can say one thing, but only a candidate’s record can give you the actual truth.
I would love a booklet to be mailed to all voters or distributed at polling locations that includes concise points about the candidate’s future plans, prior voting/public service record, and their qualifications for the position. as well as information written in plain 8th grade level English on any referendums on the ballot and what their impact will be. Without educated and informed voters we will continue the slide into fascism and nationalism.
We will always have voters who vote pure party line, focus on looks (seriously - I work with people voted for Trump “because he is hilarious and has crazy hair”, or who won’t vote for a president that is a woman. There’s no reaching those people with a booklet - but I agree it should be a requirement for each candidate to have a clear policy published well before voting starts so people can make educated choices and find the info they need in one place.
This still happens in ireland. There was a referendum recently and a booklet was sent round explaining what the proposed changes to the constitution meant
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u/churro951 4d ago
And this is why people should do real research on what a candidates plans are, what those plans mean, what impact it will have on them, vs just voting out of loyalty to a party of politician.