Vote Lottery?!?

From the Arizona Republic...

The proposal by Tucson physician Mark Osterloh would require state election officials to pull one ballot at random after each primary and general election. That person would win $1 million.

But whether that would encourage voters remains to be seen. A statewide survey conducted in 2003, when Osterloh proposed the idea, showed that only 12 percent of those surveyed said they would be more likely to vote if they had a chance of becoming a millionaire.

An additional 10 percent said the lottery would make them less likely. Nearly everyone else told pollster Fred Solop that it would make no difference at all.

Despite that, Osterloh, who has put more than $100,000 into the campaign, insists that the gamble is worth it if it brings more people to the polls.

I can't fathom a more idiotic proposal. The only people swayed by lotteries are idiots. Why would we want to encourage idiots to vote? I wondered if they article would omit a salient fact, but there, tucked away in the very last paragraph was the mention that Osterloh is...yes, a Democrat. Why else would he be wanting more morons at the polls? That's their voter base.

Posted by Danny Carlton at May 30, 2006 5:49 AM