Making uninformed voters

Bradley Gitz astonishes at times when he stumbles into partial agreement with me (“Making Dummies Vote,” April 13). I, too, am appalled at the prospect of having our elections decided by those who are ignorant of the issues, uninformed about our history and system of government, uninformed about prospective candidates, uninformed about basic geography, basic science, basic economics and current events.

Where we differ substantially is in his belief that the uninformed are not already substantially represented among voters, or that the goal of “liberals” is just to get uninformed voters to the polls. That someone may be too poor to be able to vote on a work day, or to expend the time and money to get documentation required to satisfy restrictive voter ID laws, is no indication they would make an uninformed voter; nor is lack of such financial constraints the mark of an informed voter.

The current Republican party and its mouthpiece Fox “News” have made an art form of creating uninformed voters. They have found that irrational fear is the strongest motivation for voting, and misinformed voters are easier to manipulate. It is no accident tests repeatedly show those who regularly watch Fox News score lower on knowledge of current events than those who are not exposed to its ceaseless parade of non-experts presenting their opinions and latest conspiracy theories as “news.” Many who pass for leaders in the Republican Party even take pride in their willful ignorance of basic science or of any empirical evidence that contradicts their belief system.

In an election with low turnout, fear voters are a higher proportion of the vote, which makes it easier for big money and big lies to manipulate the outcome of an election. Democracy fails when only 36 percent turnout for mid-term elections. JOEL C. EWING

Bentonville