The restriction of voting for those with a college education is a denial of human rights. Democracy states that each citizen of a country has the right to vote once they are of age. Popularly, eighteen years mark the transition to adulthood for most countries and hence, anyone who attains it becomes a rightful voter (Webster et al. 28). However, information on the choice of a politician to vote for and the type of law to vote on is essential for all voters.
Even though having a college education interprets to a higher-level understanding of matters, it does not necessarily mean that one can make an informed decision. It implies that one is knowledgeable, but not necessarily wise. Wisdom is crucial when choosing for leaders who are visionary and of integrity (Sides et al. 40). Therefore, it would be irrational to judge one’s ability to make smart choices based on the level of education that they possess.
In addition to that, the restriction causes a poor representation of some groups. According to the growth of communities and societies in embracing learning systems, it appears that there is the disparity in the ‘educated’ bracket (William 70). Take for instance the college representation of blacks and Hispanics, which stands at fifteen and seventeen percent respectively as indicated by Tucker (44). Hence, it is concluded that if the law were to pass, it would lead to a low percent turnout of the groups in the national elections.
Conclusively, the decision to choose a leader should not streamline to fit only the “intellects” since it would overrule the essence of democracy and good governance. Nevertheless, strategies to ensure that the voters have the necessary information on how to vote or who to vote for is vital.
Works cited
Du Bois, William Edward Burghardt. Black Reconstruction in America: Toward a history of the part which black folk played in the attempt to reconstruct democracy in America, 1860-1880. Routledge, 2017. 63-94
Sides, John, Michael Tesler, and Lynn Vavreck. "The 2016 US election: How Trump lost and won." Journal of Democracy28.2 (2017): 34-44.
Tucker, James Thomas. The battle over bilingual ballots: language minorities and political access under the Voting Rights Act. Routledge, 2016. 20-45
Webster, Steven W., and Andrew W. Pierce. "Older, younger, or more similar? The use of age as a voting heuristic." Social Science Quarterly (2015). 15-32
