Voters are permitted to record their voting opinions, preferences and intentions in their will.
At every subsequent election, a vote is cast in the way they would have wished on their behalf by their executor, heirs and successors, ad infinitum.
May seem nonsensical, but on consideration appears no more nonsensical than many of your other forms of "Democracy".-- 8th of 7, Sep 29 2010 Captain Pike http://www.spscript...on8/CaptainPike.jpgTo whom [bungston] refers, was a charcter from "Star Trek" that was severely injured (to the point of incapacitation) [Jinbish, Sep 29 2010] Private Pike http://newsimg.bbc....inwaringpike203.jpgCharacter from UK tv show "Dad's Army". Commonly referred to as 'You stupid boy!', by his boss, Captain Mainwaring (played by Arthur Lowe - narrator of the old Mr. Men cartoons and the soon to be released [hippo] production, 'Mr. Mad Men') [Jinbish, Sep 29 2010] dead voters http://www.redstate...ust-keep-on-voting/ [xandram, Sep 29 2010] https://en.m.wikipe...hout_representation [hippo, Jun 25 2024] I'm seeing canvassers in graveyards, getting the vote out.
I'm seeing lots of candidate deed-poll changes into the name of, say, Abraham Lincoln.
I'm seeing changes in the laws on inheritance tax.
I'm seeing post-mortem carpet-bagging, whereby certain lawyers become the psephological executors of large numbers of homeless derelicts with short life-expectancies. Hilarity ensues.
I'm seeing a revival of the republican Roman trend for powerful families to minimise their number of children, so as to maximise the political power per child. "One day, nephew, all these votes will be yours!"
A macabre, mummified croissant for you, [8th]! [+]-- pertinax, Sep 29 2010 This should be "Voting Rights for the Dead," or "Suffrage for the Dead," or even "Civil Rights for the Dead." Giving the dead the civil rights of the living is a cause that remarkably hasn't resulted in great throngs around the reflecting pool in DC. They have some rights by way of their wills, but so many they've lost, simply by dying. Do you lose your rights when you fall asleep? When you fall into a coma? When you become a zombie?-- ldischler, Sep 29 2010 Lovely!
More consequences: smoothing over (or at least delaying) of periods of political switching red to blue to red to blue; global war becoming an attractive option for a party keen to cling to power for a generation; death-bed 'repentances'; arguments in the courts of marginal constituencies on the validity or otherwise of the testamentary documents of recent corpses; conditionality being introduced to wills and a whole raft of litigation and commentary thereon also.-- calum, Sep 29 2010 I envision a Captain Pike like device with a preserved head mounted on a rolling file able to answer questions about candidates / ballot issues with a green or red light. Alternatively there could be a Magic 8 ball like device in front of the head.-- bungston, Sep 29 2010 + I know they already count the votes of the dead, so might as well be what one wishes!-- xandram, Sep 29 2010 You could argue that this is already the case. The laws aren't all junked each time there is a new parliament. Instead a bit more law is added by each new administration so, effectively, the wishes of people who are long dead are still being enforced.-- DrBob, Sep 29 2010 I can feel the cold legal clutches from the grave.-- ldischler, Sep 29 2010 If you're wealthy enough, you can establish a foundation, which outlives you and exerts political influence, though not by voting.-- mouseposture, Sep 30 2010 It's called a "Monarchy", [mp].-- 8th of 7, Sep 30 2010 What [Dr.Bob said] - all the previous votes of all the previous members of democracy are still well embedded in the history and inertia of our legal systems and traditional societal frameworks - the dead even have a body (albeit a beleaguered one) speaking directly on their behalf in The House of Lords - and quite rightly so!-- zen_tom, Sep 30 2010 Okay, to wrap up this 8th memorial I'll throw a match into the tender of politics and stand back.
Miss you buddy!-- doctorremulac3, Jun 11 2024 "It went out. Maybe you need to throw another one." (The original Ouija Board message from [8th] also started listing accelerants, but I cut that part for reasons of length).-- pertinax, Jun 25 2024 Adhering to the "No taxation without representation" mantra, extending suffrage to the deceased implies that the dead should also be taxed.-- hippo, Jun 25 2024 hippo, I think that what you are advocating is actually "no representation without taxation". Adhering to this principle requires that people without either money or sizeable liquid assets should not be allowed to vote. I am pretty certain that 8th would have heartily approved. :D-- DrBob, Jun 25 2024 Indeed he would, [DrBob]. However I had in mind the American revolutionary meaning of the phrase (see link).Note: dead people who fail to pay their taxes will be brought back to life by the tax authorities.-- hippo, Jun 25 2024 wait this is not debate commentary?-- theircompetitor, Jun 28 2024 random, halfbakery