Arizona Voting Lottery

Here's a well-thought response to the Arizona Voting Lottery idea. With not at all the angle I was expecting, Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe walks though the logic following the assumption that voter turnout is the proper measure of democratic health. Once you start there, anything, including lotteries or giveaways, that can improve that number should make the state healthier. He's got a good read on the situation, and I find myself coming to the same conclusion: voter turnout is not the best measure of democratic health, and even if it was, the best way to improve it is to give honest, conscientious citizens real reasons, real choices at the ballot. Far too many incumbents win elections because of gerrymandered districts, georgraphically tortured to preserve the status quo. Let's give people real political debate over things that matter, and then see how healthy we look.