Another Election Result (2008)

 Originally published as a Facebook Note November 10, 2008.


The State of Iowa passed an amendment to its Constitution last week. The Constitution, enacted in 1857, has been amended numerous times since. This particular amendment did not change law or policy, but merely changed the wording of a clause disqualifying certain people from eligibility to vote. The original wording was "idiots or insane persons." The amendment changes the language to "persons judged mentally incompetent."

The amendment passed with 82 percent of the vote. No argument there. I've been wondering about the 224,141 people who voted against it, though. Do they like having the word "idiot" in the Constitution (which would have been the sole effect of defeating the amendment)? Did they misread the proposal e.g. did they think passing this would allow idiots to vote, or did they think they were voting against the "idiot" clause? Or were they voting on some broader principle, against voting restrictions, or against amendments-that-merely-edit?

What's up with these idiots, anyway?

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