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During the election both parties raced to register new voters and encourage those who wouldn't otherwise vote to be an active citizen. One local man did the opposite and paid his son not to vote. (Photo: Associated Press/File)

You be the jury: Was this man right to pay his son not to vote?

BY Jillian Raftery  on November 21, 2012 @ 1:20 pm (Updated: 5:35 pm - 11/21/12 )

A listener recently sent Dori a D-Mail about one of her neighbors, who paid his son, Steve, to not register to vote. Steve's father said that it was to protect the country from his son, who he thinks would be an irresponsible and uninformed voter. Steve's mother, however, thinks it's wrong to pay off their son to discourage him from voting.

You be the jury: Do you agree with the boy's mother or his father; Is Steve's dad wrong to pay him not to vote?

Read the letter below and decide, then check out what other listeners are saying:

Hi Dori,

I know the election is over and most people are trying to move on, but my next-door neighbors have a problem. We're all big fans of your show, so they agreed that you and your listeners should help them out.

Here's the deal: my neighbors have a son named Steve*. He turned 18 in May. He's a nice enough kid, and as far as I know, he's never been in trouble with the law. Unfortunately, Steve's dad doesn't think he's very smart. Even the mom agrees. Steve still lives at home - rent free - but he doesn't have a job and he isn't motivated enough to go to college or trade school.

Consequently, when it came time to register to vote, Steve's dad said "no." Basically, he told Steve that he wasn't responsible enough to either vote or buy a lottery ticket. In fact, Steve's dad has promised to give him $100 if he will wait until his 19th birthday to register. He even told Steve that if he still doesn't think he's ready, he'll pay him again to NOT REGISTER TO VOTE.

Candidly, the mom doesn't think her son would make an informed voter either, but she thinks the dad's pay-off is wrong. I'm not sure what to think - but I bet your listeners will.

Kathy in North Seattle

P.S. You might be surprised to know the parents are pretty smart: both have college degrees, decent jobs and call themselves neither Republican or Democrat. I think they lean Libertarian - a bit like you.



What you're saying on Facebook:

Vanessa Harrington: if the son is willing to give up is right to vote for $100, then the dad is right: he's too irresponsible.

Angela Graves: I think the dad should pay more to the kid. After all, the parents are at fault for not making sure he learned to become 'educated' with the issues. Or to better himself. My son was very educated on the issues before he voted for the first time this year (on his 18th birthday).

Fay St Louis Loux: I would have held out for more.

Kristian Baldwin: It's the child's right to vote. I think it's an awful thing the father did...

Jason Douglas Rose: That's a pretty slippery slope there. On one hand, you have a father who wants to prevent the spread of idiocy. But on the other hand, we have one person blocking another person's right to vote. I just "inherited" a 16-year-old girl who I believe to be one of the most selfish, irresponsible, and impulsive people I know. So far, just about every decision has been a bad one. But if she's 18 and still acting like that, do I take away her vote? How about her right to free speech? As much as I may want to, the answer has to be no. I'll use "temporary taxes" as an example here: Where does it end?

Eric True: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

Eileen Paterno: The mom is right to be upset. Everyone has the right to vote.



*Names changed to protect individuals' privacy.

Jillian Raftery, Social Media Captain
Jillian Raftery is a social media captain for the Dori Monson Show. She loves the neighborly vibe of the Pacific Northwest and spends as much time as possible outdoors.
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Comments (23)


  • Add A Comment

  • William Lawn wrote...
    Dad is a worse doofus than the son is
    November 21, 2012 1:51 pm
    Remember when women weren't "responsible enough"?

    Slaves?

    Dad is an idiot.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    @william lawn..
    November 22, 2012 7:46 am
    One of the few times that I totally, 100% unabashedly and without reservation agree with you there William. And isn't paying for a vote (or lack of one) an illegal act?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • BarnDerk wrote...
    The value of voting
    November 21, 2012 1:59 pm
    Anybody who would take Amy amount of money to not vote is not smart enough to vote. Are we losing sight of the true value of voting?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Saltchucker wrote...
    The dad should have raised his son to WANT to vote.
    November 21, 2012 2:49 pm
    But since he didn't his ultimate solution does sound cheaper than the typical government handout to the unemployable.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • BarnDerk wrote...
    Paying $100 to not vote
    November 21, 2012 3:13 pm
    Can you imagine what our elected officials would look like if the offer was open to everyone?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • William Lawn wrote...
    His dad should have raised a son he would want to vote
    November 21, 2012 5:41 pm
    My dad would have fought to the death to make sure I had the right to cancel out almost all of his votes.

    Offer me money not to vote?

    He would have kicked my a$s for not voting.

    Well until I was a little bigger than he, anyway.

    A wonderful man, my father.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Snout wrote...
    There is already a decent segment of voters
    November 21, 2012 6:04 pm
    Who are already paid with food stamps forever, welfare without a work requirement forever, free cell phones, etc etc who are essentially paid to vote. So we are already paying people to vote. It's just that many of us who foot the bill think it's wrong on not just a moral level but on a basic human level. These people will just keep on collecting and keep on voting until there aren't enough of us around to pay for them. Then what?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Regularjoe44 wrote...
    Training the next liberal...
    November 21, 2012 6:54 pm
    First they'll pay him not to vote...but as soon as he finds the teat, and knows they'll actually pay him for his vote, he'll keep voting dem forever. Viva Santa Claus.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    @regularjoe44
    November 22, 2012 7:48 am
    I thought that it was only 'conservatives' that were informed, valued voters.... So this 'dad' must have been a conservative trying to illegally prevent a vote that he might have disagreed with with money. This 'dad' is pathetic, and anyone who ties it to a political leaning is as well.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • concernedvoter1604 wrote...
    Who was the stupid one again???
    November 21, 2012 7:04 pm
    Obviously these parents were pretty stupid themselves, because they committed multiple Federal and State election fraud crimes; It is a Federal crime for ANYONE to knowingly intimidate or coerce ANY qualified voter from attempting to register vote and/or cast a vote in a Federal Election. (It is also a separate state crime if state elections are involved). It is also a federal crime to use economic coercion to attempt to prevent a qualified voter from registering to vote/cast a vote. Who was the stupid one again??? http://www.justice.gov/usao/nh/press/2012/ElectionFraud.html
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • BeenThere wrote...
    Don't have a job, get free rent.
    November 21, 2012 9:30 pm
    Don't vote, get $100.00. The dad is enabling the sons' behavior and creating a future welfare recipient by rewarding irresponsibility. Did the son even want to vote or is this just the way dad communicates his contempt towards his son?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • BeenThere wrote...
    I am not implying...
    November 21, 2012 9:50 pm
    all welfare recipients are irresponsible, btw.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ted Bundi wrote...
    Easy
    November 23, 2012 1:46 am
    Take the money and then run.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }