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Louisiana Literacy test 1964


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http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2013/06/28/voting_rights_and_the_supreme_court_the_impossible_literacy_test_louisiana.html

Jim Crow laws put in place to put barriers up to minority voting in the South.  They had ten minutes to complete and weren't allowed one wrong answer.  Had to pass this to be allowed to vote.

Can't believe this was allowed to happen as recently as the 60s.

Edited by PapofGlencoe
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7 minutes ago, aaid said:

TBH, part of me thinks that you should have to sit a test here to demonstrate you know what you're voting for. 

Me too. 

I would also say that many a politician would struggle to finish that test in 1/2 hr never mind 10 mins. 

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5 hours ago, Hertsscot said:

Thanks for posting this. I did Politics A level years and years ago with a great teacher who was American.  He told us about these tests but I've never seen one (didn't have the internet back then!). Key thing is which racist did the marking.

that's it.  Answers could be read in different ways.  Upto the marker to decide.  Crazy stuff.

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18 hours ago, aaid said:

TBH, part of me thinks that you should have to sit a test here to demonstrate you know what you're voting for. 

Agreed in theory but as people have mentioned, the administration of such a test would be almost impossible to manage. 

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16 minutes ago, PapofGlencoe said:

did anyone get the answer to question 1?  I've read it ten times and still have no idea how you're supposed to answer it.

I think the answer is to circle the number 1 at the start of the question. The questions could be listed 1,2,3... or A,B,C i thought...Total ba$tards if so.

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It wasn't a serious suggestion - hence the "a part of me".

My point is that there is a tendency these days to dumb down politics into simple soundbites and slogans that hide some fairly complex or difficult issues.  All parties are guilty of that to some extent, be it "Stronger for Scotland", "Strong and Stable", "Take back control", "Make America Great Again" or indeed "Better Together".    

In some cases there's some actual substance behind those slogans, some sense of what they mean, in other cases its just an empty soundbite with no detail beyond that.   

In the case of Brexit, if you asked people who voted Leave what "Take Back Control" would look like, I suspect you would get a lot of different answers many of which would be completely contradictory.

It reminds me of times of the Simpsons episode, Marge versus the Monorail. 

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Q6 looks quite sly...

Is it asking for three circles within circles (so two smaller ones within a perimeter circle) or just one circle within a circle and another third one sitting at this side. I suspect the latter which is ultrakhunty...

Edited by thplinth
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14 minutes ago, aaid said:

It wasn't a serious suggestion - hence the "a part of me".

My point is that there is a tendency these days to dumb down politics into simple soundbites and slogans that hide some fairly complex or difficult issues.  All parties are guilty of that to some extent, be it "Stronger for Scotland", "Strong and Stable", "Take back control", "Make America Great Again" or indeed "Better Together".    

In some cases there's some actual substance behind those slogans, some sense of what they mean, in other cases its just an empty soundbite with no detail beyond that.   

In the case of Brexit, if you asked people who voted Leave what "Take Back Control" would look like, I suspect you would get a lot of different answers many of which would be completely contradictory.

It reminds me of times of the Simpsons episode, Marge versus the Monorail. 

If Yes had came out with a song as good as the Monorail song, we'd have romped the vote :lol: 

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20 minutes ago, thplinth said:

Q6 looks quite sly...

Is it asking for three circles within circles (so two smaller ones within a perimeter circle) or just one circle within a circle and another third one sitting at this side. I suspect the latter which is ultrakhunty...

Several of the questions are pretty obviously written in a way that's open to interpretation, presumably so that it can be marked wrong whatever answer is given. 

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18 minutes ago, biffer said:

Several of the questions are pretty obviously written in a way that's open to interpretation, presumably so that it can be marked wrong whatever answer is given. 

I think each one would have had a defined answer but if the question is ambiguous it is like throwing in having to call correctly three or four or more consecutive coin tosses as well. A belt and braces approach. I wonder what % passed. Tiny or zero I would think.

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On 18 August 2017 at 1:34 PM, thplinth said:

that is way beyond a literacy test... 'print the word vote upside down but in the correct order'... some really clever people might have problems with that. 20 seconds a question and cant get any wrong. No chance,

I keep trying until all the blood rushing to my head makes my eyes blurry

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