XPost: bc.politics, van.general, vic.general   
   From: accidit@cda.ca   
      
   They are the party who damned the NDP for having ANY lotteries or gambling   
   casinos in BC.   
   And since being elected, the bloody liars have expanding gambling in British   
   Columbia   
   100-fold, through lotteries, casinos and even on-line internet gambling.  Now,   
   one of the   
   candidates for leadership of the 'Liberals' wants to inject gambling into the   
   VOTING   
   process.  These guys are just plain addicts - to abuse of decency as well as   
   abuse of   
   power.  Get them out.   
   ________________________________   
      
   Vancouver Sun - December 17, 2010   
      
   B.C. Liberal candidate suggests lottery to increase voter turnout   
      
      
   100 voters would be excused from paying income tax for one year   
      
   B.C. Liberal leadership candidate Mike de Jong is floating an unusual idea for   
   increasing   
   voter turnout: Fulfil one civic duty and you'll have a chance to get out of   
   another one.   
   De Jong thinks it's worth looking at whether the province could operate a   
   lottery in   
   which, after the election, 100 lucky voters would be chosen at random to be   
   excused from   
   paying provincial income tax for a whole year.   
      
   De Jong said the idea was suggested   
      
   by someone at one of his "Open Mike" public meetings recently. And while he's   
   not   
   committing to implementing the lottery if he becomes premier, he thinks it's   
   an idea worth   
   considering.   
      
   "I'm certainly prepared to look at developing an incentive for people to   
   participate," he   
   said. "It was an interesting idea. And when I've mentioned it at subsequent   
   Open Mike   
   sessions, it gets lots of applause."   
      
   De Jong has already announced that, if elected leader to succeed Gordon   
   Campbell, he would   
   reduce the voting age from 18 to 16. In addition, he said, increasing voter   
   turnout and   
   democratic participation is one of his top priorities.   
      
   Only 51 per cent of eligible voters voted in the 2009 B.C. election, according   
   to   
   Elections BC.   
      
   "The government that I'm serving in was elected by the equivalent of 22 or 23   
   per cent of   
   the eligible voter population," said de Jong. "To my mind, that's not good   
   enough."   
      
   Asked if he thought such a lottery might cheapen the electoral process, de   
   Jong said: "A   
   lot of people who vote do so because they want to impact the amount of taxes   
   they pay."   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)