Shocking news came to us this week, with the results of a Samsung Mobile survey showing that more than 6 out of 10 people asked for a preference stated that they’d text in their vote for the Presidential election this fall if the option were available to them.
The (mercifully) short survey showed consistent results across party lines, with Democrats, Republicans and Independents voting in similar proportions. 61% of those over the age of 18 and eligible to vote said they’d be open to casting their vote for the next President of the United States by text message. Of the 13 to 17 age group, 80% would prefer to text in their vote. You’ve probably seen members of this latter group, many of whom are glued to their cellphones and at the dawn of a new stage in human evolution, heralding shorter, thinner and infinitely faster thumbs, and an inability to move under their own power. Especially if it’s to the voting booth.
With the Democratic nomination still up for grabs, the US electorate gathers daily around the water cooler, discussing which of the Democrat contenders, CLNTN4PREZ or BRCK!!08, will take on Republican MCCN1936 in November. Don’t worry, America, we’ll all know soon enough.
No word on the margin of statistical error inherent in the survey, which included 300 American teens (ages 13 to 19) and 500 American parents with teen children. Here at The Internet Patrol we’re hoping it’s +0% / -60%, but we’re sure that’s a forlorn and fruitless dream. Oh, how we long for the heady days when reliable, accurate electronic voting machines were thought to be the future of secure and glitch-free balloting.
The Internet Patrol is completely free, and reader-supported. Your tips via CashApp, Venmo, or Paypal are appreciated! Receipts will come from ISIPP.
CashApp us
Venmo us
Paypal us
First, I echo the feelings of the comment by Bill – this is meaningless. That said, what is so shocking about it? Would it be so awful if voters could just phone an 800 number and push 1 for X candidate and 2 for Y candidate? How about a show of hands? The irony here is, most people who actually vote let it be known how they voted. If they want to keep it private…hmm, is that even possible these days?
Oh come on, Anne… You know that even mentioning this bit of marketing fluff by a cell phone maker, much less suggesting that it might have a measurable sampling error, gives it more attention than it deserves. It’s not a serious survey of anything, it is just a fancy way for Samsung to say “texting is cool, do more texting, buy a phone designed for heavy texting”