News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Poor writing, not specialized concepts, drives difficulty... by ErikVandeWater on Sunday September 18, 2022 @09:45PM (#32893346)
To be fair, the laypeople are also likely bombarded with advertising about the ballot measure. The advertising will simplify what's stated, and get at some potential consequences of voting yes vs. voting no. There could actually be a benefit with this language in that uninformed voters will actually not vote on it, whereas generally speaking, people vote with complete disregard to their level of knowledge about a subject.

Also to be fair, even if the language was perfectly easy to understand, there's probably at best a 70-30 shot the voters pick the right choice, since people lack the critical thinking skills, and education in public policy and economics to choose what's best.

Re:Poor writing, not specialized concepts, drives difficulty... by DennisP on Sunday September 18, 2022 @09:52PM (#32893394)
But there's no guarantee that advertising won't be misleading.
Re:Poor writing, not specialized concepts, drives difficulty... by usefulcat on Monday September 19, 2022 @12:04AM (#32894169)
Not all ballot measures receive lots of advertising. In Texas, ballot measures like this with an impenetrable description are not uncommon. My sense is that if people can't figure out what something is actually about (as in this case) then they mostly go "sure, whatever" and vote for it.