# A question for the opponents of women voting **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 27, 2009, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790 "2009-05-27T14:12:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Valteron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f17d59/32.png) [@Valteron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valteron)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/1 "2009-05-27T14:12:10Z")
What, specifically, would be the negative consequences of allowing women to vote? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/2 "2009-05-27T14:18:09Z")
The election of Warren G. Harding. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/3 "2009-05-27T15:02:23Z")
Prohibition of alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/4 "2009-05-27T15:12:34Z")
Dogs and cats living together in sin… -XT ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/5 "2009-05-27T15:13:19Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > The election of Warren G. Harding. > > Regards, > Shodan Fortunately, being dead, Warren Harding is unlikely to run again. (Though Ohio Republicans can do some devious things). However, in the last election – or at least in the primaries – when offered a strong and well-qualified woman candidate, many women voters chose a man (Obama) over a woman (Clinton). So I’m not sure that the gender of the voter has that strong an influence over who gets voted for. And Harding would probably have won without women’s suffrage. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/6 "2009-05-27T15:14:00Z")
Well, there is that whole “I can’t pull the lever because I just did my nails” thing … ---
**Author:** ![Valteron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f17d59/32.png) [@Valteron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valteron)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/7 "2009-05-27T15:13:59Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > Prohibition of alcohol. Was prohibition mainly due to women voting? Women got the vote in the late 19th/early 20th century in most western democracies including Canada, France, UK, Australia, Germany, etc., and none of these countries had prohibition as a result. Might it have more to do with the militant protestant religious right which has always been a major factor in US politics, more so than in other countries? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/8 "2009-05-27T15:14:04Z")
Women, voting? That’s crazy! Next thing you know, they’ll want to drive cars! ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/9 "2009-05-27T15:20:31Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Women, voting? That’s crazy! Next thing you know, they’ll want to drive cars! And wear pants! ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/10 "2009-05-27T15:32:38Z")
It’s against what our society has always done. Voting is _defined_ as > [@](#): > > A choice that is made by counting the number of MEN in favor of each alternative You simply can’t re-define voting to include women. Words have meaning you know. Never in the history of mankind have women been allowed to vote. So they should not be allowed to vote now. Also, I believe that there may be incredible damage to our society and our morals if women are allowed to vote. Maybe not in the short term, but certainly within a couple of generations - say 40 years or so in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/11 "2009-05-27T15:40:16Z")
> [@Valteron](#): > > Was prohibition mainly due to women voting? It’s hard to say, but women’s sufferage groups in the US were overwhelmingly in support of Prohibition, women were more likely to support Prohibition than men, and it was widely assumed at the time that there was a link. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/12 "2009-05-27T15:47:02Z")
How about if they had the equivalent of voting, say pulling levers and filling in ovals, but we just called it something else? Maybe femVoting. They could elect some people in some states(but would still be barred from federal recognition of their vote), but we shouldn’t change the traditional meaning of the word vote, which was always “one man, one vote”. Isn’t that good enough? It’s basically the same. Anyway, rewriting all the election rules to delineate what femVotes are good for and what they are not, in every state, at each level (municipal, county, state, federal) is much easier than allowing the word “vote” to apply to men and women. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/13 "2009-05-27T15:48:10Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > It’s hard to say, but women’s sufferage groups in the US were overwhelmingly in support of Prohibition, women were more likely to support Prohibition than men, and it was widely assumed at the time that there was a link. The Temperance Union, the driving force behind Prohibition, (officially, the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union) was a womens’ group, and in fact a number of brewers’ associations began donating money to anti-suffrage groups in response. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/14 "2009-05-27T15:54:19Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > How about if they had the equivalent of voting, say pulling levers and filling in ovals, but we just called it something else? Maybe femVoting. They could elect some people in some states(but would still be barred from federal recognition of their vote), but we shouldn’t change the traditional meaning of the word vote, which was always “one man, one vote”. > > Isn’t that good enough? It’s basically the same. Anyway, rewriting all the election rules to delineate what femVotes are good for and what they are not, in every state, at each level (municipal, county, state, federal) is much easier than allowing the word “vote” to apply to men and women. **RitterSport** , I think you’ve hit on an ideal solution! There is no way this could be abused or difficult to implement across 50 states! femVoting it is!! Also, specifically it would create a problem for those who think that allowing women to vote is an immoral act. If this does not apply to you, of course you think there would be no harm, but if it does apply to you then there is actual harm being done, as has been pointed out by people time and again that state sponsored schools will be teaching acceptance of women voting (sin). ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/15 "2009-05-27T15:55:51Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > How about if they had the equivalent of voting, say pulling levers and filling in ovals, but we just called it something else? Maybe femVoting. They could elect some people in some states(but would still be barred from federal recognition of their vote), but we shouldn’t change the traditional meaning of the word vote, which was always “one man, one vote”. Excellent idea! I think it should be called ‘a suggestion.’ It would be exactly the same as a vote in every single way (except a few). ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/16 "2009-05-27T16:02:58Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > Excellent idea! I think it should be called ‘a suggestion.’ It would be exactly the same as a vote in every single way (except a few). I think it should be called a “civil expression”. Voting should be confined to private clubs like Lodges and the Masons. If a private club wants to let women vote, it’s no business of mine. I don`t believe the government should be involved in voting in any form - civil expressions are good enough for everyone when it comes to the government. ---
**Author:** ![Valteron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f17d59/32.png) [@Valteron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valteron)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/17 "2009-05-27T16:17:02Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > **RitterSport** , > Also, specifically it would create a problem for those who think that allowing women to vote is an immoral act. If this does not apply to you, of course you think there would be no harm, but if it does apply to you then there is actual harm being done, as has been pointed out by people time and again that state sponsored schools will be teaching acceptance of women voting (sin). Think what else state sponsored schools would have to teach. That divorce is possible, in direct contradiction of the beliefs of over 100 million Roman Catholic American taxpayers? What if abortion is legalized? How are our schools going to teach about abortion knowing that tens of millions of Americans are opposed to it? If we legalize the butchering of cows, what about Hindu-Americans being taught in our schools??? The only way we can avoid such horrors is to make America a Bible-based theocracy in which everyone believes the same, and in which every law is in accordance with state-sanctioned religious beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/18 "2009-05-27T16:18:35Z")
Next, schools will be \*forced \*to teach that humans are actually _descended from monkeys!_ ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/19 "2009-05-27T16:19:29Z")
My friend’s ex-girlfriend said that women shouldn’t vote. I asked her if she’d vote to take away women’s suffrage. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790/20 "2009-05-27T16:20:48Z")
You butchered that joke. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-opponents-of-women-voting/497790.md?page=2)