# Hungarian Mothers May Get Extra Votes For Children **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 18, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hungarian-mothers-may-get-extra-votes-for-children/578882 "2011-04-18T21:49:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hungarian-mothers-may-get-extra-votes-for-children/578882/1 "2011-04-18T21:49:27Z")
[Hungarian mothers may get extra votes for children.](http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/17/hungary-mothers-get-extra-votes) > [@](#): > > “Some 20% of society are children,” said József Szájer, a senior Fidesz official and MEP. “This is quite a considerable group that is left out of representation. The interests of these future generations are not represented in decision-making.” He added: “We know at first it seems an unusual idea, but in the 50s it was unusual to give votes to black people; 100 years ago, it was unusual to give votes to women.” What do you think? I thought the parents were already representing their children’s interests - did I miss something? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hungarian-mothers-may-get-extra-votes-for-children/578882/2 "2011-04-19T03:53:47Z")
Shall I assume from the lack of response that everyone thinks this is a good idea, and is waiting for it to come to the United States? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hungarian-mothers-may-get-extra-votes-for-children/578882/3 "2011-04-19T05:42:38Z")
I’m not sure we can conclude anything from this. Hungary is a rather different society from the U.S., so what makes sense for them may not for us. Certainly, what makes sense for Hungarian politicians to propose would not make sense for American politicians. If they feel this is a good idea for Hungary I wish them well as they implement it. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hungarian-mothers-may-get-extra-votes-for-children/578882/4 "2011-04-19T10:04:40Z")
Won’t somebody _please_ think of the - oh, wait. This seems screwy, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Fidesz party have done their research and know that families are their core voters. They don’t seem particularly hot on the whole individual freedoms idea as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hungarian-mothers-may-get-extra-votes-for-children/578882/5 "2011-04-19T10:15:07Z")
So basically, everyone who’s not a woman with small children gets 2/3rds of a vote? It’s not like the child is getting the vote, or would be capable of using it even if they did. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hungarian-mothers-may-get-extra-votes-for-children/578882/6 "2011-04-19T10:23:46Z")
If they want to give children the vote, give them the vote. Not even the most backwards pre-feminist Western societies were dishonest enough to give married men an extra vote under the pretense that a husband would vote for his wife. Or, give fathers the same number of extra votes. They’re their kids precisely as much. Realistically? This is silly-season stuff. It’s political grandstanding, if not a simple joke. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hungarian-mothers-may-get-extra-votes-for-children/578882/7 "2011-04-19T10:35:50Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Or, give fathers the same number of extra votes. They’re their kids precisely as much. The article says that the system they’re basing it on gives an extra half vote to each parent; Fidesz are being extra ridiculous in their approach. Usually when these stories of Hungarian voters rights come up there’s a “let’s wind up the Romanians/Slovaks/etc by giving ethnic Hungarians in other countries more power” angle to it but I’m not seeing it here. This may just be the standard conservative “motherhood is wonderful” narrative dressed in new clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hungarian-mothers-may-get-extra-votes-for-children/578882/8 "2011-04-19T10:41:12Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > This may just be the standard conservative “motherhood is wonderful” narrative dressed in new clothes. I wonder how much more of this we can expect as populations continue to decline. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hungarian-mothers-may-get-extra-votes-for-children/578882/9 "2011-04-19T14:24:56Z")
Besides this being a goofball idea in general, my first thought upon hearing it was that at any age where I would’ve had any political interests to speak of, said interests would markedly not have been served by my mother having extra votes in my staid. My 17-year-old self shudders at the thought. (For that matter, my 27-year-old self does pretty much the same.) ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hungarian-mothers-may-get-extra-votes-for-children/578882/10 "2011-04-19T14:59:55Z")
I don’t trust my Hungarian mother with the one vote she already gets in the Canadian election. I once double dog dared her to vote for the marijuana party when I was 15, and she did! But that’s just because she’s cool like that. 😃 But yeah, what a stupid idea! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hungarian-mothers-may-get-extra-votes-for-children/578882/11 "2011-04-19T16:23:57Z")
I’m not sure it’s a joke; the article doesn’t really make it clear if it is legislation that they are just about to put into effect, or just an idea that they’re throwing at the wall to see if it sticks. “Motherhood is wonderful” narrative sounds about right, though. I notice that the legislation: > [@](#): > > also includes articles that protect the life of a foetus “from conception” and preserves “the institution of marriage between man and woman”. Very Moral Majority stuff. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hungarian-mothers-may-get-extra-votes-for-children/578882/12 "2011-04-19T19:14:05Z")
Is there a shortage of children in Hungary? My first thought was that this was meant as some sort of incentive. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hungarian-mothers-may-get-extra-votes-for-children/578882/13 "2011-04-19T19:56:17Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Is there a shortage of children in Hungary? My first thought was that this was meant as some sort of incentive. IIRC correctly, they have one of the lowest birth rates in Europe, right up there with countries like Italy. I also don’t know if they have the same level of immigration as western Europe, though my gut says no.