I guess I'm not alone in thinking that THOSE who go to the polls are NOT generally educated in the candidates, their stance on issues, nor the referendums of any election. I tend to think MOST people who vote do so because they believe it to be the right thing to do.
In the same genre, if it came to TESTING voters to see if they understood exactly what they were voting for, I highly doubt you'd see vote numbers increase, actually I'd expect a dip in the polls.
But the population has one positive that I believe would better the results of elections - that is generally conceived ideas of what the candidate and party stand for. I doubt that most people grasp what a politician's true agenda is: who's hand is in who's pocket, lobbyists, special interest groups, aspirations for higher seats - all goals for bettering their own life-style, not those of the masses.
But I see voting like JURY DUTY - image instead of 12 peers that judged a case, a thousand or ten thousand had access to the same evidence, wouldn't the defendant have a fairer trial? I would rather stand trial with thousands of juror deciding my fate than 12, I'd feel the out come to be less of a dice roll Our country's population is likely to drop in 20 years, due to the smaller families (due to high unemployment, etc.) all being experienced by the Children of the Baby Boomer, meanwhile the actual number will likely climb due to illegal immigration. With smaller families in the forecast, we may drop below 300 million again in a decade, but we have a chance to allow everyone (informed or not - as is the case now) to vote and be heard on election day, why pass that up?
But keeping with your idea, image a website that HAD a civics test prior to voting on line, wouldn't that solve the problem somewhat? My point, we need to be represented better and the only way to do that is to see that ALL THOSE WHO CAN VOTE, DO!
a small percentage go the absentee route, many of them just don't vote and honestly MOST of them are from the Greatest Generation who just can't make it to the polls anymore due to health. Yet, the Senior Population is the LARGEST growing block on the Internet.
So, giving the youth an online option and filling the void for the aged is a win win. We need representation of the masses, yet the mass shows up in pathetic numbers to vote. And that goes without saying that it is NOT written anywhere in the Constitution about being politically savvy to pull a lever - so using technology to bring the masses to the polls is a good thing. Individually, a person may see their moral stance stampeded by differing views, but it is the right thing to do - have a country that best reflects the citizens.