Cross Country
Election Day Jackpots
Voting has been seen as a civic duty in the American democratic system, but never mind that. Mark Osterloh, a Tucson political activist, thinks he has a better idea: a lotterylike system that would increase voter turnout by paying one lucky voter $1 million after each election. Last week, Osterloh delivered 185,903 signatures of registered voters--well above the number required--to the Arizona secretary of state's office in Phoenix in hopes of getting the so-called Voter Reward initiative on the November ballot. "We want to use capitalism--which has been very successful in this country--and apply it to the voting system," says Osterloh. "This would be a lot like a door prize at a church social." The response? "People say it's either a crazy idea," says Osterloh, "or the greatest idea they've ever heard."
With Dan Gilgoff, Kit R. Roane, Silla Brush and Associated Press
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